Many nonprofit and advocacy organizations count on the engagement and involvement—not just the financial contributions—of the general public to help them achieve their objectives. But nonprofits often miss opportunities when soliciting this support because the approaches they use fail to get why people behave as they do when it comes to supporting social issues. Using a technique frequently employed by leading consumer-product companies called needs-based segmentation, nonprofits can generate insights into the public’s needs, motivations, and attitudes; classify people into distinct segments based on these insights; and tailor communications strategies to specific target segments accordingly.
This article, based on a yearlong research effort focused on Americans who support at least one major social issue, identifies seven distinct needs-based segments: community activists, issue-driven activists, borderline activists, pundits, neighborhood supporters, quiet followers, and self-interested actors. An accompanying infographic gives pertinent details about each of these segments, including the kinds of issues they care about, the messages they respond to, their demographic profiles, and how organizations can best engage them. The article also gives four recommendations for putting needs-based segmentation to work:
- Develop an issue-specific segmentation;
- Figure out who you’ve got;
- Tailor your requests; and
- Bring the segments to life.
The first two are optional activities that require investments in additional research but can yield powerful results; the last two are basic but essential steps every nonprofit should take.
Other related advocacy papers:
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Activists, Pundits, and Quiet Followers: Engaging the public in social issues |  |
Navigating the advocacy maze |