Developing Relationship Marketing in the Voluntary Sector

As more and more elements of the welfare state and community development in the United Kingdom have become dependent on the voluntary sector volunteer involvement has become an important issue. However, voluntary organisations believe that the recruitment situation has deteriorated and that it will become more difficult to recruit volunteers over the next five years. Building upon the findings of previous research (Bussell and Forbes 2002, 2003), this article uses a relationship marketing approach to examine recruitment and retention issues in the voluntary sector in the North East of England. A series of focus groups comprising directors of voluntary sector development agencies in the region, voluntary organisation co-ordinators and volunteers explore the key marketing issues facing the sector. The article concludes that there are a variety of relationships, which must be managed effectively to create a committed and loyal volunteer.