Finding the right company or individual to help you with marketing for your nonprofit can be a challenge. There are so many companies out there, including traditional marketing agencies that also work with nonprofits, and all of them make bold claims about their expertise and the results they get for their clients. Many of their websites have slick designs and even slicker language on them. It can be hard to see through it all to find out if a marketing company might actually be a good fit for your nonprofit.
One thing that might help as you research companies is to read nonprofit marketing case studies on the various agency websites. Most reputable marketing companies will proudly display their case studies because case studies provide an agency with a great way to show potential clients the types of results they have achieved in the past.
For you, as the potential client, you will get to see what types of nonprofits the agency works with (large, small, local, national, religious, etc.) and get an idea if they even tend to work with nonprofits like yours. Now, just because they’ve never worked with a nonprofit like yours before doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t, but it’s good to note who their typical clients are. A marketing agency that tends to work with large, national nonprofits may not want to take on small nonprofits that only operate in a specific geographic region. A marketing agency that seems to only work with smaller organizations, on the other hand, may not be equipped to handle the needs of a large, national nonprofit.
By reading nonprofit marketing case studies, you’ll also be able to get a good idea of the different methods an agency uses when they market their nonprofit clients. Do they seem to use the same tactics for every client, or do they come up with creative approaches based on the specific needs of the nonprofit? Are they relying on expensive, outdated methods like direct mail marketing, or are they pursuing affordable, but still very effective methods, like taking advantage of the Google Ad Grant, or using email or social media marketing? Do they offer flexible options that allow a nonprofit’s own team of employees or volunteers to complete certain tasks in order to keep costs down?
As you read through the case studies, write down any questions you may have, so if you decide to pursue things further with the agency, you can have them addressed. This is especially important if the results of their various campaigns are not clearly stated with the case studies. Because at the end of the day, it’s results you’re after!
After you go through the case studies on the website, it can be helpful to read testimonials from current and past clients as well. See if what an agency’s clients say matches with what the agency says about themselves. The best, most telling, testimonials are those that are very specific. A general “great company to work with” review won’t give you much insight into an agency’s work or the type of attention and results you can expect.
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