Quick Take: Have Faith (But Rely on Metrics)
Marketing ROI spoke with Craig Wood, CEO of The Clarity Group, Inc. (http://www.claritygroupinc), a consultancy that uses consumer data and analytics to provide insight into the faith-based and non-profit community, about the use of metrics and measurement in religious marketing.
Marketing ROI: What is the biggest mistake religious marketers make when they attempt to qualify their targets?
Wood: The biggest mistake that they make is they play the faith card. Consumers are multi-dimensional. We as marketers can figure out what appeals to them based on demographic, attitudinal and transactional data. Consumers are also brand conscious, or privacy driven. Faith may be important, but it is one element to consider among a mix.
Marketing ROI: All right, so as faith-based marketers look to raise money or make sales to prospects, what types of measurements should they consider?
Wood: First, affinity. How aligned are they are with your cause. This can be measured by examining related memberships, previous activity, survey information and compiled data.
Second, Propensity – the likelihood to purchase or act on that affinity. This is done by examining past behavior. Which ones have a history of giving – traditional RFM measurements. These can help a marketer predict not only whether a prospect is likely to give, but how much and when, such as within a 30 day window. Knowing if a donor is a likely October or February giver can be very powerful.
Finally, ability. Can they give? Do they have the financial ability to buy, spend or donate? That is the critical third piece. A lot of money is spent on analyzing prospects' affinity and propensity, but current ability tools are not very good. Household income and net worth indicators do not measure spending or tithing ability. You need discretionary spending metrics, but these can be modeled.
Marketing ROI: You have a background in both traditional direct marketing and attitudinal research. Why have you chosen to focus on faith-based marketing?
Wood: The concept of marketing to, and through, faith is new. For instance, the "values-based voter" has become a hot topic. But what has happened is that, to marketers, those people's values have trumped everything else. I am seeing that marketers are focusing on affinity and ignoring propensity and ability metrics. All three of those elements have to be there—the magic in faith-based marketing is balancing them.
