It’s always a great feeling to be thanked for doing something nice for other people. Because donating blood takes time and effort, it’s a good idea for your blood bank to make the effort and thank blood donors for helping save lives.
In turn, when someone feels appreciated for their actions, they are more likely to continue engaging with you. A previous study showed that just by thanking people for an action, it increased the likeliness of further actions by 100%!
Below, we outline several tactics your blood bank can implement this year to increase the rate of donors returning to keep giving blood. A “thank you” can go a long way!
Blood Donor Thank You Calls
Since telerecruitment is a key strategy for blood donor recruitment, donors are constantly getting called to schedule an appointment - especially if they have a highly needed blood type, like O+ or O-. Switching the message up to call and thank them rather than asking something of them (like donating blood) will be greatly welcomed!
If you are able to get the information about the lives impacted from the donation (either hospital location or even simply number of recipients), that is also something your donors would love to hear! If you have information on donors that would rather receive a text than call, sending this information in a text is a great option too.
Blood Donor Thank you Letters
When was the last time you received a thank you letter in the mail? We’re not talking about the mass-produced postcards that stores send out to remind you to come back in and spend your money. We’re talking about a quality, handwritten, thank you card.
Because they’re so few and far between, handwritten notes stand out against all other mail - and people WANT to receive them! What’s better is the fact that your team can write letters in their down time, so they’re able to stay productive even when not actively talking to blood donors.
When structuring your thank you cards, we recommend starting with a genuine thank you to the donor for taking the time to save lives, offering a statistic that demonstrates the need and effectiveness of the donation, and lastly, provide the date that they can donate again along with how they can go about scheduling their next appointment. Reminding them that you appreciate their continued donations, will not only help them feel recognized for their efforts to make a difference, but will also motivate them to schedule another donation - a win-win for everyone, right?
Thank You Videos
Have you ever thought of sending a video text to a recent blood donor? If not, now is the time to consider it - more than 54% of consumers prefer to watch a video from a brand or business they support. And because short form video content (less than 3 minutes) is the most preferred, creating a quick and simple thank you from your staff is all it takes!
When texting, an unedited selfie video will appear the most natural to someone receiving your message. Plus, if it’s a vertical message, when they open it, it’ll take up more space on their phone, giving you their undivided attention!
Related Post: How to Engage Donors 25 and Under
Using Pictures of Blood Recipients Saying Thank You on Social Media
Social proof is important for any business to utilize - especially blood banks! We’re constantly talking about the need for blood donation, but when was the last time you showcased a life saved because of blood products? It can really help put the amount of blood needed in certain situations into perspective - for instance, it really could just take 3 pints (one donation) to save a life, but what about those involved in a traumatic event and need more? Highlighting how many blood donations it took can help people understand the importance.
Related Post: 4 Great Examples of Using Influencers for Blood Donor Recruitment
Thank You Events
Who doesn’t love an exclusive event?! A great way to give back to your blood donors could be to throw a party and invite all donors that have donated blood within a specific period of time. For example, you could throw a party for a holiday, such as Fourth of July or Christmas and anyone that donates blood in the 2 months prior gets an exclusive invite for them and a friend. Allowing people to bring a plus one is essential to ensure people show up - no one wants to go to an event alone!
What’s stopping you from starting a donor appreciation campaign?
Getting an initiative in place is essential and easy to do, however, we don’t recommend running to tackle all the above suggestions all at once! Take on one item, and then once you perfect that, add in another! Another great way to implement these tactics in a more efficient and effective manner is to reach out to us - Incept is a leader in the blood donor recruitment industry and we would love to help you!
About Incept
Incept’s donor-centric, data-driven approach helps deliver the right message, using the right platform, to the right donor, at the right time, helping improve the outcome of donor interactions and create a consistent and predictable daily inventory that matches our client’s needs.
We help our clients solve their donor experience challenges—no matter how large or small, how complex or unique. We don’t settle for merely reaching business goals. Our leadership, talent, and culture are designed to deliver continuous improvement and business transformation.