Connecting Marketing to Strategic
Objectives
Presenters

Moderator:
 R. Osbourne Whitesell (“Oz”), MKJ Creative

Panelists
 Steve Varnum, New Hampshire Community Loan Fund
 Jessica Brooks, Boston Community Capital
 Janet de Guehery, Florida Community Loan Fund
Goals of the Session
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Examine
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
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How marketing can forward your mission
The importance of strategic planning
How marketing facilitates the strategic plan
Common pitfalls that can turn a marketing budget into a
cost instead of an investment
Session Format

Open Forum
 Using examples from our experience we will explore the
intersection of strategic planning and marketing
 We encourage questions and dialogue and are more
committed to transferring knowledge than completing a
presentation
What Is Strategic Planning?
Strategic planning is an organization's process
of defining its strategy, or direction, and
making decisions on allocating its resources
to pursue this strategy.
Source: Google
What Is Marketing?
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions and
processes for creating, communicating,
delivering and exchanging offerings that
have value for customers, clients, partners
and society at large.
Source: American Marketing Association
Example 1:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund

Objective: Add $67 million in new investments for lending
Example 1:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Add $67 million in new investments for lending
Questions: How do we reach potential investors? What’s our unique
proposition?
Example 1:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Add $67 million in new investments for lending
Questions: How do we reach potential investors? What’s our unique
proposition?
 Marketing Tactic: Create an investment “product” and market
to current donors, potential investors and wealth advisors
through as many channels as appropriate
Example 2:
Boston Community Capital

Objective: Provide $125 million in mortgage financing to stabilize
more than 625 foreclosed homeowners in the next five years
Example 2:
Boston Community Capital


Objective: Provide $125 million in mortgage financing to stabilize
more than 625 foreclosed homeowners in the next five years
Question: How, as a nonprofit CDFI that has historically lent to
organizations and businesses (not directly to consumers), do we
access foreclosed homeowners with a new mortgage product?
Example 2:
Boston Community Capital


Objective: Provide $125 million in mortgage financing to stabilize
more than 625 foreclosed homeowners in the next five years
Question: How, as a nonprofit CDFI that has historically lent to
organizations and businesses (not directly to consumers), do we
access foreclosed homeowners with a new mortgage product
 Marketing Tactics:
 Third-party validation #1: Outreach to foreclosure
counselors, elected representatives, community leaders
(education and outreach, endorsements, etc.)
 Third-party validation #2: Earned media stories about
homeowners who were helped
Example 3:
Florida Community Loan Fund

Objective: Add value to community development in Florida
Example 3:
Florida Community Loan Fund


Objective: Add value to community development in Florida
Question: What is FCLF’s value to community development
practitioners in Florida?
Example 3:
Florida Community Loan Fund


Objective: Add Value to Community Development in Florida
Question: What is FCLF’s value to community development
practitioners in Florida?

Marketing Tactics:
 Rewrote our vision and mission (and tagline) to incorporate the
fact that FCLF provides expertise and capital to help projects
succeed
 Develop a plan to promote staff expertise in the CDFI community
through workshops, conference presentations and leadership
 Establish a relationship with a local PR firm to become recognized
Example 4:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund

Objective: Design and redesign methods for efficient and
responsive delivery of products and services
Example 4:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Design and redesign methods for efficient and
responsive delivery of products and services
Question: How can we more efficiently market our products and
services, cultivate donors and investors and steward current
supporters?
Example 4:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Design, and redesign, methods for efficient and
responsive delivery of products and services.
Question: How can we more efficiently market our products and
services, cultivate donors and investors and steward current
supporters?

Marketing Tactic(s): Subscribe to HubSpot inbound marketing software,
replace Web development vendor, ramp up use of video
Example 5:
Boston Community Capital

Objective: Push for policies and laws that help families and
individuals facing foreclosure
Example 5:
Boston Community Capital


Objective: Push for policies and laws that help families and
individuals facing foreclosure
Question: How do you combat negative perceptions about people
facing foreclosure and influence policymakers to change laws
and/or policies to make it possible for homeowners with stable
incomes to remain in their homes?
Example 5:
Boston Community Capital



Objective: Push for policies and laws that help families and
individuals facing foreclosure
Question: How do you combat negative perceptions about people
facing foreclosure and influence policymakers to change laws
and/or policies to make it possible for homeowners with stable
incomes to remain in their homes?
Marketing Tactics:


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Op-eds
Homeowner stories
Meetings with policymakers and legislators
Civic leadership: MA Office of Consumer Affairs and Business
Regulation; Governor’s Foreclosure Impacts Task Force
Example 6:
Florida Community Loan Fund

Objective: Build organizational strength and capacity
Example 6:
Florida Community Loan Fund


Objective: Build organizational strength and capacity
Question: What are the best ways FCLF can strengthen the
organization as it prepares for a period of growth over the next 5
years?
Example 6:
Florida Community Loan Fund


Objective: Build Organizational Strength and Capacity
Question: What are the best ways FCLF can strengthen the
organization as it prepares for a period of growth over the next 5
years?

Marketing Tactic: Incorporate the board
 Write a Strategic Plan to give our board and senior management
the opportunity to incorporate an emphasis on marketing
 Our marketing consultant worked hand in hand with our strategic
planning consultant to gather information and make
recommendations
 This goal has one objective devoted to identifying specific
marketing action steps, developing the budget for execution and
contracting local consultants to help build organizational strength
in marketing
Example 7:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund

Objective: Double our lending to $140 million to meet the growing
demand for affordable housing, essential services and jobs.
Example 7:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Double our lending to $140 million to meet the growing
demand for affordable housing, essential services and jobs.
Questions: Which lending programs will drive that growth? What
targets, messages and tactics should we employ for each?
Example 7:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Double our lending to $140 million to meet the growing
demand for affordable housing, essential services and jobs.
Questions: Which lending programs will drive that growth? What
targets, messages and tactics should we employ for each?
 Marketing Tactic: Business finance

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Target: Owners of growth companies
Message: “Flexible capital for growing companies”
Tactics: Promote online tools through trade publications, LinkedIn,
business finance seminars, Google ads
Example 7:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Double our lending to $140 million to meet the growing
demand for affordable housing, essential services and jobs.
Questions: Which lending programs will drive that growth? What
targets, messages and tactics should we employ for each?
 Marketing Tactic: Business finance



Target: Bank loan officers
Message: “An alternative that helps them get to yes”
Tactics: Promote online tools through trade publications, LinkedIn,
networking
Example 7:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Double our lending to $140 million to meet the growing
demand for affordable housing, essential services and jobs.
Questions: Which lending programs will drive that growth? What
targets, messages and tactics should we employ for each?
 Marketing Tactic: ROC-NH (converting manufactured-home
parks to resident-owned communities)
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Target: Owners of parks with 100+ sites
Message: Positive messaging – “Put your park in the hands of the
people who have supported you, get your price, smooth process”
Tactics: Letters, one-to-one visits, videos of satisfied sellers
Example 7:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Double our lending to $140 million to meet the growing
demand for affordable housing, essential services and jobs.
Questions: Which lending programs will drive that growth? What
targets, messages and tactics should we employ for each?
 Marketing Tactic: Welcome Home Loans (real mortgages for
manufactured homes)



Target: Realtors
Message: “Real mortgages for manufactured homes”
Tactics: Postcards, letters, trade shows, certified training course
Example 7:
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund


Objective: Double our lending to $140 million to meet the growing
demand for affordable housing, essential services and jobs.
Questions: Which lending programs will drive that growth? What
targets, messages and tactics should we employ for each?
 Marketing Tactic: Welcome Home Loans



Target: Buyers, sellers and owners of manufactured homes
Message: “Save money with our fair, fixed-rate purchase and
home-equity loans – low down-payment, no minimum credit score,
age of home doesn’t matter”
Tactics: Postcards, Google ads