The Importance of Getting Noticed

19 May The Importance of Getting Noticed

20 May 2024

By David Allen, Development for Conservation

I got on a plane last week heading to Detroit from Madison. I was on my way to Connecticut to work with a land trust on a capital campaign.

On my seat, a postcard was waiting for me with the following message:

Good morning, David,

Welcome aboard and thank you
for being a million miler! We appreciate
your loyalty to Delta and thank you for
completing such a great achievement. We’re
so happy to have customers like you
who choose us again and again.

Sincerely,

Nick and your Flight 1114 attendants.

I not telling you this because I’m proud of my million-mile “achievement.” In fact, it’s a little embarrassing. A fly a lot. It’s part of the consulting business I signed on to when I made the decision to focus on conservation organizations.

I’m telling you this because someone at Delta noticed me. Sure, they had electronic support. Someone ran a report that listed all the “status” passengers on that flight. Someone else printed up a bunch of cheap postcards with a standard message that could be personalized with my name and how I was to be recognized. And yet another person (Nick?) put it on my seat.

Delta noticed me. And maybe it’s stupid, but it felt good, at least in that moment.

And it’s not the only time I get noticed. When I check my bag and when I board the plane, some prompt is there reminding someone to say “And thank you for being Platinum!”

In our world, altruism is defined as making a gift with no expectations of anything in return. In the real world, altruism is incredibly rare. Most people are getting something from the exchange.

They give money. And they get the brief endorphin rush of having played a part – however small – in the success of the venture (land acquisition, restoration project, or trail completion). Giving feels good and giving to conservation work feels solid and permanent. The idea that the protection of this piece of Nature will outlast them – and us – and maybe last forever.

We leverage that feeling by noticing their gift and by clearly communicating that it is making a difference and how it is making a difference.

The prevailing wisdom has always been “thank before you bank,” meaning send a thank you message to donors within 48 hours of their gift. For larger gifts, or gifts out of character from a donor’s recent giving history, a phone call (or voice message) communicates that you noticed their gift right away. Phone calls also serve to “notice” new donors.

I made a gift. Someone at the faceless institution noticed. Noticed me. It feels good.

Noticing people when they give is the reasoning behind sending paper letters instead of email, including the donor’s first name in the subject line of an email (if you must send an email), signing letters in blue ink, writing short ‘lift” notes, and sending personal cards in addition to printed letters.

If this all sounds artificial and manipulative, so be it. It will be for many of us. But consider that writing more personal thank you letters is a skill that you can develop.

Giving is always personal for the donor. When we make it personal for us, too, we foster connection and engender loyalty.

Loyalty.

It’s the reason people self-identify as “members” of the organizations they support. It’s the reason they renew every year and increase their giving over time. It’s the reason they talk up the land trust to their friends and neighbors. It’s the reason they leave conservation in their will.

My message from Delta was mechanically driven and personally delivered. It was clearly designed to engender loyalty and make me feel good.

You could argue that it was cheesy and shouldn’t have worked.

But it did.

Cheers and Have a Good Week!

-da

PS: Your comments on these posts are welcomed and warmly requested. If you have not posted a comment before, or if you are using a new email address, please know that there may be a delay in seeing your posted comment. That’s my SPAM defense at work. I approve all comments as soon as I am able during the day.

Photo by Heiko Stein courtesy of Pixabay