Specializing in customized conversations at Incept is what we do, especially when speaking about blood donor recruitment.
We have a legion of seasoned Conversational Marketing™ Experts (CMEs) who have experience in all sorts of verbal situations. At the end of the day, our conversations get blood donors to donate – even ones that might not have donated otherwise. When a “current” or “maintenance” donor stops donating for a while and seems to fall out of the regular blood donation cycle, the blood donor industry refers to them as lapsed blood donors.
Now just because they haven’t been donating at the level that let’s say a current donor might be donating at, that doesn’t mean they are unable! You just have to ask. A few years ago in 2011, there was a private study conducted between actively lapsed donors and passively lapsed donors. Here is an excerpt from that study, as well as its findings on why blood donors stopped donating and if they would be willing to resume being an active blood donor.
“The response rate among actively lapsed donors was higher than among passively lapsed donors (37% vs. 25%). Actively lapsed donors typically ceased donating because of physical reactions, while passively lapsed donors quit because of a busy lifestyle. Nonetheless, 51% of actively lapsed responders and 80% of passively lapsed responders were willing to restart donations.”
The above information and test design is credited to Sanquin Research.
So what did the test prove? That even if someone is a lapsed donor for their blood center, as long as they are asked to come back and help out with another blood donation, most are actually very receptive to the idea! Could you imagine what type of impact a blood center would receive from even a small percentage increase in activity from their lapsed donor base?
At Incept, we serve up each call made-to-order. There is a controlled madness to our method that makes us the best conversational marketing firm at lapsed blood donor recruitment. Here are some things that we consider when we are talking with lapsed donors.
Information to Consider When Recruiting Lapsed Blood Donors
- Why did they stop donating blood? Was it due to medical deferral or simply personal reasons, such as a busier schedule?
- Did they stop donating due to a bad experience with your blood center? If so, think of how you can strengthen the relationship with them by showing appreciation.
- Rather than ask them to donate again, have you thought of “inviting” them back? It’s often not what you say but how you say it that can change a person’s mind.
- Do you have enough drives or an active donor center in the area? When a donor center closes or there aren’t enough mobile sites, you will naturally see a decrease in current donor activity.
It is important to make a lapsed donor feel special. The blood they gave still saves lives, and it is always easiest to get someone to listen to what you are saying by thanking them upfront for their past good deeds. If you have any questions about lapsed blood donor recruitment, please feel free to comment on this post for any suggestions or help!