What is a Customer First Approach?
Guest blog provided by Stand Together Foundation
Customer First is a powerful, transformative measurement approach that puts the voices of those served at the heart of decision-making. By actively asking constituents—who could be considered the nonprofit’s “customers”—about how programs impact their lives, nonprofits gather invaluable insights that shape, refine, and optimize their services, leading to greater results. These organizations commit to listening, adapting to evolving needs, and co-creating solutions based on lived experiences, not just collecting data for reporting.
How Customer-First Drives Better Nonprofit Solutions
Nonprofits that center constituents’ perspectives in their solutions are often the most impactful. This feedback-driven method of decision making ensures that those directly affected have an active voice in shaping the nonprofit’s work and measuring success, leading to better-aligned resources and more effective solutions. When you support a Customer First organization, you’re backing a nonprofit that prioritizes transparency, responsiveness, and ongoing improvement, creating a lasting impact with every dollar. When you contribute to the Customer First Fund, you’re choosing to empower nonprofits that prioritize and actively transform the lives of those they serve.
Customer First in Action
When nonprofits put constituent voices at the forefront, they unlock opportunities to create services that resonate deeply and address real, unmet needs.
One organization transformed its program by listening closely to the experiences of low-income women in its workforce services. Initially, anecdotal feedback hinted at unique challenges for participants in their program, but it wasn’t until this nonprofit segmented survey results by gender that the scope became clear. Women constituents had notably lower Net Promoter and Transformation Scores than men. By diving deeper into open-ended responses, the organization identified specific needs, leading to the development of a tailored program now piloted in multiple cities. This approach has made the organization’s services more effective and impactful, as they prioritize constituent voices in their solutions.
Another organization reshaped its mental health program for military service members by adopting a customer-centered approach. Initial feedback on their peer-to-peer program revealed low satisfaction and a Net Promoter Score of zero, prompting reassessment. In response, the program was restructured to align with training schedules, address specific concerns, and prioritize veterans as facilitators, enhancing trust with constituents. The redesigned program saw remarkable results, including a Net Promoter Score of 62 and a Net Empowerment Score of 77, demonstrating how feedback-driven adjustments can lead to more impactful, resonant solutions.
The Impact of Your Support
Taking a Customer First approach is an essential first step, but transforming feedback into action requires resources that many nonprofits simply don’t have under existing grant requirements. By supporting these organizations, you empower them to incorporate the feedback in a timely and effective way, which we see time and again leading to overall greater success.
Consider contributing through Causeway, Charity Navigator's platform that enables donors to give directly to funds supporting specific causes. Contributions through this Causeway Fund empower nonprofits to continue these practices, fueling their ability to drive immediate and lasting change for the individuals they serve.