Consumers trust charities more than any other business sector to handle their data safely but more than half would stop donating if the organisation contacted them too often, according to a new study.
The REaD Group’s Consumer Attitudes Report 2012 explains that charities have come under scrutiny in the past for the way in which they have handled their supporter and prospect data. But research indicates that 66% of consumers place high levels of trust in the way charities handle their personal data, which is in stark contrast to financial institutions who were least trusted by 40% of consumers. This is identical with the statistics derived from the 2010 research on the part of charities, which suggest a constant consumer perception of their data management.
However, 53% of respondents said they would stop donating if a charity contacted them too often, followed by badly targeted mailings (47%) and money being spent on marketing (43%).
Asked about their favourite method of communication with charities, 55% said they would prefer to receive no communication at all from a charity with which they did not have an existing relationship.
Email was the most popular method chosen by those that did want communication, chosen by 17% of respondents, followed by direct mail on 16%.
When respondents were asked whom they would be most likely to complain to if they were dissatisfied with a communication from a charity, 51% said they would not complain to anyone.
Asked how they would react if a charity they donated to regularly sent a mailing through the post with incorrect personal details, 63% said they would tell the charity of the error. But while 19% would do nothing, 18% said they would be less likely to donate to the charity in the future and 5% said they would cancel their donation.
The report stated: “Dissatisfied supporters still don’t like complaining to a charity and may withdraw their support or cease making financial donations if the situation does not improve, which gives the charity little scope to rectify problems
“This suggests that consumers might not be sure of how best to address a complaint against a charity’s marketing, or perhaps they feel their complaints are falling on deaf ears.”
