I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to be a mystery shopper. It’s not just the shopping part – which I love to do – it’s the opportunity to give feedback on the customer experience.
We need to take time to think of our donors as customers – people who buy into our mission and the amazing work we’re doing to make our community a better place. Customers who we want to engage in our mission and become repeat customers. A great place to start is your online giving.
When is the last time you made an online gift to your organization? What about a gift from your mobile device? It’s probably not something you, your board members or your other staff members do on a regular basis.
Today, I challenge you to do a little mystery shopping of your own and make an online gift to your organization (bonus points if you try this from your mobile device). Here are some things to look for as you complete the process:
- Could you easily find the ‘donate now’ button?
- How many clicks did it take you to get to the actual give page?
- Does your form ask for too much information that isn’t needed? (You probably need way less than you think.)
- How easy was the process as a whole?
- Were stories and pictures used on the give page to make you feel connected the mission? (This is a great place for a short case for support.)
- Could you make a gift in memory or honor of someone (and get the proper recognition to the family or individual)?
- Does the landing page after clicking ‘submit’ make you feel good about your giving? (It should NOT go to a blank page.)
- Is the emailed receipt timely and accurate?
- Did you receive some kind of communication afterwards?
- Does someone in your organization pay attention to online gifts and make personal contact?
- Were you added to the donor database?
- How did the whole process make you feel? (Frustrated isn’t a good answer here.)
- If you’re using your mobile device, could you complete the process in an easy way?(You shouldn’t have to contort your phone all around and zoom in and out.)
Note: Google offers a free tool to test if your website is mobile friendly: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/. This is a good place to start, but won’t speak for your online giving specifically.
Once you complete your mystery shopping, make notes of the improvements that could be made. Don’t feel like you need to fix it all right away – use your findings to make changes as you can starting with the most crucial. Just don’t put them off forever; you don’t want to lose a gift because someone found your online giving process to be too much work.
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