True Tales of Telemarketing:What We’ve Learned

Katinka Partridge, Response Fundraising Manager, PETA Foundation Shira Mitchell, Senior Manager, Direct Response Marketing, Special OlympicsAndrew Laudano, Vice President, Fundraising, LW Robbins

Welcome to Our Session!Introductions to Your Presenters:

Katinka PartridgeResponse Fundraising Manager PETA Foundation

Shira MitchellSenior Manager, Direct Response MarketingSpecial Olympics

Andrew Laudano, Vice President, FundraisingLW Robbins

Here’s what we’ll cover today• How telemarketing works in integrated, cross-

channel programs and campaigns• Integrated telemarketing strategies for:

– Monthly giving programs: inviting, retaining,cultivating and upgrading sustainers

– Donor retention – thank you calls, XXX, XXX– Lapsed Reactivation

• Lots of examples – including tests and results!

Let’s get started!

• Founded in 1980

WHO ARE WE?

• The largest animal rights organization in the world

• Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on,use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way

• Work through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, celebrity involvement, protest campaigns, and special events

The fundamentals of a healthysustainer program – what we

do:

• Recruit by using all channels

• Retain by monitoring declines

• Cultivate with no strings attached

• Upgrade in every way possible

This is The Gronz. Our fundraising office dog extraordinaire. He has been upgraded to the window with the afternoon sun.

How many monthly donorsdo we have?

13% increase in totalsustainers sinceMay-13.

PayPal sustainers have increased by 115% since May-13.

The “Investigations & Rescue Fund”

– the I&R Fund

• Supports all PETA’s efforts to investigate and exposecruelty and push for prosecution of abusers

• We ask donors to become monthly supporters of theI&R Fund

• We send out monthly updates in the mail and onlinetalking about the animals their support have helped

Monthly Donor Update Email

PETA has a strong and constant

focus on growing the monthlysustainer program

How do we approach it?

Monthly Sustainer Strategy• New single gift donors get a welcome letter

with a membership card and a sustainer ask

• “Make this gift monthly” check boxes areincluded on all direct mail reply forms

• Email appeals with sustainer only asks andupgrade asks

• Up-sell pop up boxes on our online donation pages asking donors to make their gift monthly

Upsell Pop Up Box on Donation Page

Monthly Sustainer Strategy

• Telefundraising program inviting recent donors to become monthly givers

• Telefundraising upgrade program, asking current sustainers to upgrade their monthly amount

PETA’s rolling telefundraising

sustainer invite program

Who?– New donors 0-3 months– Just renewed donors 0-3 months– Lapsed sustainers

When?– Quarterly

Why?– New/renewed donors: that’s the time

frame when they are the most into us - we just inspired them to give

The Gronz is totally into us!

– Lapsed sustainers: people often lapse without realizing it and we are catching the ones that didn’t

How we ask for it – the control script

This is Shelly – a rescue bunny. She’s about to dig into her control greens.

Control Script: First ask

Control Script: Second ask

Control Script: Third ask

Most Recent Campaign Results

August 2013 :

• Qty called: 5,846• Response rate

(pledged): 9.2%• Avg monthly gift: $14.34• Credit card rate: 22.3%• Cost/contact: $4.38• Fulfillment rate: 25%• 12 month value: $25,181

November 2013 :

• Qty called: 5,345• Response rate

(pledged): 8.5%• Avg monthly gift: $14.91• Credit card rate: 27.9%• Cost/contact: $4.56• Fulfillment rate: 53%• 12 month value: $50,201

How we also ask for it – test scripts

Luna is a rescued pit-bull. She’s testing out her dog sitter’s couch.

Test Script: First ask

Monthly Giving TM Test Results

Global Fur Trade Control vs. Meat Industry Cruelty Test

Test Date

Script Theme

Completed Calls

Monthly Response Rate

Monthly Dollars Pledged

Monthly Average Gift

Monthly Credit Card Rate

10.13.13-10.17.13

Global Fur Trade

429 11.01% $788 $16.77 23.4%

11.13.13-11.17.13

Meat Industry Cruelty

439 7.97% $385 $11.00 25.7%

Control Beats Meat Industry Cruelty Test

Monthly Giving TM Test Results

Global Fur Trade Control vs. Ingrid Newkirk Test

Test Date

Script Theme

Completed Calls

Monthly Response Rate

Monthly Dollars Pledged

Monthly Average Gift

Monthly Credit Card Rate

12.18.13-12.31.13

Global Fur Trade

609 7.39% $692 $15.38 37.8%

12.18.13-12.18.13

Ingrid Newkirk

597 10.05% $989 $16.48 26.7%

Ingrid Newkirk Test Beats Control

Monthly Giving TM Test Findings• Scripts with fur theme resonate with donors

• A “personal” message from the President resonated well with donors – this approach beat the fur control script

• Donors like to hear about the changes their gifts have made possible

• Have something tangible that their money is going towards

• Always include a call to action showing help is stillneeded

Credit card ask test

Test Date

Script Theme

Completed Calls

Monthly Response Rate

Monthly Dollars Pledged

Monthly Average Gift

Monthly Credit Card Rate

8.29.13-9.05.13

GlobalFur Trade

630 8.73% $768 $13.96 16.4%

8.29.13-9.05.13

On Your Credit

Card

662

$870

24.6%

rn'-"o' ...APooplo forthe Ethical Treatment of Animals

1""5-01 Hu"l St.. No.folk. VA 23510

Thµiks f or tdkt'ntj to me!-- Rotj

rnLot .,".A"Poople forthe Ethic•I Treatment of Animals

SOl Front St, Norfollc:, VA 23510

Thi:UlKS for faiki119 to mel-- Ro'f

Ms.Veronica Bielewicz 14 Acton Street

Fulfillment "AutoPen" Outer Envelope Test

Fulfillment “AutoPen”Outer Envelope Test Results

Sustainer Test

One Time Response Rate

One Time Average Gift

Percent One Time FF Pieces

Percent One TimeFF Dollars

Laser Control 7.99% $26.00 65.75% 70.05%

AutoPen “Handwriting” Test

8.72% $30.66 65.20% 83.71%

Follow Up Email Test

• Save on fulfillment cost

• Nudge a “maybe” into an actual gift

• Connect with donors you didn’t get on the phone

• Reach donors who requested not to be called againwith an ask

Who receives follow up emails?

• Pledgers• Hedgers• No thank you• Bad phone number• Do Not Call File adds

Follow Up Email Test

Follow Up Email Landing Page

Other things we are doing

with telephones

• New telefundraising campaign– Asking 1st year renewals to become sustainers

• Sustainer joins: RR 3.7% and $12.33 AG• One time gifts: RR 15.8% and $19.64 AG

• Quarterly telephone townhalls– Sustainers, planned giving members, and high dollar

donors are invited to hear President Ingrid Newkirk speak about a recent investigation or victory

– Given the opportunity to ask questions live on the call

Take aways

• Invite – make it easy and painless to become a sustainer

• Retain – telefundraising is a perfect opportunity to connect with your supporters; pay attention to comments and respond quickly

• Cultivate – inform donors of what your programs haveaccomplished

• Upgrade – offer upgrade opportunities in all channels;don’t be afraid to ask and ask again

Thank you