Transforming Blood Donor Recruitment Through Gratitude and Connection

Since the need for blood donations is constant, blood banks must continuously strive to increase blood donor engagement and retention. This case study explores the impact of integrating a gratitude-driven platform into a blood donor recruitment strategy. Our goal is to illustrate the potential benefits of adopting an intelligent mail campaign to drive more blood donations and inspire organizations to take action with minimal effort of their own resources.

KEY OUTCOMES OF THIS STUDY:

• Donors that engaged through the gratitude-driven platform had a higher donation ratio (7.21%) compared to the unengaged group (2.04%), resulting in a 5.17 percentage point increase. 

• The combination of calling and intelligent mail generated through the new program yielded 2x as many blood donors compared to the control group.

Background:

A blood donation organization was seeking ways to enhance their existing donor recruitment and engagement strategies. Recognizing the importance of gratitude and connection, the organization decided to test our new intelligent mail platform designed to create deeper connections and retention through genuine personal appreciation and gratitude.

Methodology:

The blood bank client divided its prospective donor targets into segments based on criteria, specifically high need blood types, various time frames since last donation and currently on a do not call list. These segments were then split into mailed and no-mail groups. The mailed group was introduced to the intelligent mail platform, while the no-mail group served as a control. Key performance indicators, including scheduled appointments and shows were measured, and compared across groups. 

The tactics involved the integration of an intelligent mail channel such as dynamic QR code postcards with custom-branded video messaging within an actionable landing page. The messaging was designed to appeal to donors by describing how their prior donations genuinely matter and validating their contributions through living donation recipients. These additional connection and attribution layers outperformed any traditional direct mail campaign.

Results:

The data demonstrated that integrating gratitude and connection into the mailing strategy had a significant impact on donor engagement and successful donations. Mailed donors had a higher donation rate (7.21%) compared to the no-mail group (2.04%), resulting in an increase of 5.17 percentage points. Moreover, mailed donors yielded more successful donations (208) than the no-mail group (95).

Notably, the no-mail group (the control group) had a larger donor base by 56.2% (4,662 vs. 2,987). Despite this advantage, the no-mail group yielded fewer successful donations, suggesting that the new outreach campaign played a crucial role in amplifying donor engagement and successful donations in the mailed group.

The intelligent mail campaign not only generated successful donations but also increased the frequency of donations. The average days between donations for those who received the intelligent QR postcard were significantly lower than those who did not receive one. A current donor donated 49 days or 23% sooner on average than those who did not get a postcard. A lapsed donor donated 25% sooner, and a super-lapsed donor donated 80% sooner.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, combining multiple donor touchpoints via phone call and intelligent mail generated an additional 208 successful donations from a base of 2,987 targeted previous blood donors. The control group that did not receive a mailed postcard generated a total of 95 successful donations. Therefore, the combination of calling and intelligent mail with genuine appreciation drove 2x as many blood donors.

Intelligent mail turns appreciation into impact, and the results demonstrate the power of leveraging intelligent mail to drive blood donations. The analysis indicates that incorporating this type of gratitude-based campaign into the blood donor recruitment strategy significantly improved donor engagement and successful donations. The platform's focus on care, connection, and the "X Factor" resonated with donors, leading to increased commitment and participation in blood donation activities.