In last week’s post, I talked about the quality of an organization’s employees as a critical differentiator.
It reminded me that sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference.
Case-in-point: I recently conducted a nonprofit marketing workshop for social service agencies. Professionals in this sector face a growing glut of competition for resources (.e.g., clients. donors, volunteers, etc.) from other nonprofits. They also have to compete for consumer awareness & attention from non-profits as well as for-profit firms.
So, how does your organization differentiate itself?
When I asked this question in the workshop, one attendee responded with the following anecdote. He heard from a representative of a grant-making foundation who complimented his agency on having real people answer the phone instead of using automated voice mail. Seems the foundation staff is finding this a point of differentiation among the social service agencies and other nonprofits they deal with.
Why sometimes you need to sweat the small stuff.
As Prophet’s Scott Davis so aptly put it in the title of his recent MarketingProfs.com article: “You’re Only as Strong as Your Weakest Brand Touchpoint.”