Summer is awesome.
All I can think about right now is cycling, motorcycles, car shows, BBQ rib burn-offs, Cedar Point, and, of course, an assortment of rock concerts strewn in between all the action. If you are a blood center, though, right now is one of the hardest times of the year to actually get people to come in and donate. If you are an Incept Conversational Marketing Expert (CME), then your conversational skills are being put to the test!
People usually also question us as Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs), asking things like “Why do you folks keep calling me?” I feel that question definitely deserves a well-thought-out answer. I’ve taken it upon myself to give you a list of what I say to donors (especially the younger donors) to get them to understand the need for blood donations during the summer.
Three Reasons Why Blood is Needed During Summer
- No blood drives at high schools or colleges. “Unfortunately, since it is the summer and many schools and educational institutions are on break, we aren’t able to host as many blood drives. We do receive a very large percentage of our blood donations from these types of drives, so that is a big reason why we are calling you a little more lately.”
- There is an increase in travel, creating a need for accident victims. “I love to travel, as I’m sure you do, when it gets warmer and nicer out. Because there is a much larger increase even in regional traffic and transportation more accidents naturally occur. With less blood donors coming in at this time of the year, we want to make sure that no matter what happens we always have the blood on the shelf when the hospitals that we serve need it.”
- This time of year is even harder than the holiday season to get blood donations. “With everyone finally taking time to enjoy vacations and the weather, we usually find that this time of the year is even harder than the holiday season to get blood donors to come in. Just for our community it can take hundreds of donors per day to just maintain the blood supply, so that is a reason why we are trying to reach out to you right now.”
These are reasons that are real and blood centers have to tackle head on. I find it very helpful and donors are usually intrigued at the circumstances surrounding summer blood donations when they finally learn about why we are calling more frequently. It serves as a way to not only strengthen the relationship with them but as a way to gently educate them as well.
Please, if you are someone who is a blood donor recruiter, feel free to use these talking points. They really help and give you the opportunity to make the donor feel valued.