Marketing: An Investment, Not an Expense by Chad Mullins

This article contains two portions from the fifth presentation by Chad Mullins.

The quote, “I know that half of my advertising budget is wasted, but I’m not sure which half,” is credited to John Wanamaker. These words may have been uttered almost a hundred years ago, but the message still holds true today.

Especially administrators in nonprofits may wonder, “Can I measure what I’m spending?” When the profit is considered the betterment of society or human good, how can a measurement be made?

Let’s first take a look at the definition of marketing: “An integrated process through which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relations in order to capture value from customers in return.” This could get clearer yet, so we will narrow it down to the main objectives in that definition:

• creating and capturing value
• creating strong customer relations

In regard to marketing, there are two values to consider: economic and social value. Economic value includes donations, recruiting staff, recruiting volunteers, profitable operations, measurable valuables. Social value encompasses more vague factors like improving society, addressing inequities, and making positive impacts. The areas in which these two values converge is called socioeconomic value.

Paper Versus Electronic Mailings

When it comes to materials that are traditionally sent in the mail, it can save a great deal of money to send these materials electronically or provide them on the website. A large percentage of overhead can be eliminated from no longer needing stamps, printing, or manpower to stuff and address mailings. Though going electronic with mailings may be a great decision, you still need to accommodate the traditionalists and be accessible to those who prefer paper.

Most important, be sure to provide useful and accurate information on the website so people have access to it when they are ready, on their own time.

For example, Red Cross does an excellent job of providing informative and educational articles that explain how they handle disasters and their experience. In turn, when you give a donation, you are confident they are going to use it intelligently.