Email marketing and online communication are critical components of generating donations and organizing volunteers for any nonprofit organization; and Pardot can be a powerful tool to help automate and streamline the communication process. However, to take full advantage of Pardot, your organization should be using certain features of Pardot and should make sure that Pardot is implemented correctly.
We’ve worked with numerous nonprofits to implement Pardot and migrate Pardot from other solutions, as well as consult on marketing strategies and best practices. Below, we’ll share some findings and Pardot tips from our work.
Implement Pardot Marketing Data Sharing, if your nonprofit has a large number of records
One of our clients, a large nonprofit committed to fighting cancer, had over 25 million records that were duplicated in Salesforce and Pardot. (The duplication was caused by an incorrect Salesforce and Pardot integration performed by another SI, but that’s another story for another time.)
The duplication of records was wreaking havoc on the staff and brought all Pardot email marketing to a halt. The staff wasn’t able to communicate with donors, members, or volunteers and was ready to cancel its Salesforce and Pardot accounts. Invado implemented Pardot Marketing Data Sharing (MDS) to create rules that would dictate the flow of records. Essentially, MDS controls which Salesforce Leads and Contacts should have a corresponding Prospect in Pardot, so records that aren’t needed in Pardot aren’t unnecessarily duplicated there.
Use the Nonprofit Success Pack, if your nonprofit is new to Nonprofit Cloud
The Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) is part of Nonprofit Cloud as a free add-on managed package. It allows your nonprofit to manage the relationship between donors and volunteers, offering visibility into people, funds and outcomes. Invado implemented NPSP at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street. Sesame Workshop used NPSP to increase its donations and was able to track the increase through the reporting and analytics offered by NPSP.
Use Pardot to Vet your Volunteers
In the B2B world, marketers know that leads travel through a marketing funnel to move from awareness to consideration to evaluation to purchase. (There could be, and most of the time are, more steps to the funnel, but you get the gist.) In the nonprofit sector, we can use this same thought process to move donors and volunteers through similar stages of commitment. Pardot can help automate the nurturing of these leads by scoring and grading them based on their actions. Grades are based on explicit information about the prospect (industry, title, company size, etc.) whereas scores are based on implicit activities (pages viewed, forms completed, etc.) performed. Grade shows how well a prospect fits your ideal prospect profile.
One of Invado’s clients, Mercy Ships, relies heavily on missionary volunteers. Mercy Ships is a global nonprofit committed to providing healthcare to underserved nations through non-governmental hospital ships. The ships conduct surgery and medical training to citizens and doctors of more than 75 nations in the world. Volunteers have anywhere from a two-week to two-year assignment so it’s critical that volunteers are vetted to ensure they are serious candidates. Invado developed a marketing automation strategy and implemented it within the platform using Pardot scoring and grading so Mercy Ships could easily see the level of commitment of each of the volunteers. The higher the score, the more committed the volunteer.
Implement Scoring and Grading to Streamline Fundraising
Just as we used scoring and grading to vet volunteers, we can also use Pardot scoring and grading to help with fundraising efforts. Each time the prospective donor takes an action with your online communications, they are given a score. The higher the score, the more likely they will donate. More importantly, your team can contact and target only those potential donors that have a high score, saving time and effort for your organization.
Partner with the right Pardot Consultant
Having the right technology in place is essential, but knowing how to use it is even more important. Invado has consulted with numerous organizations on Pardot tips and support, marketing strategies and execution. We build relationships with our clients and train them on Pardot and Salesforce, so they are set up for long-term success. With many of our clients, we have come after another Pardot SI, either fixing an implementation or migration issue or guiding the client on best practices. It’s imperative to thoroughly interview your Pardot consultant to make sure the consultancy has the expertise that you need for your specific situation, and to make sure you and your staff connect with the consultancy on a personal level.
If your nonprofit needs help with setting up Pardot or Pardot implementation, please contact us today. We’d love to hear from you.
One last note – Salesforce is hosting a virtual Nonprofit Summit on April 21, 2021. This looks like a great opportunity to learn more about using Salesforce for your nonprofit. Learn more about it here.
