There’s been a tidal wave of change for nonprofits and small businesses. The U.S. adult population is becoming progressively younger, and time spent on …

the Internet runs a close second to time spent watching television. In fact, if Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest nation on the planet, having over 500 million active subscribers. Todays pace of technological advancements is staggering, and economic forecasts are in flux. That’s why it’s more important than ever for nonprofit organizations to connect with brand relevance in this brave new world. So, what should nonprofits and small businesses do to adapt to this sea of change?

CEO’s, boards, and ministry leaders of America’s 1.5 million charities must think differently about brand planning than they did even five yers ago. Yet, for many the area of branding remains elusive. A paradigm shift around brand planning is essential. Too often we think of branding as a visual an tonal expression of an organizational message. It’s easy to forget that branding isn’t really about logos, color pallets, or slogans. These are simply tactics to support brand strategy. At its core, a brand is a promise made and branding is everything the organization does to fulfill the promise. Direct response marketing focuses on stimulating a response to take a specific course of action within a well defined timeframe. In other words, to immediately act upon the brand message sent and received.

To build your brand to maximize your organization’s fundraising and development, it is important that your brand marketing messages work synergistically with your direct response marketing messages. A communications message built in the absence of good strong donor insights rests on a faulty foundation. Increase your investment of time and energy in the development of your branded direct response initiatives. Doing so will help you build the type of brand advocacy most likely to weather a Tsunami of change.