It's long been a standard industry-best practice for callers to update demographic information as part of their calling responsibilities. Addresses, employment information, and more recently e-mail addresses have been the norm. But to keep up with the increasingly difficult assignment of staying in touch with alumni, parents, and friends, callers now need to be assertively capturing cell phone numbers from prospectsto stay ahead of the curve and maximize the chances for maintaining and improving phonathon results. There are a few main reasons for this:
1) Stating the obvious, cell phones are replacing land lines across all demographic groups, but most prevalently withyoung alumni. Other than Internet based phone lines through the cable company or Vonage, how many people age 30 or under do you know that hook up land lines? Maybe a few, but the vast, vast majority are using cell-phone only technology. If we are to grow our programs effectively and target donor acquisition as a major goal, then we need to stack our development databases with cell phone numbers since phonathon is the primary donor acquisition tool in annual giving.
2) Phone number portability laws, contracts, and unlimited minutes (an increasing trend in most cell phone company plan portfolios) mean that most people transfer their numbersto another carrier rather than disconnect service and sign up when they move. I predict that people will start to use their cell phone number like a social security number. In a mobile society, a cell phone number will be like a identity marker that proudly displays your hometown and tells people where you are from. How many people do you know that kept their hometown area code and phone number when they moved out of state?
3) Technology will change the way we view "phone numbers". The future is already here in many ways. Cell phones have become mp3 players, personal organizers, computers, e-mail and instant messenger senders, cameras and video recorders, televisions/video players, and of course...phones. The possibilities are only going to improve as technology improves, meaning that colleges and universities will soon be using the cell phone as the primary contact mechanism for theirr alumni. In fact, I see text messaging becoming an important alumni relations tool in the near future, alerting constituents to current events, registration opportunities for alumni activities, and general stewardship. And yes, I do foresee a time when text messaging will be used for solicitation, though we're not there yet. But that is coming soon enough, I believe.
Need an example of an organization using cell phones in innovative ways? Look no further than Barack Obama's campaign. Obama's team used cell phone numbers to push text messages to potentialvoters in my home state of Iowa, telling them when the polls opened and how to get to their caucus site. The result- an 8 point Obama victory on his way to the nomination. They also registered tens of thousands of young people at the DNC in Denver this past August, meaning that these volunteers will be receiving text messages on the eve of the election to be used in organizing their family and friends and getting out the vote. In fairness, the other presidential campaigns did this too- just not as well. If colleges and university development offices want to stay on the cutting edge and develop better relationships, they will need to communicate with recent graduates in the language they speak. Put away the direct mail and start using technology as the primary contact mechanism.
The Cell Phone Ask
Since a reliable and productive cell-phone research product is not yet the norm, and because every day that an institution waits to update this information is an opportunity lost, I am encouraging all the colleges and universities I speak with to have their callers directly capture the cell phone during the call. This process might sound something like this early in the call:
Did I reach you on your cell phone or home phone?
If they say "home phone" the callers would reply with the following:
Can I go ahead and get your cell phone number to update our alumni records?
The callers would say this in an assumptive and confident fashion, causing no reason for the alumni to pause and fear giving it out. The overall goal is to add as many cell phones as possible, making future campaigns more productive. Even if you add just 3 cell phones out of 10 contacted alumni, you're making substantial progress in building your database.
Some institutions are also using student emergency records to update alumni information as soon as the student graduates. Many colleges and universities have emergency contact information in case of a tragedy on campus. They will text message alerts to students during crisis situations and they need cell phones to do that. Since most students will not change their cell phones following graduation, getting the number before they leave campus ensures you can contact them once they depart. While it's always good to check with your legal department to be certain you are not violating any privacy laws, this is also a good way to get quality demographic information on your most recent graduates in your database without an exhaustive search process.
Good phonathon managers have one eye on the present and one eye on the future. The time spent on gathering and updating cell phone information is an investment, not an expense. Don't' be afraid to be innovative and push the envelope. Strategies such as these will pay dividends for years to come.
