Three practical case studies of RMT in Prospect Research
These examples aren't particularly flashy, but they are real and happened to me personally in my usage of RMT. While I don't have any specific dollar figures to throw out there in terms of concrete ROI, I believe that you will quickly be able to see your institution in these examples and estimate the potential. If you have your own RMT success stories, please send them on! Let's show everyone how wonderful a tool this is!
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Post-Wealth Screening
Like many shops, after we did a wealth/capacity screening of our database, we began to sift through the data. The top records were verified and used as a basis to determine proper DO assignments, unearth new connections, get to know more about our current top donors and so on. However, there were individuals in our database that we did not know at all. Some had made tribute gifts years ago. Others were added because at one time they were probably suspects. In short, we had a lot of dead-ends.
Shortly after we purchased our subscription to MarketVisual, we needed to find a new "fresh" prospect for our CEO, so we dug back into our wealth screening data and started to map connections to some of those high net-worth dead ends. Within the hour, we were able to provide our CEO with a brand new qualified prospect complete with his full entourage of connections.
Current Donor Connections
While updating some research profiles on current donors, I wanted to add a relationship map to their database records. Creating this map uncovered connections between these individuals and companies that we had not known they were affiliated with. This extra knowledge is helpful for all frontline fundraisers to be aware of when asking donors for connections to others that may be interested in your institution.
Without a relationship map, development officers are asking donors who they know. With a relationship map, you already know who they know and who YOU want to know that's connected to them. Isn't it better to ask Mr. Donor R. Jones to connect you with Bill Smacks, Phil Johnson, and Betty Bigbucks rather than asking him for connections and hoping that he'll suggest someone that's qualified and connected? With relationship maps, you have a much better idea of who the bigger fish are in your donor's pond and can ask for them by name.
Circles of Influence
One prospect that I was researching had absolutely no data in MarketVisual that was connected to him. His name didn't even show up. But, I had a bio of him from his company website that referenced several organizations to which he belonged. I found those organizations in MarketVisual and was able to create a map with potential connections.
Summary of Usage
The actionable point for every relationship map is to get to individuals or companies that you don't have a direct connection to. It could be a foundation or a corporate sponsor potential and you need a warm connection. It could be those past donors that no one knows. It could be mapping "around" someone to find the right person to make the introduction. Or, it could be background information for your CEO so that he can have an intelligent and informed conversation - knowing where to step and where not to.