Key Marketing Challenges for Micro and Small Sized Non–Profit Organisations: A Study of Australian Third Sector Firms

This chapter offers exploratory evidence on critical marketing issues impacting small to medium (SME) sized non–profit firms. Extant literature advances that utilising marketing platforms and services – including digital marketing channels – offers several prospects for non–profit business practitioners to interact and communicate with customers, clients, stakeholders, and the wider public [1,2]. Whilst recent research [3,4] clearly highlights that the potential uptake of modern marketing approaches by non–profits, like social media applications, can help drive new marketing possibilities within the third sector, understanding how non–profits develop and deploy their marketing activities most effectively appears to be of critical importance to organisations competing in this space. Drawing on the knowledge and experiences of 115 non–profit managers in Australia, this study identified four prominent marketing themes/issues: fundraising and other monetary related pressures; donor acquisition and relationship management; a ‘lag behind’ mentality in using new marketing platforms like social media; and a perceived lack of expertise in the area of marketing. The results in this chapter affirm the need for a greater adoption of a marketing approach in non–profits firms, particularly within small and micro non–profit enterprises.