One of the most common struggles we hear from nonprofit leaders is how to reach audiences more effectively. But how can you emotionally connect with your audiences and inspire their support if you don’t know what they need and want?
The only way to know for sure is to ask.
At Round Square, we spend a lot of time working to understand our partners’ audiences and what motivates and limits their engagement. One of the ways we do this is through audience interviews. This involves talking to dozens of stakeholders to ensure our clients’ strategies are informed by the people they’re intended to cultivate and engage.
Who Should You Interview?
Stakeholders for audience interviews should include individuals most impacted by your organization or those you’re working to engage. Typically, this is staff, board members, volunteers, donors, mission content experts, and those who benefit from your mission services.
It’s important to select an array of interviewees who will provide both positive and constructive feedback. Hearing from stakeholders who may feel frustrated or from donors who have stopped supporting your organization can be especially helpful for making adjustments to your strategies and obtaining balanced insights. Likewise, it’s critical to select a diverse group of stakeholders who represent different backgrounds, gender identities, ages, races, ethnicities and lived experiences.
Finally, we recommend interviewing your nonprofit stakeholders once per year to keep a pulse on their needs and optimize your communication strategies. Having a third-party consultant or agency oversee and conduct audience interviews can help remove bias and ensure honest, confidential results.
Five Questions to Ask in Audience Interviews
Our audience interviews typically last between 45 to 60 minutes and take place on Zoom, where we can record and transcribe the conversation for deeper analysis. While we ask many questions depending on the organization and objectives, we consistently ask these five questions in nearly every conversation we facilitate:
- How would you describe [Organization Name] to someone who isn’t familiar with it, say a new neighbor who moves onto your street or a person you meet at a dinner party?
- Of all the things [Organization Name] does, what do you think it is best at? What would you like to see it do differently or better?
- How do you think the community perceives [Organization Name]?
- What is the number one reason you stay involved with/donate to/volunteer with [Organization Name]?
- From your perspective, what does ultimate success look like for [Organization Name]?
Audience interviews are a helpful first step before developing quantitative survey instruments to refine questions and messaging. Furthermore, in addition to the many insights audience interviews can provide, they also go a long way toward cultivating those you ask to participate. By simply being invited to lend their voice, donors, supporters and other organizational stakeholders often feel valued.
And you know what they say:
If you ask for money, expect advice. If you want money, ask for advice. 😉
What would you like to better understand about your audiences right now? Contact us and share your thoughts and needs with us.
Jesica D’Avanza is an award-winning communications leader who works at the intersection of brand and business strategy to enhance our lives and improve our world. As owner and chief strategy officer at Round Square, she applies two decades of experience in brand and communications strategy to transform nonprofit brands for greater relevance, resonance and results. Contact Jesica.