A lack of donor feedback and poor customer service is holding back growth in the fundraising sector, an audience of charity fundraisers heard yesterday.

Ken Burnett, an author and fundraising expert said that fundraisers must learn from private sector pioneers such as Amazon, which operates a "utopian vision of meeting customer expectations" in dealing with feedback and order fulfillment.

Burnett was speaking at Revolutionise's Annual Lectures, a series of lectures designed to encourage best practice in fundraising, held at The Royal Institution yesterday.

"Imagine a world where the donor experience is clear, simple and satisfactory,” he said. “Where responses to enquiries are quick and satisfying. Imagine a place where the customer gets what they want every time. That place is Amazon.

"We need to have the same commitment to our donors. We need to provide the same level of customer service and interact with our donors at a much higher level."

Burnett said that successful website companies had revolutionised the way companies do business and had changed the retail landscape.

"Look at the book industry for example. Dealers now have a major global platform and in different formats. There are lessons we can learn from the way online business is conducted and how these websites interface with their customers."