Non-profit organizations play a very important role in our society. They play a major role in the education sector, health, poverty eradication, resolving environmental crises, and many other fields. If we want to make our world a better place, we will need more of these types of organizations. Statistics reveal that there are around 1.5 million registered non-profit organizations in the United States designated as public charities, civic leagues, and private foundations.
We all know that nonprofit organizations are created for a greater cause. No matter what their core objective maybe, at the end of the day they are also ‘businesses’, and consequently, they also need relevant and successful strategies for marketing and monetization. Non-profit organizations definitely have different missions as compared to other companies, but the fact remains that they also need to make money in order to succeed, in other words ‘fundraising’.
All Businesses Are Going Mobile
A recent report by Statista reveals that consumers are starting to spend more time on mobile apps as compared to websites. The graph below reveals the increasing number of app downloads on an annual basis.
These stats are driving businesses to go mobile and start integrating their businesses with quality mobile apps. Similar should be the approach of non-profit organizations. Non-profits are often perceived as organizations that don’t adopt the latest and upcoming technologies.
However, it’s essential that we finally start to go with the trend. Make sure that you have a website that is highly functional and well-designed and also that you have a strong foundation on social media. Up next on the checklist is having a ‘mobile app’. Having a mobile app for your business will help you reach more people and connect with more donors.
If you’re still not sure about taking the mobile app approach for your business, below I have rounded up some of the top benefits you will get from a quality mobile app.
Benefits of Using Mobile Apps for Your Nonprofit Organization
Generate Better Customer Experience
One of the biggest issues faced by businesses is being unable to attract visitors and keep them engaged. Furthermore, these days, with so many technological trends and increasing competition, user expectations are also increasing. If customers feel that another company is providing better services than you, then it won’t be long before you lose them.
For a non-profit organization, you want to do something that really makes a difference and changes lives. Creating a mobile app for your business will ensure that you provide a better user experience. If a user is traveling, and they come across something that makes them want to check out your services, then wouldn’t it be amazing if the user could simply pull out his phone and get the job done. On the contrary, if you’re only available on a desktop, then you could end up losing a potential lead.
If you have a mobile app, users will be able to create their accounts on your platform. Furthermore, this will enable you to save their information and you’ll be able to connect with them and inform them of any special offers and deliver a more personalized user experience. If you really want to build positive customer relations, you will have to give your undivided attention to providing a personalized user experience to your customers. You can do this by providing different dashboards and app interfaces for the different types of users you get. Unlike other businesses, you have the upper hand at categorizing your users, they can be donors, customers, or even volunteers.
More Visibility and More Customers
No matter what type of business you are, there is always
room for more customers. And if you’re one of those non-profit organizations
that still depend on reaching donors via email marketing, then it must be
really hard to attract customers.
On the other hand, if you have a mobile app, then everyone will be able to find
your organization on the app store and they will be able to reach out to you
more efficiently. If you’re wondering how?
The app stores work just like Google’s search engine. Users will input keywords
related to what they require and the app store search engines will deliver the
most relevant results to the users.
For example, if someone is thinking about donating their old clothes, they
could make a search query like:
So every time a user makes a search query related to your business, the search engines will showcase your app in the search results. Millions of people browse the app stores on a daily basis, if you choose to ignore this platform, you will be taking the risk of ignoring potential customers.
Make More Money
When you develop a mobile app for your business you will notice an increase in your revenue. Both from your donors as well as your customers. So if the only reason you’re choosing not to adopt mobile apps is their ‘costly’ development, understand that you will ‘make’ money just as fast. Furthermore, you can also go for a cost-effective mobile app development company that will not compromise on the quality of your mobile app.
Here is how you will be able to make money with your mobile
apps:
-Advertisements
-Donations
-In-app purchases
-Crowdfunding
-Subscriptions
Collect Donor Data
A very useful functionality of mobile apps crafted for ‘non-profit’ organizations is that they help you gather important information about various donors. Instead of manually collecting donor and customer information, your app will store the necessary data during the onboarding process. When users sign up, they will be creating an account and saving their data such as phone numbers, email, social media profiles, etc.
Promote Fundraising Campaigns
Mobile apps are an amazing way to remind your users about
the cause that your organization is working towards. For example, you can
showcase a progress graph of your endeavors, seeing it will encourage donors as
well as customers to contribute money so that you can reach your desired goal.
Another very useful feature that you leverage is sending ‘push notifications’.
You can send personalized push notifications to individual users and encourage
them to support your fundraising campaigns.
As compared to sending emails, this is a much more effective strategy. Your email will go un-opened and eventually end up in the dust bin, but push notifications have a much higher open rate.
Wrapping Up
The number of mobile apps in the app stores is growing at an exponential rate. This shows that the majority of worldwide organizations are expanding their businesses to mobile apps. If you’re a non-profit organization and you don’t have a mobile app, it’s still not too late to develop and launch a mobile app that converts. A mobile app will help you attract and retain new and existing donors as well as customers. You will be able to generate the desired revenue and achieve your fundraising goals more efficiently.
If you’d like to add something, feel free to get in touch with us today.