BC Cancer Case Study
The BC Cancer Foundation has a large and longstanding monthly donor program, regularly engaging supporters through annual telefundraising campaigns aimed at increasing monthly contributions. Stratcom has conducted many of these campaigns over a decade-long partnership with the foundation A persistent challenge has been the ‘Multiple Rejectors’ (MR) segment – donors who have consistently declined upgrade requests. This group’s response rate was notably lower, often a quarter of the ‘always yes’ segment. In the 2024 upgrade campaign, the MR segment comprised 20% of the contact list, prompting the need for a strategy to effectively engage these donors, or risk having to suppress them.
Net cost to acquire a donor was reduced
to $51.36
for the MR segment
Doubled 5-year ROI
for MR segment
Achieved a
21.2% response rate,
closely matching the standard campaign’s
23.6%
Stratcom designed a targeted campaign for the MR segment, distinct from the standard campaign. The approach included:
Shortened Script
The MR script was concise, designed to quickly get to the upgrade ask while driving a higher CPH.
Changing the Ask
The new script contained only one monthly upgrade ask which was lower than we would traditionally ask for on an upgrade program. This smaller upgrade was framed as equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.
Understanding Tone
Finally, the script made reference to the fact that we are aware that we have asked them before and highlighted the collective effort of all donors, fostering a sense of collaboration.
Our
Work
Stratcom designed a targeted campaign for the MR segment, distinct from the standard campaign. The approach included:
Shortened Script
The MR script was concise, designed to quickly get to the upgrade ask while driving a higher CPH.
Changing the Ask
The new script contained only one monthly upgrade ask which was lower than we would traditionally ask for on an upgrade program. This smaller upgrade was framed as equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee.
Understanding Tone
Finally, the script made reference to the fact that we are aware that we have asked them before and highlighted the collective effort of all donors, fostering a sense of collaboration.
The Results
The test campaign produced notable improvements. The MR segment’s response rate was 21.2%, nearly matching the standard campaign’s 23.6%. The new approach also resulted in a marked difference in the net cost to acquire a donor, from $89.45 for the standard campaign to $51.36 for the MR group. Additionally, the months-to-breakeven (MBE) for both programs were very close with 8 MBE for the standard program and 10 for the MR program. Finally, our hunch that there would be donors that would agree to give more than the asked-for $3 was correct, and the campaign had an average gift size of $4.84. Overall, the MR segment was successfully re-engaged, and the campaign demonstrated that this new strategy could bring significant value to future upgrade campaigns.
Connect with us
Register to hear from our team.