Have you ever seen a McDonald’s ad campaign focused on convincing vegans to buy a Big Mac?
That’s crazy, right? Makes no sense.
I mean, maybe there are a handful of vegans who could be convinced — after much effort — to try one. But it would take a whole lot of time, money, and energy to find them, to reach them, and to get them to try it. That’s right, just to try it…let alone become loyalists!
I’m sure if you asked McDonald’s they’d tell you this is an insane idea. It would be a waste of time and money when instead they could focus on the millions of existing loyal customers who already love their regular cheeseburgers. By spending a little bit of time, effort, and money to convince those loyal customers to upgrade to a Big Mac next time they eat at McDonald’s, the fast food giant would have significantly better chances of selling more Big Macs than if they were to go out and target vegans.
Here’s the thing. Every time you ignore the 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 loyal supporters you already have, and instead sit with your board’s development committee, senior staff, or development team and “brainstorm” how your organization can reach that list of wealthy community members who have never given to your organization, never attended your place of worship, or didn’t graduate from your higher ed institution — simply because they have money and you think you can convince them to give to you — you’re trying to sell Big Macs to vegans.
Sure, if you work hard enough, spend enough money, and waste enough time, you might get one or two of these people to give an initial gift to your organization. The effort and cost you’d expend to do this is significantly greater than what it would cost you in time and dollars to instead focus on your existing loyal supporters and how you can provide them with meaningful opportunities to deepen their support for your organization.
Stop trying to sell Big Macs to vegans, and start focusing on your loyal “customers” instead.
Cheers!
Andrew