Saltine Crackers

I've been thinking a lot about inducing thirst lately. How we go about try to convince people they are "thirsty" for the product you're selling - anything from a moral system or ethics right through to donation systems. It [almost] never works but we still keep trying. The 'non profit' service industry (ie. those companies who build platforms or offer solutions to non profits) often acts as the so-called Saltine Cracker for any given Non Profit. If we can shove enough crackers down their mouth we will induce the thirst for the non profit to "convert" to our system (platform, service). If we shout the need loud enough for our service, create the most compelling data for our cause - we'll win "them" over to our side. There are a few reasons why "industry" has done this:

1. It works some of the time (albeit generally it's short term)

Some of the most successful IT Solutions for non profits I believe have been able to convince non profits of the "need" for their product / service and so one client drank up, and the rest followed. The truth is, the client was indeed thirsty (whether they knew it or not) but what exactly for was undetermined - so they just started drinking. When the non profit realizes that it may not be a 'great' match, it tends to be too late. Infrastructure costs, habits are formed quickly and solid ROI seems to be a distant factor in decision making.

2. The Non Profit industry hasn't articulated its need.

Industry isn't always the big bad guy here. So often Industry reacts to an "elevated noise' from the sector (a general want/ opportunity) and with a void of articulated needs, just develops what it figures is an amicable solution. Industry can't articulate its clients needs any more than an auto mechanic can fly a plane. We can take a 'stab' at it, we can run focus groups but ultimately there's no better voice for what you need than the non profit itself. We can't do this if the sector is not thirsty - so we tend to induce thirst (or try to) in order to provoke a reaction of need - which rarely happens. And so the cycle repeats.

3. Cost

We're still coming out of this mass production era and haven't quite learnt the art of mass customization quite yet. Mass Production allows Company X to take a hit on the first dev of product Y because they know they can replicate it several times over and make their margins back. In "large" companies with interchangeable employees this tends to be not only the most "successful" model but arguably one of the only ones (that I know of). With Mass Customization, Company X would  look at their individual employees as capital, calculate project costs based off of "acquired knowledge" versus straight up "mass replication" cost. When you shift the costing model, you'll find you're able to build more - for less, that is still not mass produced but mass custom. Tough to explain but when you see it in action - it makes sense. 

Ultimately, the "build it and they will come" model is dead. For most non profits they're still dancing with those products; but the music is fading and pretty soon it'll just get awkward to keep up the tango. Change however has to come from the inside - Industry can't "force" thirst on the sector and nor should it. The Sector (ie. non profits) need to articulate their needs and industry needs to respond in meeting those. It can work. However the current model of imposing a structure / platform / service onto an organization that isn't truly thirsty for that system is doomed. Non Profits - it's time for you to demand more, get specific and start calculating your ROI on these mass produced service. Industry - it's time to get responsive, to lead with mass customization and to support this sector rather than inducing thirst.