Listener-members are more than money, but relationships.
With many community radio stations in pledge drive, we’re reminded that it’s tough to convert the listener to the person who pledges. Once you get the donation, it is essential that stations not only value that supporter, but the information they share.
For a recent Community Broadcaster column, I encouraged community radio to look at donor data in a more strategic way:
The noncommercial media space, including community radio and public media, has much to learn from successful nonprofits using data and technology to grow. The analytics revolution that Salesforce.com and competitors have ushered into modern life is also a chance for community radio and public media to assess what is most important. It matters because contributors have new expectations. It also matters because technology can help stations focus less on paperwork and more on the relationships with their supporters.
Community radio doesn’t need to be tech or another kind of business to learn from them. Between staff turnover and the challenges in fundraising, this is a moment to ask how we’re documenting our donor connections, where our organizational memory resides, and how ready we are to pass the baton and history on to new generations who take on stations.
