Yes, it’s true. They don’t care. It’s not their fault. Here’s why they don’t care and what you can do about it.
1. They haven’t heard of you.
In order to care, they must know your organization. It’s the first step to the relationship. If you want them to care, start by building awareness. Then follow it up with more direct outreach efforts. Don’t be tempted to communicate to all audiences. Rather, find out who is most worth talking to and ramp up outreach efforts to that group.
2. They don’t understand what you do.
They’ve heard of you, but have no idea what you do. Or if they know what you do, they’re not clear what impact you have. Make sure you are communicating not only what you do, but why it matters. Your organization needs to be more than a laundry list of programs and services. Your organization needs to be a solution to a problem. Make sure you are communicating with a clearly and consisely what sets your organization apart and the impact it makes.
3. They aren’t moved.
There’s not a lot you can do about this. Even if people have heard of your organization and understand what you do and how it impacts others, they may not be invested in your mission. That’s okay. Keep communicating and find the people who are moved.
4. You don’t care about them.
You say, “But we do care!” That may be true, but your audience might not be feeling it. If people reach out to you and don’t get a response, they will assume you don’t care. If you are going to reach out, make sure you take care of those who care enough to reach back.
5. They did care, but not anymore.
This may be the worst situation. You had them, and you lost them. This can be caused by a variety of reasons. Some people move on and find new interests. Just make sure the reason they left wasn’t because they didn’t feel valued or supported by your organization. If this happens, it will take much more effort to get the person back than if you treated them right in the first place.
Here’s the good news.
The reasons people don’t care are mostly based on how well your organization is communicating. This means that if you communicate better, more people will care. Make sure you are communicating your message clearly, concisely and often to the audiences that matter most.
What, you want more?
Dip into our Candybowl for lots of sweet ideas on how to communicate your cause. If you want help with getting people to care, contact us.