Charities are constantly challenged by the increasing cost of operations, securing donors, and providing services. There never seems to be enough money to completely achieve each year’s objectives and the one expense that tends to get cut first is “marketing”. But cutting marketing can mean cutting outreach, donations, and branding, so eliminating promotional activities can also reduce exposure and opportunity.
Marketing does not need to be expensive if it is carefully planned and executed with the assistance of a professional. Unfortunately, many charities rely on volunteers and low-paid staff to execute marketing initiatives, and these well-intentioned but inexperienced helpers can actually drive up the cost through their lack of knowledge about how to get the best deal, find the best supplier or determine the best tactics.
Many non-profit marketing initiatives are also executed under “rush” circumstances when time becomes the enemy and expensive options are pursued because there are no other options. Poor planning, a lack of supervision, and the absence of classic marketing practices cause rush expenses that, in some cases, can double the cost of marketing.
Smart and aggressive charities seek the assistance of a marketing expert like Henry York Advertising to avoid these pitfalls and can often double the impact of any promotional exercise without increasing their budget by a penny. Besides providing ideas and execution skills, a professional marketer with a network of resources can find deals that are invisible to the general public and non-profit community and stretch every dollar.