“How to get noticed in your community” RANCH General Meeting Tuesday 16 February 2016 Sue Birch - RANCH Project Officer

Context Why? What do we need to learn? The 2014 Neighbourhood Houses survey rated “marketing” as the top professional development priority for RANCH houses Why? What do we need to learn?

Today’s tasks Identify and understand the role of marketing within a Neighbourhood House context Understand the relationship between marketing and community development Develop skills in designing a marketing strategy Increase knowledge of marketing methods and the importance of choosing strategic approaches Provide access to resources to support NHs to increase their capacity to develop, implement and evaluate marketing strategies.

What is marketing? Our Community help sheet What is Marketing, defines marketing as: “Marketing is about increasing positive awareness of your group and its good work. It is about communicating with your present support base – donors, members, sponsors, business partners, residents, clients and local decision-makers but also about increasing the number of people who support your group”

Marketing & Neighbourhood Houses What do NHs want to get “noticed for”? What do NHs need to “market” ? What do NHs need to “promote” ?

Marketing as a CD Process Community Identify Needs Clarify Objectives Identify Target Group Develop marketing action plan Implement plan Evaluate & measure results Why? Why? What? Who? Who? When? How?

Developing a Marketing Strategy 1. Know what you are marketing 2. Develop the message. 3. Identify the audience/Target group(s). 4. Identify the best methods 5. Develop an action plan 6. Monitor, review and evaluate

Example of a NH “Marketing Strategy” Communication Strategy Come to the NH We do lots of things The community What did we do last time? HELP !!!!What’s the deadline? Whew…well done everyone. we made it!!

Know What You Are Marketing What do you want to achieve? What is the specific purpose of this marketing strategy ? What are your objectives? (For example-To encourage, advocate, recruit, gain support, raise funds, raise awareness, …)

Developing your Message The messages you might want to convey can be separated into two types: general and specific. General messages can be classified as those which you want to convey most of the time. Specific messages are those messages you wish to convey that are directly related to a certain situation, activity, occasion or event.

Developing “General Messages” General messages relate to underlying themes, motivations, values and attitudes including: Your activities, what you do and why. Your beliefs, stances or philosophies. Your aims - what the NH is striving to do or be. Once these general themes or messages are clear, include them in as many of your communications as possible

Developing “Specific Messages” What is the specific message you are trying to convey? (For example - events, annual fundraising raffle or a successful funding application.) What are the important details that need to be included in the message? (For example- date, time, location of event, details about how funding will be used?) Are there different messages for different audiences and target groups? (For example – NH volunteers may be needed to help with event and this will need to be included in any messages directed at them)

Identifying the Target Group(s) Who is the target audience ? Why is this group a target group? Are there others? What do we know about the target group(s)? How do we currently engage with these groups?

Identify the Best Methods Word of mouth Utilising existing networks Flyers & posters, brochures Banners & signs, Stalls & static displays Newsletters Community art projects Community notice boards Local and metropolitan media (radio, newspapers and TV), Letters to politicians or the media, Internet Email. How can NHs identify the most useful communication method to reach the desired target audience? What factors will influence this choice?

Develop an Action Plan What will be done? When it will be done ? Who is responsible for doing it? How much it will cost? What resources are required?   What will the measurable projected outcome be? (How will we know that we have achieved our objectives?)

Monitor, Review and Evaluate By developing a detailed action plan, you will be able to assess progress at regular intervals and tick off specific tasks as they are completed on time or on budget. If your marketing strategy involves a budget, it is important to build in regular reviews to keep track of how much it is costing and to avoid overspending in the early stages of the strategy. Build some simple evaluation measures into the marketing strategy. This evaluation will help you assess how successful you have been in meeting your objectives. Identify what your group learned and what could possibly be improved next time.