By Trey Richardson, Managing Partner
As a political action committee professional, I’ve spent my fair share of time digging out from some common pitfalls PAC directors make. As a fundraising consultant for these same operations, I’ve observed that many professionals continue encountering those same mistakes in their quest for success. By far, the most prevalent of these traps, particularly among those with a public policy background, is mistaking the ability to manage government affairs operations with the ability to market a PAC to members, employees, or the public. Each requires different skill sets.
Like Goldilocks in the three bears' home, most donors seek a "just right" message for them. For PAC managers, the challenge is to understand what makes a message "just right enough" to satisfy the needs of a large group of prospective donors.
Determine Your PAC Market
Four key questions to answer when evaluating your PAC message are:
Who, if anyone, has a genuine interest in this message?
How many of these potential donors are there?
How much are donors willing to contribute today?
Does my programming meet their needs to continue contributing money over time?
This question will help you determine the market for your PAC and provide critical information if you want to implement a fundraising campaign. In addition, the process will yield valuable information about your donors and prospects that will help you fine-tune your ideas.
Researching Your Prospects Can Have Big Returns
For most of the last 20 years, business PACs rode high on the economy. They assumed their PACs would remain strong due to the sheer volume of prospects and discretionary money available for political spending. Then came COVID-19 and a stark economic climate. While employee and membership numbers remained steady over the last five years, most people felt they had scarce resources, and it became difficult to get people riding out the calamity of COVID and the market aftermath to donate. From 2020 until now, we have seen a steady drop in receipts among most business PACs — a tide that is now turning for the coming 2026 elections. Those who managed to increase receipts during this period established three simple objectives: 1) stop the bleeding, 2) change the PAC message to suit the donor market, and 3) create qualitative engagement programming for the PAC.
Know Your Customer
To begin the recovery and growth process, start by asking yourself and your eligible employees and members questions you should be asking all along. Several kinds of research must be implemented, including competitive analysis of the PAC market and trends forecasting, quantitative studies of members and employees, qualitative focus groups, and donor panels. You can also leverage existing research from human resources, communications, and membership departments. The data allows you to hone your message, segment your prospects, and refine your tactics to dramatically increase PAC receipts and participation.
To fully understand any donor market, PAC directors must be willing to be told they're wrong. Often, people do not take the time to get to know their donors. It's not surprising that the most successful PACs are those that communicate with as many potential donors as possible. From the beginning, the successful PAC director listens to change and adapts more quickly to the real market and the donor’s attitudes and perceptions about the PAC. Professionals who spend a lot of time trying to understand why they don't have it right will likely raise a lot more money a year later than those who only try to prove they are right and insist that the market is wrong.
Good Research Doesn't Have to Be Expensive
Market research is often lacking in PAC endeavors because it is perceived to be complicated and expensive. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. While Sagac and other groups have provided benchmarking data to the business PAC market for over 20 years, it is just that — benchmarking data from the entire business PAC community. Relying on secondary market research because it's an easy solution is no substitute for primary research. All the secondary market research statistics in the world won't raise money for your organization, but complex data from real prospects just might. I've found over the years that even PACs without much of a budget can successfully perform quality research if they are creative, resourceful, and brave. PAC managers on a budget may feel unable to apply formal market research techniques, but a simple four-step process can be effective:
Determine how to perform the research (one-on-one interviews, focus groups, quantitative surveys, panels).
Develop the research instrument (interview questions, survey questionnaire, hands-on tasks).
Identify and recruit participants.
Understand what to do with the results of the research.
The type of association or company you're in will dictate the most appropriate approach. If your prospects are highly targeted executives and direct solicitation will be your fundraising method, start by identifying the type of person you expect to solicit and engage in a mock fundraising presentation to understand what such people find interesting or will invoke action. Suppose your fundraising aims at a broad market. In that case, recruiting small numbers of people for focus groups may be more beneficial until you have a feel for their interests and then validate further using a quantitative survey.
Enable Decision-making with Research
Market research is a prelude to fundraising. It teaches you much about what you need to know to develop your PAC for your specific market or markets and whether your current offering is worth developing or scrapping for a new brand. A positive and aggressive attitude toward market research enables PAC directors to make the most critical decisions: Should I spend the next several years raising money for this PAC as it stands today?
In the era of five-second sound bites, three seconds at the mailbox, and waning volunteerism, a well-defined brand and message is your best bet to hit your mark and increase receipts for your PAC. If you have decided to make a career in running PACs and raising money, then also choose to become a market researcher. Ultimately, the two are inseparable.
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