Articulating your nonprofit’s primary audience may be harder – and more important – than you think.
As part of any strategic planning session, I will ask a nonprofit’s leaders, “Who is your nonprofit’s primary audience?” There is often a palpable pause. I can almost read their minds: “Of course we know the answer! Surely it is obvious?” Then they realize they don’t have an answer on the tip of their tongue. Sometimes they’ll begin listing audiences and then have difficulty narrowing it down. Or, just as common, they will describe their primary audience and then realize that they are describing their funders and not the people they serve.
Taking this one step farther, if you emailed your volunteers and stakeholders right now and asked them this question, would they all give you a consistent answer? Unless you have done the work to hone the answer, and then shared the result across your organization, I think you will be surprised by the wide-ranging answers you will get.
But does it really matter? I would say, decidedly, yes.
Why does a well-articulated primary audience matter to a nonprofit?
When your primary audience is well defined:
Goal setting becomes easier. What actions and programs/services will help your primary audience the most?
Resource allocation falls into place. When you see your primary audience clearly, the programs that will help them most become your top priorities.
Messaging will naturally become more focused and effective. The more you can articulate the goals of your constituents vs. the goals of your funders, and craft messages that resonate with each, the more effective you will be at moving and motivating them.
A common purpose is unifying. When your volunteers can readily articulate the primary group you serve, it will not only help them feel more connected to and focused on your mission, but it will also help your volunteers more effectively recruit other volunteers to help.
How can you determine your nonprofit’s primary audience?
I have a few tips:
Don’t limit the exercise to just a few people. Getting the answers of a wide variety of volunteers and stakeholders can help ensure you don’t miss something. You might even use a tool like SurveyMonkey to gather responses to your question: “Who do you think is the primary audience for our nonprofit?”
Whittle the responses down to a few. Once you’ve done that, the real work begins.
Separate the primary audience from secondary audiences. When you believe you’ve come to a consensus on your nonprofit’s primary audience, keep returning to it and keep it top-of-mind as you work on other planning. If your resource and program development decisions align naturally and comfortably with the primary audience you’ve articulated, that’s a great sign you’ve nailed it.
Get the word out. Once you feel confident you have effectively articulated your primary audience, circulate the statement out to your volunteers and stakeholders. You can all use it as a sort of “north star” to guide your work.
The More Than Giving Company can help you run an effective strategic planning session or a stand-alone focus group to define your primary audience. Learn more by scheduling a complimentary initial consultation call with Vicki.