A lot of work goes into running a successful crowdfunding campaign, and although you might have reached your funding goal, you haven’t quite crossed the finish line – it’s now time to start fulfilling your rewards. This is where a pledge manager comes in handy.
Pledge managers are used by crowdfunding project creators to collect the vital information from their supporters needed to fulfill the rewards promised during their campaign. They provide surveys that backers can fill out to help track what they pledged, record their reward choices, and collect shipping and payment information.
A pledge manager is great for campaigns with:
- Physical rewards
- A high number of backers
- Numerous reward variants (size/color options)
- Add-ons
Here are five reasons why you need a pledge manager for your crowdfunding campaign:
1. Pledge managers will help you raise more funding.
Just because your campaign is over doesn’t mean you can’t raise more money. A good pledge manager will allow you to include add-ons and reward level upgrades in your backer survey, which can encourage backers to spend more and increase the average pledge value per backer. Allowing upgrades in your post-campaign survey gives backers an opportunity to change their minds on their pledges as the project gets closer to fulfillment.
2. Pledge managers allow you to correct shipping issues.
Calculating shipping costs can be a bit of a headache for any project creator, but a pledge manager will take care of any discrepancies with shipping costs. If a backer didn’t pay the correct amount of shipping with their pledge during the initial funding period, you can charge them the amount they owe or give them credit for the extra amount through your pledge manager. This can also be helpful if your backers have moved since pledging to your campaign.
3. Pledge managers give you a chance to recover failed pledges.
Failed pledges are common and happen for a variety of reasons: insufficient funds, credit card expiry, or fraud protection from the bank. This can be a problem because it means you may not collect as many funds as expected and even risk not having enough to fund the project, even though it’s been deemed “successful.” A pledge manager will ensure that all backers, including those with failed pledges, can be imported into your survey after the campaign ends. Backers with failed pledges are added with a pledge value of $0, but the reward tier they attempted to pledge to is saved. When it’s time to send your surveys, the backers with failed pledges will have another chance to pay for the reward they pledged to.
4. Pledge managers will help you build a mailing list for future projects.
With Kickbooster’s Pledge Manager, you will have the opportunity to give your backers the option to opt in to future email marketing communications. This is a great way to build your email list because you’re targeting a group of people who are already interested in your product and what you have to offer. Your backers are likely going to want to be contacted about other products and future crowdfunding projects they will likely be interested in.
5. Pledge managers make transitioning to eCommerce easier.
Most third-party pledge managers require creators to create every product for each reward level. If they decide to open an eCommerce store one day, they will have to go through the entire process of setting up products again. This can be a tedious process for creators who wish to continue selling their products after reward fulfillment is over.
Pledge managers like the one provided by Kickbooster integrate directly with your eCommerce store, pulling products from your store directly into your survey to configure. This means that each product only has to be created and configured once. When a survey is completed in Kickbooster’s Pledge Manager, an order will automatically be created in your eCommerce store, the same way a sale is when a customer makes a purchase directly through your store. This allows you to manage fulfillment in one place while also taking advantage of integrations for your eCommerce platforms, fulfillment centers, and order management systems.
This is a guest post by Kickbooster, a software company that provides solutions for crowdfunding creators. Services provided include both a pledge manager and a referral marketing system.
Learn more about Kickbooster’s Pledge Manager and how it can elevate your post-campaign experience here.
