When it comes to nonprofit inbound marketing efforts, many organizations are just playing a game of darts. You know the game. You throw one dart in the direction of social media, another in the direction of guest blog posts, and perhaps a third and fourth at a couple of marketing campaigns.
The only problem is, you’re never really sure which darts are landing on the most effective marketing tactics. Closed-loop marketing can clear up that mystery, helping to ensure your nonprofit hits a bull’s-eye every time.
What is Closed-Loop Marketing?
Closed-loop marketing refers to the practice of “closing the loop,” or having a clear picture of everything a website visitor does from the time they land on your site to the time they donate to your cause.
Your donor management team reports back to your marketing team, allowing you to see what channels your visitors initially came from, what pages they viewed or interacted with, and any other actions they took before they made the decision to donate.
The process of closed-loop marketing is made up of four steps:
- A visitor lands on your site, where a cookie is attached that denotes the visitor’s original referral source, whether it was a paid ad, Facebook post or email link.
- The cookie tracks the visitor’s action as they move around and interact with your site.
- The visitor converts to a lead by filling out a lead-capture form on one of your landing pages, providing you with more details on who they are.
- The lead becomes a donor, and you have information that includes the original referral source as well as all actions the person took since they initially landed on your site
Closed-loop marketing requires two systems that must be integrated to share data. One is a marketing platform that helps with lead generation and management. The other is a customer relationship management (CRM) system that lets you track and measure your contacts’ activities.
HubSpot for nonprofits gives you both, providing you with a single, streamlined solution that lets you reap the bountiful benefits of closed-loop marketing.
See Also: What Are the Benefits of Using HubSpot for Closed Loop Marketing
Benefits of Implementing Closed-Loop for Nonprofits
Closed-loop marketing can be extremely valuable for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of your nonprofit inbound marketing efforts.
Nurture Potential Donors
The information you gather on potential donors as they move around your site provides a comprehensive view of where they came from and who they are. The more you know about the visitor, the better you can target your nurturing efforts to connect and compel them into action.
Calculate ROI
Closed-loop marketing lets your nonprofit see what marketing channels, campaigns and programs deliver the greatest – or least – returns. You’ll be able to accurately assess if the effort and resources dedicated to specific marketing efforts are worth the investment.
See Also: The Metrics You Gain From Closed Loop Marketing
Shorten the Giving Cycle
Once you’re able to identify the touchpoints are the most crucial along the potential donor’s journey, you can eliminate unnecessary elements and distractions that may otherwise slow down the funnel. A streamlined giving cycle not only makes your nonprofit inbound marketing more efficient, but it can also decrease your overall cost per lead.
Improve Communication between Departments
Closed-loop marketing requires your marketing team and donor management team work together for the system to be effective. This collaboration can improve communication while giving rise to new ideas or workflows you can implement to enhance your efficiency even further.
Use Data to Make Decisions
You no longer have to guess if a specific marketing campaign or tactic is pulling its weight. Closed-loop marketing data will tell you. The analytics you uncover can likewise alert you to giving trends, mobile device use and other integral information.
You’ll be able to understand when and why people are donating, and which campaigns help drive those donations. This data can be essential for planning marketing activities moving forward.
Create Reports that Show Tangible Results
Reporting features let you customize reports that showcase tangible results of your marketing efforts. This not only makes it easy to illustrate the overall value of your nonprofit inbound marketing to your leadership team, but it lets you map out a game plan moving forward to ensure the results keep getting bigger and better.
HubSpot for nonprofits equips you with the systems you need to implement closed-loop marketing within your own organization – and reap the great benefits. To learn more or get one-on-one guidance on implementing closed-loop marketing, contact Lynton Web today.
