Over the years I've found that most nonprofit leaders make the following two key mistakes when approaching marketing:
They forget that a high quality program/service is their best marketing tool.
They jump immediately to creating a web site, brochure, logo, etc. without thinking more critically about the audience they're trying to market to.
With that in mind, I created a simple one-page marketing plan template to help my nonprofit clients approach marketing. This template does two things:
It reinforces the marketing importance of a high quality program/service.
It provides the following set of simple questions to help you clarify your market and tactics:
Who, specifically, is your organization's target client/customer?
What, specifically, are their key needs that your organization can meet?
How, specifically, does your organization uniquely meet their key needs?
How, specifically, will you tell your target clients that your organization can uniquely meet their needs (web site, network alliances, email newsletter, etc.)?
You can download the template here: One-page Marketing Plan Template. Note that these questions aren't original to me. I learned a variation of these questions from Robert Middleton, a marketing expert that's been in the business for thirty years. His practical and timeless advice has helped tens-of-thousands of people worldwide gain greater clarity about their marketing efforts. Of course, there's a lot more to marketing than simply captured on this template. But I hope that you find the template's focus and simplicity helpful.