is there a difference between supporter care in the not-for-profit sector and customer service in the private sector?

There are some essential differences between private and not-for-profit organisations. Although the situation is changing in relation to private businesses, not-for-profits are subject to much greater public scrutiny than the private sector. People are quite rightly extremely interested in what you do, and what impact you have and how much money you need to spend to create that impact.  We discussed earlier that voluntary organisations need an excess of revenue over expenses in order to survive and deliver on their charitable objectives, and charities definitely compete with each other in terms of persuading people to give their time, money and other resources. 

Despite the differences between private and not-for-profit, the principles of customer service absolutely apply to supporter care or donor care. The quality and effectiveness of supporter care is a critical factor in the acquisition and retention of supporters.  People want an inspiring and positive customer experience, whether they’re an institutional donor or an individual member of the public who gives their time, money or other resources. Charities, therefore, need to work just as hard as private companies to understand, attract and retain their customers, albeit for different reasons.

An analysis of complaints against UK charities that I've read recently shows that the things that people complain about include the “pushy attitudes” of requests to increase the level of their giving or to persuade their friends to donate.  It’s not that they necessarily object to doing what’s being asked of them, it’s the manner of the person doing the asking.  Other common complaints include not being able to get a response to their questions and no one taking ownership. These are all classic customer service issues and organisations' performance in these areas can be transformed through applying the principles of good customer service.

The majority of ActionAid's supporters stay with us for 10 years or more. Quality of supporter experience is an even bigger theme in our new strategy.  As an example of an inspiring supporter experience, I'd really recommend that you look at the Get Lippy videos on our website that show the emotionally rich connections we've created between supporters and the women we're enabling and empowering in developing countries to address the issues of poverty and discrimination that they face.