I'm in Europe visiting family and working on researching churches. Most of our travels have been in Germany and France. My wife and I had this crazy idea to backpack our way through various cities, riding the railways. The crazy part wasn't riding trains, as Europe has an amazing rail system that will take you virtually anywhere you want to go. The crazy part was thinking we could live for 21 days out of a backpack. My back would tell you this strategy is for those much younger!
Riding the state-owned trains throughout Germany and France has, for the most part, been easy and enjoyable. Both rail lines have apps you can easily download to check train schedules, buy tickets, and manage your trip from start to finish—at least, that is, in theory.
Of the two countries, we found Germany's Deutsche Bahn, DB, the best and the easiest to use. France's SNCF is another story. We've made SNCF's app work, but it takes longer to navigate and is harder to use. I always fear the conductor telling me mid-trip that I'm on the wrong train or didn't buy the right ticket. If we had the option, while inside the border of France, we would choose to use our DB app instead of the SNCF's. We have heard the same from other travelers as well. The last thing you want on your travel is uncertainty and hardships.
All this travel angst led me to ponder the question: how easy is it for someone to utilize your online site or use your app? Would those attempting to give through your platform describe their experience as pleasant or frustrating? Is it a quick, easy, and engaging process or one fraught with frustration? One thing I have learned about digital giving, and giving in general, is that the easier you make it for donors, the more apt they are to give. Could a fifth grader figure it out? A better question is, can your Seniors figure out how to use your platform?
At OnlineGiving.org, our passion is to make every part of our platform quick, easy, and engaging for donors. Unlike in France, where I have no other online option for train travel, your donors have other options. If they can't understand how to use your app or how to find and navigate your giving website quickly and easily, they will bail out and not give. Then, when Sunday's offering time comes around, they have empty, cashless pockets, and most couldn't find a check if their life depended upon it.
That is a serious problem, as your missions and ministries depend upon that funding, as does the staff's pay. This is why we provide our church partners with the latest technology and the best tools to utilize that technology. Our goal is to make digital giving as seamless as possible.
In my experience, this starts with you and your staff understanding how to use your giving platform. If you don't understand how to make your digital giving quick, easy, and engaging, your members won't either. We provide our church partners with step-by-step guides on how to use our system. We also provide personal training to walk you through the many tools we provide. If you still need help figuring out how to use something, we have the best customer support in the industry. That is not my opinion; that is what I continually hear from our church partners. Help is a phone call or email away. I wish I could say the same for the French rail system!
While the process of giving must be quick and easy, you must first engage the heart of someone before they give to your ministry. You must tell how giving to your church impacts your community and the world for the Kingdom. We help you do that with our platform. When it comes to telling your story, our platform leads our industry in providing you with the tools to communicate your life-changing mission for God. We would love to showcase how with a free demonstration. Contact us today to schedule your time at (615) 206-4000, or drop us a line at support@onlinegiving.org.
From text giving to written checks, our system makes giving quick, easy, and engaging for you and your members. I can't say that about using France's system. Would your members say your giving platform is quick, easy, and engaging? If not, call us!
The Stewardship Coach
It's our mission to help your donors easily perform an act of generosity. Every tool and feature is designed to make giving quick, easy, and engaging for your donors.https://t.co/d2P0pNO8aG pic.twitter.com/4jb53byJmU
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) May 20, 2024
