Insights
You’ve made it through digital transformation. Now, look forward to pushing digital further with smaller, optimisation projects
Digital transformation journeys are changing the charity landscape. Organisations are no longer confined to in-person meetings and cumbersome IT operations. But once the transformation is over, what’s next?
Digital optimisations make efficiencies out of transformational change. For charities, it’s important to be aware of what the opportunities are.
“Digital transformation is an ever-evolving process, as new and more efficient technologies take over the less efficient,” says Ioan Marc Jones from Charity Digital. In simple terms, digital transformation is a journey from one technology to the next.
Digital optimisation is about making tweaks or improvements to existing technology. Forbes Magazine puts it simply: “An alternative to the ‘revolutionary’ method [of transformation], digital optimization is more of an ‘evolutionary’ path. With its moderate scale and incremental changes to business processes, it may seem less frightening and budget-heavy.” Optimisation means making low-cost and small improvements to systems and processes.
Many charities have already digitised their operations. Making the most out of existing technology is what makes sense and is cost effective.
Constituent relationship management (CRM) systems are prime targets for digital optimisation projects. First, establish that staff are in the habit of creating records of interactions. Think about how the data can be arranged to create informative reports and analyses. Knowing where donations are coming from and targeting specific audiences are just some of the benefits. Over time, you can even identify trends.
When it comes to decision-making, it’s about leveraging the information you’ve collected. Dan Probert from Camfed, a women empowerment NGO, says:
“With a single dashboard, we can access the data that feeds executive decision-making for example, the number of students receiving support in the current academic year or the number of CAMA graduates in each country. We can look at performance, retention and progression rates. This insight helps us deliver more successful outcomes.”
For charities looking to use their CRM systems in clever ways, Camfed provides a good case study. For them Salesforce not only digitised operations but is helping to answer strategic questions with evidence.
With most charities already communicating with audiences online, digital marketing is another area of opportunity.
Enhancing emails for mobile improves reach. Charities are realising that emails are viewed on large and small screens. As part of your optimisation project, look at how emails can be improved.
That could be as simple as ensuring that the screen resolution works for mobile. Better yet, make sure that images and fonts resize for mobile users. Maximising email signatures by including links to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook is another way to optimise.
Increasing the use of personalisation is another avenue to push forward with. Next generation personalisation customises messages and tailors them for specific groups. To make email campaigns even more successful, include details about previous experiences or mine social media for custom emails. Remember to leverage CRM systems for data you own.
For digital teams, our top tip here is to include links to webpages. If there are errors on your emails, it’s best to include an ‘Open the web version’ link so that mobile users can tap into your perfected webpage.
One of the most challenging aspects of digital transformation is bringing information online. Headscape, a digital specialist, says: “Digital has become complex, with websites, intranets, social media, mobile and more. Redesigning your site every few years is not going to allow you to compete in the digital economy.” Audiences expect charities to design savvy websites and to keep up to date with the latest tech developments.
The Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) recently gave its website a facelift. Working with Headscape, the charity wanted to reflect its international impact, partnerships, and influence on a global stage. This meant updating the older website, which was geared towards volunteer recruitment. The charity also wanted to link together its regional websites.
To optimise on design and experience, VSO upgraded to the latest Drupal web content manager. The new website connected international VSO sites together, improving the user experience. The team also synchronised the website’s application process with Salesforce’s volunteer management system.
At the end of the project, VSO strengthened its online image and improved the volunteer application process.
Small changes are part of digital optimisation. They don’t need to be as exhausting or as expensive when compared with wholesale change. The take home message is simple. Digital optimisation is about making tweaks to existing technology for the better.
Join us on the 14th of May for our Q&A session. It will provide a whistlestop tour of Microsoft Copilot’s key capabilities, how they can help charities, and answer all your burning questions around Microsoft’s AI service.