6 Tips to Improving Measurement for Non-Profits

Your mission. Be able to articulate how PR and marketing efforts support the organization’s mission. How do your daily activities help accomplish the mission, be it raising money or finding volunteers?

Stakeholders. Nonprofits have many stakeholders, including volunteers, donors, sponsors, employees, and the people they service. It’s essential to concentrate measure results involving each category of stakeholder.

Metrics. Select at least three specific metrics for analyzing various categories of communications including email, marketing, public relations and social media. Select metrics that are quantifiable, with a number such as an amount of money or percentage and that can be compared to another number such as past performance or competitors. It’s also vital to include date by when the goal will be achieved.

Leadership. Obtaining support for measurement from the organization’s leadership will make life easier both immediately and over the long term.

Current data. Surveying departments can reveal data and tools you already have. Nonprofits often have more data than they think they do.

So what? Asking “So what?” can provide context to data. So social media activity spiked one month and donations spiked the following month. So what? Determining why it spiked and learning how to repeat the performance makes measurement valuable.

Why Analytics Matter

As we reach the midpoint of 2014, we are in the middle of a fundamental transformation in the way businesses view analytics. Analytics are now seen as core to a business’ growth strategy and means for measuring, implementing and sustaining success. I am extremely pleased to see this happen and that marketing analyst no longer have to fight for the value of analytics. The fact is, those who fail to invest in understanding what drives their business will find it hard to compete in a world that thrives on data. This is why analytics matters.

Analytics are now being used as the basis for new products and revenue streams. The breadth of decisions analytics support and drive is increasing every day. The next few years will drive growth for companies that utilize data, while pushing those that loathe data in data driven industries toward irrelevance.

One of the trends really picking up steam is the need to make analytics operational. As we generate more data and we discover more new insights than ever, attention is turning to how we turn those insights into action and action into value. I believe that this will be one of the biggest trends going into 2015.

I hope you’ll join us at Growth Strats LLC in the effort to continue demonstrating to Detroit and the world that analytics matter! I look forward to blogging with you! 

Germar Reed is a Partner at Growth Strats, LLC, managing the Advanced Analytics Group.