When it comes to donating blood, for the most part, many blood donors I talk to just do it to help people out. That’s so refreshing to hear in this day and age.
Still with many blood centers facing aging and declining donor bases among many other challenges, promotions and donor loyalty programs can have huge impacts on increasing the percentage of donors who show up and continue to donate. We’ve all seen the free burgers, burritos, and subs to get people into blood drives, but here are some examples of other types of incentives that have helped blood centers in times of greater need (that are a little more exciting than just a free lunch).
Promotions That Work
- Baseball tickets. What better promotion to have during the summertime than free baseball tickets? The smells of ballpark hot dogs and fresh-cut grass are great way to spend an afternoon. Central Blood Bank hosts many blood drives that offer a pair of Pittsburgh Pirates tickets to donors who keep their scheduled appointment. Donors love it and specifically call in to our inbound line to sign up for it.
- Waterpark tickets. The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center and their donor loyalty program, Commit For Life, did an excellent job a few years back by encouraging donors to donate during the month of May. They called it the Family Vacation Month promotion. A few lucky blood donors were actually randomly drawn to receive four-packs of tickets to Schlitterbahn, one of the best water parks in Texas (and possibly the country)! With the summertime being a season of great need for many blood donors, they had a great theme, they focused on their donor base, and in the end a very deserving donor took home the grand prize. Well done!
- Donor loyalty program spotlight. Chicagoland’s blood center, LifeSource, as well as the Pittsburgh-based Central Blood Bank have created the Brighten Life Donor Rewards program. The program is known for offering gift cards in the denominations of $15 and $25 dollars and is currently set to update and upgrade to Visa gift cards on July 1, 2013. Talk about giving something back to the donors for them to use how they wish! It also gives our Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs) some conversational ammo in regards to being able to talk with people who question if they are able to get paid for their blood donation.
When a blood center puts out incentives and promos like these ones have, it not only shows appreciation for their donor base, it also shows thoughtfulness. You really do get the sense that the blood centers themselves understand the importance of maintaining healthy relationships with the people who donate to them.
What are some other cool promotions you have seen from a blood center?