Nonprofit Market Segments

Photo by Tyler Lagalo

How do you understand and/or see your market segments?

Your market segments represents the different people groups, neighborhoods, communities, and organizations which make up the particular audience with which you hope to serve, partner, and co-create. Every community reflects a unique context where people groups gather for social, economic, professional, and personal reasons.

Each market segment is nuanced by our human interaction, while our assumptions are drawn from the many biases and lenses through which we view the world. Though there may be general reasons people are found together in certain areas (e.g., political preference, ethnicity), there also may be varying degrees that are not clearly perceived.

In order to better understand common ground, behaviors, priorities, and other attributes, we must first understand the many cultures and subcultures that make up our communities. Reviewing basic demographics will shape perception, requiring you to unpack assumptions. When we put people in compartments, we can make the mistake of sweeping assumptions (e.g., millennials are self-absorbed and entitled, Gen-Xers are the slacker generation, or Baby Boomers are the real problem). Surface assumptions and implicit bias can sabotage your strategies. This is why we have to uncover our assumptions and engage our target audience through deep listening. Relationships are key.

When you begin to identify the market you might serve there are a number of ways to categorize these segments. This is particularly important when you begin to work through your business model and how market segments intersect and support the mission of your organization. Steve Zimmerman offers a more holistic view of the nonprofit market and how different segments relate to the organization. Zimmerman uses the image of a “market wheel” to describe the intersection points nonprofits must consider. He describes the five components* of the “market wheel” segments as follows:

• Direct Beneficiaries (those who use the organization’s products or services)

• Other Beneficiaries/Funders (wider groups who benefit from the organization’s efforts, values, ideals, etc.)

• Other Organizations (both for-profit and nonprofit partners who might share the target audiences)

• Input/Labor Market (representing the human capital of staff, volunteers, board members, etc.)

• Political/Social Environment (the environment that influences the organization’s ability to achieve its mission)

The components Zimmerman highlights will certainly shape your business model. He reminds us that the single most important driving component influencing strategies the most is that of your direct beneficiaries. The people who benefit from the products/services your organization can provide the best information you will collect. This allows you and your leaders to shape strategy and measure impact more effectively. Again, deep listening is key. It’s why community organizing strategies can  be valuable to understanding your market segments.

Gathering people together, empowering their gifts, and mobilizing them at the grassroots level to act together are the basic tenants of community organizing. The initial interaction and learning within our market segments actually begins by developing relationships that matter. Our interaction with identified target audiences is the bedrock for building a business model that actually makes a difference and changes circumstances in our communities. What we learn, the relationships we establish, and the actions that develop, point toward what can be — a vision.

* Steve Zimmerman, “Community Influences: Understanding Nonprofit Markets,” Nonprofit Quarterly, https://nonprofitquarterly.org/community-influences-understanding-nonprofit-markets/ (accessed December 29, 2020).

Building Your Team

Your team is more important than you might realize. Cultivating a space where people can bring their best selves and feel they are contributing to something beyond their individual orientation is both powerful and attractive. A good team culture within your organization not only allows you to collectively “move the needle” of measured impact, but it also will attract top talent that aligns with your vision and values.

Check out what we had to say about the importance of team in our book SUSTAINABLE ENGAGEMENT: Strategic Planning for Positive Social Change:

You cannot do this work alone, successfully. You can initiate it, but to think you can take on this work, scale it, and create something sustainable and meaningful on your own is a fool’s errand. While the necessity of a team should go without saying, I want to take this opportunity to remind you that it’s not just about forming a team; it’s also about the cultural ethos you create. A spirit of collaboration is critical.

Things to keep in mind when building your team:

You definitely need a team you trust, and with whom you collaborate, cast your vision, hold one another accountable, and refine how you articulate the value proposition. Here are some things to consider:

1. Understand what you are after — Knowing your vision and mission is the centerpiece to building a solid team. If you do not know what your end-game is — your mission — you will not be able to engage and partner with committed team members. Your team members must buy-in to the vision and mission and be willing to carry that torch with you.

2. Culture and intercultural competency — Your team needs to reflect the people groups you are trying to engage and your communication and decision-making processes must reflect equity and agency for those groups. Not only is it important to understand culture from multiple perspectives — organizational culture, cultural self-awareness, racial and ethnic identities, among others — but also it is vital to the formation of your team. Intercultural competency should be foundational to the work we do and, therefore, must rest at the center of forming a solid team. Shifting from individualism to the collective and common good of all has to be inseparable from considerations around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

3. Deconstructing a colonial mindset — Colonization is embedded within American culture. Therefore, if it is not considered and addressed in the formation of your team, conformity and assimilation will impede innovation. Moreover, it will limit your team’s ability to bring their full self to the work. If not addressed, dominance and exploitation become central. In contrast, a decolonized team represents, honesty, integrity, transparency in communication, and respect.

4. Gifts and experience — You and I are incapable of doing everything, which also means there are some areas in our skill sets that are either deficient or nonexistent. Surround yourself with qualified people who are gifted in ways you are not. Experience matters.

5. Refine your vision — Culture is always emerging — the world and our collective circumstances are shifting. As you navigate the ever-changing landscape, and while also refining your vision, make sure you stay focused on the vision. And make sure this translates to the areas of focus for each of your team members.

6. Celebrate the opportunities that difference brings — It is vital to become hyperaware that there are new ways of doing, thinking, and being in the world. A diverse team that is fully engaged brings about diverse opportunities and innovative strategy. This is especially important around influencing social policy.

7. A spirit of collaboration — While good team members are driven, egos must be checked at the door. A spirit of collaboration is paramount for an effective team. Strong teams fail together and succeed together. It’s not about you.

For a copy of the book, check out the following link: https://sustinerigroup.co/sustainable_engagement_book