The future just sped up
The world has been disrupted. Shops and bars are closed, school is out, offices are empty. Many organisations are in a state of shock, all the old certainties having crumbled.
As lockdown slowly becomes the new normal, one thing is clear: digital is the only way to keep going with our life and work. Organisations who were more digitally mature have responded better. For nonprofits, digital is the way to help us deliver for our beneficiaries and to achieve our objectives.
For many digital leads this realisation is not new. But the sudden dawning of just how important digital is in other people’s minds comes with its own pressures. With so much interest in digital solutions and so many people knocking at your door, it can be hard to know where to start.
As a digital lead, agility is important, but stopping to ask yourself a few questions will be helpful in the long term.
Fulfilling immediate needs
Sometimes you will be asked to make a decision. Sometimes it’s about providing your colleagues with advice.
Starting with the problem rather than with a solution is always a good idea in digital. When you see that someone is doing something good, use it as an inspiration. Then consider from the perspective of your team/organisation’s strategy if this is the best investment of time and/or money. Do a bit of research online, speak to your peers in different organisations to help you come to a conclusion.
Shifting priorities
The strategy of your organisation is unlikely to have changed in the last few weeks. But your tactics for delivering it may have to be different.
If your organisation delivers services, now is the time to roll-out a digital solution, however simple.
For example, a good few years ago Shelter came up with an online form which enabled their clients to share information about their situation in advance of their meeting with an advisor. That way an advisor could tell them in advance of their meeting what information to prepare. Normally, that first meeting was used to share this information and it was only in the second meeting, when all the details had been exchanged, that they could get to practical discussion about the available help. By adding this online form into the meeting booking process, Shelter could help their clients much more quickly than before.
Samaritans rolled out their chat support service pilot a few months ago. This will be the time to really stress test this application. But it may not be the time to try and grow this service as that may be taking trained Samaritans away from where they are needed the most.
Quick fixes
Many organisations have spent the past couple of weeks assessing the impact of COVID-19 on their work. Activities have slowed down as staff are given time to adjust to the new situation and review their budgets and plans. So this is an opportunity to look at the small things that can make a sizable difference.
For example, by fixing the basics. User experience on a donation form can improve the income from donations by 10%. For example, an organisation has increased conversions from petition signature to donations from 10% to 30% by relentless testing and tweaking of petition thank-you pages. Another organisation has increased conversions on the donate form from 17% to 27% by redesigning the donation journey.
Maybe this is the time to look at your emails. Could they have clearer actions? Is this the moment to plan how to replace your newsletter with single topic emails? Can existing subscribers be reactivated rather than new ones recruited if your acquisition campaigns are paused?
Go back to your list of tweaks and fixes which has been languishing on a Trello board, review it and start fixing.
Be useful
A lot that’s not essential in our life is now out of reach, secondary or unimportant - from retail to entertainment offers. This trend is likely to extend to charitable giving (other than fundraising for the COVID-19 effort).
Now is not the time to try and get people to spend. It's time to provide people with what they need to get through this. Many brands are donating to the COVID-19 effort.
Many charities are moving more of their service provision online. But, if your organisation is not on the frontline of fighting the pandemic in the UK, you can still be useful.
Brewery and pub chain Brewdog is putting everything online - from their bars to recipes for diy beer. Save the Children is publishing tips and advice for parents on how to keep children entertained and stress-free. Greenpeace UK is campaigning for the post COVID-19 future which protects people and the environment.
Brands are making sure that they remain a part of people’s lives by staying true to what they are and by being useful, however small their intervention. This should be easy for nonprofits. It means going back to your organisation’s purpose and vision and bringing it to life for your supporters in the current reality.
Planning for the future
It’s clear that many organisations need to become more digitally mature to deal with times like this. So this may be a good time to assess the digital maturity of your organisation with your colleagues. Identify which digital competencies are strengths and where you need to do some work. Then create a plan. What can you do right now (maybe the quick fixes from before?) and what you can do in six and twelve months time?
Giving yourself time to think
This situation is making us wear all our hats all at once: professional, colleague, friend, leader, mentor, parent, daughter/son, sibling, grandchild, carer, teacher, yoga instructor, IT support, cook, accountant, odd jobs person… There are more but you get my point. It can feel overwhelming.
Allow yourself to not be as productive as you would be when life is normal. Taking it one day at a time is what works for me.
