How Do You Bring Your Phoning Program in Line with the Mobile Revolution?

A common concern by institutions with phonathon programs is that as alumni and donors drop their land lines and your prospect pool fills with new graduates who only utilize mobile phones, it’s becoming harder and harder to reach people on the phone.

Our contact rates for on campus phonathon programs haven’t declined much over the past few years. In fact, 2012 was practically identical to 2013 with a contact rate of 54%.

One reason for this is that we encourage clients to include cell phone append research into their data plan prior to calling. We call through these researched numbers, confirm them, and receive thousands of pledges via cell phone numbers each year.

Here’s a snapshot of what happened with cell phone append research calls last year:

We like to call a mobile phone number the “forever phone number” for an alumnus. Portability of numbers across carriers means that most alumni will be using the same phone number they’ve had since their teenage years well into the time you’re approaching them for a planned gift.

How do you bring your phoning program in line with the mobile revolution?

First, you need to capture as many cell phone numbers as possible before students leave campus. An industry expert recently told me that this should really be a “frictionless” transaction—as easy as possible. Consider a simple web form, even a QR code at commencement rehearsal. Give a prize. Consider a big one that motivates immediate action—as the stats show, you’ll get a strong return.

Second, integrate cell phone research into your annual data investment. It provides an incredible return on investment, and coupled with a quality phone solicitation program, it could be key to increasing your donor count immediately. Cell append research is a bargain, but not all providers are equal. We’ve researched great providers who return good numbers. As you can see, our cell append contacts connect at a rate very close to the overall average.

The bottom line is that you’re more likely to get the first gift from a graduate if you have their “forever” phone number, the phone that rings in their pocket.

We’re happy to tell you more about how to integrate cell phone research into your current phoning effort and share stories of success at institutions just like yours—just get in touch. I’ll watch my phone.

Brian Gawor, CFRE is a former annual fund and major gift professional who now focuses on benchmarking and analytics to drive fundraising strategy. Learn more about how cell phone append research from RuffaloCODY will help you uncover your “lost” donors.