We’ve been talking a lot about interviews lately, from tips to help you ace your own interview to how to interview a potential blood donor to find the best time and place of a blood drive or blood center in their area. There’s more to it than just that, though.
There’s also the interview between companies and their potential clients. Here at Incept, our Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs) work with several different blood centers, reaching out to their donors to schedule appointments for them to come in and donate blood. But how did we get to where we are?
It all started with an interview.
At the beginning of the interview for potential clients, we like to ask about their current successes and struggles, as well as what they would like to see improved. The old saying goes “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” so we also ask about the things they’re already doing well and that they’re excited for. Getting to know the blood center on a personal level helps up better understand their strengths and goals.
Next, we talk about actual numbers:
- How many units of blood do they need to help the hospitals in their area?
- Do they only collect whole blood or do they also need plasma, platelets and double reds?
- Do they ask their donors who have only donated whole blood before to try another type of blood donation?
We also like to ask about the donors themselves. Knowing how many regular donors a blood center has, as well as how often these donors come in to donate in a year, helps us get a good idea what we have to work with.
How the blood center has been contacting their donors is also some important information:
- Does the blood center only offer calls and letters?
- Do they also use emails, texts and social media to reach out to the community?
- How often do they call or send letters?
Something a lot of blood center do is offer donor incentive programs. Some offer points to use in their online stores, while others have t-shirts and other small thank-you gifts on hand at the drive itself. We ask if the blood center has an incentive program in place and how they like to use it.
Now that we’re more familiar with how the blood center works with their donors, we like to take a look at how they’ve been regulating their calls. Most often, we ask if they use scripts and what their rules and guidelines are. It also helps to know if they have an employee recognition program and a quality assurance process.
Finally, we look at all of the answers and decide what would be the best way for us to help the blood center meet their goals. We explain what our strategy would be and what kind of results we would expect to achieve. We review how our goals and work strategy will line up with the blood center’s needs, and then we can begin helping them get the results they need.
We’re Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs), and we’re always listening. How can we help you meet your goals today?