From Events to Process: Transforming One-Off Interactions into Ongoing Permission Campaigns

Too many organizations treat marketing, customer service, or even friendships as one-shot events. You send an invitation, cross your fingers, and either get a response or not. The challenge: people are bombarded by single-serve requests every day, and these rarely stand out in memory or build a long-term connection. Permission thinkers turn this model upside down, crafting a journey where each step earns a bit more trust and involvement—a process, not a one-off ask.

For example, a community center running summer camps doesn’t just send a flyer and hope. They advertise with a promise: 'Call to get our free camp discovery packet.' Those who ask receive tailored info, then a follow-up call from a counselor, and finally a checklist to help families choose the right activities. Each interaction is measured, beneficial, and moves the recipient a little deeper into relationship—raising permission from basic inquiry to ongoing community.

This matches the research on 'commitment and consistency'—the more people say yes to small, beneficial steps, the more likely they are to say yes again. Designing journeys, not events, unlocks more durable, richer, and mutually rewarding relationships.

Start by outlining a short series of messages or touchpoints for every new contact—a simple curriculum, each with its own benefit beyond the final pitch. For each step, decide what you want people to do, say, or share at that specific moment. Test different messages, timings, or incentives, keeping a close eye on what draws people in further, and which steps cause drop-off. It's in this well-designed process—not a big event—that you turn strangers into true advocates, one thoughtful stage at a time. Test your first journey this month.