If you’re finding it hard to get people to sign up for your service or buy your product, just imagine how hard it is to convince people to get pricked by a needle and drained of (some of) their blood. And convincing them to do it once isn’t enough – you have to convince them to keep coming back. Their pay-off? Only a few biscuits and a pat on the back!
In the face of this challenge, the Red Cross Blood Service has shown that a little bit of creativity goes a long way. With today marking World Blood Donor Day, we thought it was a great opportunity to take a look at how you can learn from their strategies and apply them to your business.
Education is key
If your customers have no idea about why they need your services, why would they sign up for them? This question is the reason why the Red Cross regularly rolls out campaigns that strive to educate and activate the masses. Consider their most recent campaign slogan:
“So, be life, the universe and everything to someone”
The aim of this campaign is to spread the message that donated blood only lasts for 42 days and emphasise that blood donations save lives. This messaging not only educates people about the importance of regularly donating, but it also tugs on their heart strings.
Targeting your customers
It is a golden rule in PR that targeting the right people is vital. In the case of the Red Cross, some people can’t give blood – even if they are willing to – for health reasons. The Red Cross doesn’t want to waste its limited resources communicating with ineligible donors. The Red Cross’s blood donation website does an outstanding job of narrowing down the target audience by providing a quick online test that allows people to check if they’re eligible to give blood. This removes one major barrier that stops many people from giving blood.
You can take a similar approach by finding out what it is that is stopping your customers from signing up to your service or purchasing your product. Once you’ve done this, you can attempt to put your customers at ease. As part of this, you should strive to hone in on your target demographics, whether that is through targeted Facebook marketing or campaigns that appeal to your customer base.
Activation energy running on empty
Despite the amazing job that the Red Cross does in terms of educating and targeting its audience, it still doesn’t guarantee that people will ‘activate’ and decide to donate. This is where their streamlined booking process puts the Red Cross at a real advantage. Through the Red Cross website, people can not only sign up for appointments online, but also at pop-up donation vans across the country.
Your business should also aim to make your purchasing or sign-up process as simple and streamlined as possible. If you have a customer who has finally decided to click on the ‘Contact us’ button, you need to make sure that it’s easy for them to sign up, provide their information and hey presto – you’ve converted a lead to a customer!
So, now you’ve learnt a little from the Red Cross, why not thank them by spreading the word about donating blood or by donating blood yourself?
If you have any questions about these strategies and how your business could best take them on board, feel free to shoot us a message. We’d love to help out where we can!