Defensive responses to charitable direct mail solicitations

Abstract

Two studies examined consumers’ defenses against to catalog and charitable direct mail solicitations. First, 157 survey respondents completed questions about their charitable giving behavior. Significant correlations between four resulting principal components and demographic variables showed how people defend themselves against repeated appeals. In a second study, 34 subjects provided scripts of responses to charitable and catalog solicitations. The scripts further illustrated defensive responses. Several conclusions were drawn from these studies. First, recipients of charitable solicitations often use defensive mechanisms to protect themselves from frequent solicitations. Second, frequent recipients of charitable direct mail process their mail differently than infrequent recipients. Frequent recipients are much more likely to use defensive script elements. Multiple solicitations to prospective donors may increase charitable contributions. However, excess solicitation could lead them to develop a greater repertoire of defenses against solicitations and decrease the pool of available contributions over the long term.