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Lessons from the Past 116: Bad Marketing of Good Causes – Part 2
Walter Vieira 29 November 2024
Economy & Nation
Continuing what we said in a previous article on the subject, once we know the market segment for the non-profit organisation (NPO), in terms of social class, income groups, geography, sex, age and education, we can more effectively direct our promotion, advertising and personal selling to this segment. Do the segments that support the cause of children also support the cause of street children? Are the segments that support the cause of children the same as those that support the cause of the elderly? Are these two or three segments the same as those who will support the cause of nature conservation? We often think that we know the answers. Most times, we don’t. Research may then show how wrong we have been!
 
Most NPOs never have enough resources to do all that they plan to do. In such a situation, it is even more inexcusable to waste resources because sufficient homework was not done. The input/ output ratio suffers. We have been unfair to our donors who have made sacrifices in order to give to charity. 
 
Mahatma Gandhi had described industrialists as ‘trustees of the nation’s wealth’ and enjoined them not to be wasteful but to use the resources for the betterment of the community. If this was the approach towards commercial, profit-making enterprises, how much more would this be relevant to NPOs!
 
From the right market segmentation would come the positioning of the cause in the donor’s mind. The cause should seem of paramount importance to him/ her. All else should seem less important. The organisation will have to develop a core group of donors on whom they can depend; a large fringe group; who will sometimes assist, and a much larger ‘zone of indifference’ who could be ‘suspects’, and even ‘prospects’ for a more distant future. 
 
It has been found that companies that are in industries with ‘pollution potential’ are the core group for NPOs in ‘nature conservation’. Couples with no children or just one and are affluent are a core group for children’s causes. Those who have had a member of the family die of cancer are a core group for cancer aid societies or for hospices. 
 
Naturally, past students are the core group for schools and colleges for their charity drives and past students of the Dufferin training ship for the merchant navy are the core group for the ‘Save the Dufferin’ fund. Most of all, prospective stakeholders throughout the world are sceptical about NPOs on the grounds of structure and systems. This is true for the US, as for India.
 
In the US, the government has screened all NPOs and finally approved 154 NPOs as meeting the criteria that have been set down by the government. The main problem is that the NPOs do not produce and present their financial accounts with attention to detail, in the way commercial organisations do. 
 
The reason NPOs generally give is that the NPO does not have the administrative set-up to produce the required data. But this is only an excuse, not a reason. It is worth spending money on software and hardware to make this possible. The confidence built through transparent and accurate accounting will result in better community participation, higher collection and a more efficient NPO.
 
Many major NPOs in most countries are started by an individual with a passion for the cause. They are the flag-bearers. (There can be many different reasons and circumstances how this happens)
 
There is Soli Godrej who carried the flag of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF for Nature). He devoted much of his time to this cause and even facilitated the setting up of an expansive, beautifully designed office in Delhi.
 
There was Manubhai Shah who founded the Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC) in Ahmedabad, with the help of the Lalbhai Industries group,
 
There is Mother Teresa who founded the group of Little Sisters of the Poor and looked after the poor and the dying (alone and neglected), on the streets of Kolkata and, later, elsewhere, around India and even in other parts of the world. And there are many, many more!
 
Those mentioned above have left a legacy—with an organisation structure capable of ‘running the show’ much after they are gone. Just as one would do in the corporate world, with talent identification and succession planning—and even planning for unexpected eventualities! 
 
But there are many others where such foresight is missing—and the large ‘structure of reputation’ for good work comes crumbling down with the death of the founder. A great pity and a great loss! 
 
In the corporate world, such operations are bought off or merged with other more successful enterprises. It does not happen with NPOs. Therefore, the greater need here is to take care that the flock will always have a shepherd!
 
Why can’t we sell causes like soap? We can—and we should!
 
(You may also want to read other articles in the Lessons from the Past Series… Here is the link https://moneylife.in/author/walter-vieira.html) 
 
(Walter Vieira is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of India - FIMC. He was a successful corporate executive for 14 years, capping his career as Head of marketing for a Pharma multinational, for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka- and then pioneered marketing consulting in India in 1975. As a consultant, he has worked across four continents. He was the first Asian elected Chairman of ICMCI, the world apex body of consultants in 45 countries, in 1997. He is the author of 16 books, a business columnist, international conference speaker and has been visiting professor in Marketing in the US, Europe, and Asia for over 40 years. He was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award for Consulting in 2005, and for Marketing in 2009. He now spends much of his time in NGO work - Consumer Education and Research Centre, IDOBRO, and some others.)
 
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