Relationship Marketing (RM) and
The Volunteer Life Cycle
Deborah Forbes
Newcastle University
Sports Volunteering Research Network
April 2013
Content
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Background to Volunteer research
Relationship Marketing defined
The VLC explained
Sector specific
The future?
The 4 W’s
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What is a volunteer - defined
Who is a volunteer - characteristic's
Why do they volunteer - motivation
Where do they volunteer - context
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Bussell, H., & Forbes, D. (2002). Understanding the volunteer market: The what, where, who
and why of volunteering. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing,
7(3), 244-257.
What is Relationship Marketing
• RM is a set of marketing activities
oriented to establishing, developing,
maintaining and terminating relational
exchanges (Morgan & Hunt 1994)
• RM aims to establish, develop and
maintain relationships with clients (Berry
1995)
The Volunteer Lifecycle explained
The Customer Relationship Life Cycle
(Gronroos, 2000 p.237)
The Volunteer Lifecycle
1. Determinants of volunteering (corresponding
to Gronroos’ initial stage)
2. The decision to volunteer (purchasing stage)
3. Volunteer activity (consumption process)
4. The committed volunteer (repeat purchase)
1. Determinants of volunteering
• Raising awareness/ promote
• AIDA
– I go to supermarkets, health centres. I give talks to
church groups. I put up posters, …visit leisure
centres...I would say that the most successful is
the leisure centre because people there have a lot
of free time
HOW
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word of mouth
leaflets and other printed media
using Volunteer Centre databases
organising or speaking at events during Volunteer Week
press / radio adverts
online - on your own website and via volunteer recruitment
websites.
– Research shows that web users are incredibly fickle. Unless highly
motivated, if they can't find what they want in a few seconds they will
go elsewhere
– Not everyone likes the word volunteering, but almost everyone knows
what it means. If you are looking to recruit on your site and you don't
have a link to volunteering in a prominent position then you are in
danger of losing a sizeable number of potential volunteers
2. The decision to volunteer
• Dialogue
• Evaluation
• Fit
3. Volunteer activity
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Volunteer management
Engagement
‘We don’t party enough’
‘one size does not fit all’.
Episodic volunteer
– Episodic volunteering has been called “one of the
fastest growing trends in the field of
volunteerism” (Cnaan & Handy, 2005, p. 29).
• Traditional volunteer
=
The committed volunteer
• Retention
• Loyalty
• Identification
RELATIONSHIPS IN THE VOLUNTEER
LIFE CYCLE
Bussell and Forbes (2005)The Theatre
Volunteer Lifecycle
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Re-activate
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Identification
Seek different organisation
Need change
Need Unfulfilled
Lack of time
Access
DFC
Any Questions
Sources/ Additional Reading
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Bussell, H., & Forbes, D. (2002). Understanding the volunteer market: The what,
where, who and why of volunteering. International Journal of Nonprofit and
Voluntary Sector Marketing, 7(3), pp. 244-257.
Bussell, H. & Forbes, D. (2003). The Volunteer Life Cycle: a marketing model for
volunteering. Voluntary Action, 5(3), pp. 61–79.
Bussell, H., & Forbes, D. (2006). Developing relationship marketing in the voluntary
sector. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 15(1-2), pp. 151-174.
Bussell, H., & Forbes, D. (2007). Volunteer management in arts organizations: A
case study and managerial implications. International Journal of Arts
Management, 9(2), pp. 16-28.
Das, K. (2009). Relationship marketing research (1994-2006): an academic
literature review and classification. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 27(3), pp.
326-363.
Grönroos, C. (1994) "From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a
Paradigm Shift in Marketing", Management Decision, Vol. 32 Iss: 2, pp.4 – 20
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship
marketing. the journal of marketing, 20-38.
Berry, L. L. (1995). Relationship marketing of services—growing interest, emerging
perspectives. Journal of the Academy of marketing science, 23(4), pp. 236-245.