I’m pretty sure every single one of us are starting to feel a little ‘stuck’ in quarantine. I know that’s how I’m feeling! Although it’s a very strange time, we all share this sentiment so it’s important to give back to the community, especially those who are most vulnerable during these uncertain times. I’ve created 5 fun ways you can engage your prospects and customers to do the same and 5 charities that would benefit from your help!
5 ways to add charity to your sales and marketing
1. Webinars: donations for attendees
Fun fact to get the ball rolling: Zoom has seen a 535% rise in daily traffic…so, almost everyone is on there! The percentage of digital events have skyrocketed and rightly so - would be a little tricky having an in-person event during lockdown, wouldn’t it?
People have to be selective with which digital webinars they’d like to attend, but people would also like to help during this pandemic, so why not give them the ability to do both? For every person who attends your webinar, make a donation to a charity and let them know they’re helping a good cause. E.g. ‘We’re donating £3 to Charity X for every person that attends our webinar - let’s make it to our goal of £1500!’
2. Prospect & customer engagement
There are tons of charities out there that are helping during this pandemic in lots of different ways. Perhaps one of those charities hits close to home for a prospect or customer. Reach out to them letting them know you’re here to help and provide them with a charity voucher to help brighten their day! It’s important to help when we can without expecting anything in return - as our founder here at Reachdesk would say ‘it’s not what you say that gets you remembered, it’s how you make them feel!’ They might not be in buying mode right this second but it’s important to still be there for them regardless!
3. Run 5k, give £5
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (I know it currently feels like it) you would’ve seen this challenge floating around on LinkedIn, Instagram, and almost everywhere else too. Why is that? Because it’s a fun and engaging challenge (plus you also kind of look like the bad guy if you don’t do the run after being nominated). Exercising and giving to charities have something in common - releasing endorphins. That’s great when it comes to reaching out to your prospects because you’re all about making them feel good, right? So, if there’s someone out there who you’ve had some good conversations with, nominate them for a run! It’ll get them feeling good about themselves whilst allowing you to engage in a genuine conversation about something that isn’t related to you asking them to give you something but will happen naturally anyway.
4. Add charity cards to your E-gifts
Already sending out e-gift cards? Amazing! Why not add the option of donating to charity instead. This approach avoids the standard email approach of ‘I hope you’re keeping well during these uncertain times’ and lets them do something about it instead! You’re giving them the option of ordering from wherever your original e-gift card is from (e.g. UberEats - which they will love you for) or donating to charity (they will love your kind soul even more!).
5. Make a donation yourself
Perhaps you’ve spoken with a prospect who has been affected by this situation. You might usually send over a Starbucks voucher before a call but why not donate to a charity of their choice instead? It’ll show that you genuinely care and have taken an active listening approach in previous conversations.
5 charities that need your help right now
1. Age UK
The elderly in our communities have been hit really hard and AgeUK are determined to be their backbone through It all but need our support! Being subject to a few months in isolation can be lonely, by donating you could be helping their team answer more calls to their advice and friendship lines and help make someone’s day. There’s also some great information on their website on how you can help the elderly in your neighbourhood.
2. Unicef
Unicef have also been working hard to make sure children are kept safe. They’ve done this by providing health worker supplies like surgical gloves, soap and clean water - donating just £30 is how you could help keep hands squeaky clean and limit the spread of the virus. They’re also doing some hand washing campaigns similar to the ‘sing Happy Birthday whilst washing your hands’ campaign you may have seen all over your Twitter feeds - anything cake related is one delicious way to grab our attention!
3. Food Banks
Food banks have constantly provided amazing support for those who need an extra bit of help. But… remember all the crazy stockpiling that happened during the first few days of lockdown? Well, that’s had a domino effect - and I don’t mean the pizza kind! Lots of people are finding it much harder accessing food for their families. This is where charities like The Trussell Trust come in. You can help them by providing them with some spare unused food you may have to hand or by donating the usual way too. There’s also an amazing part of their website that shows you the food banks closest to your home - they have over 1,200 on there so you’re bound to find one!
4. NHS
Now, NHS workers are currently our biggest heroes. They’ve made some insane sacrifices for us like putting their own lives at risk and having to self-isolate once their shifts are over, let’s not forget the long hours too… Have you seen the pictures of the dents the surgical masks leave post-shift? The list could go on and on but I’m here to tell you how we can help these amazing guys. The Royal Free Hospital has a fitness club for staff which has been transformed into a ‘supermarket’ for them - creative, I know! It distributes essentials to the frontline workers free of charge. You can also get your boss involved in this one to encourage them to donate as a company!
5. Mental Health
Going from socialising almost every day with your fun colleagues and friends to being in quarantine can start to feel a little tough on the mind, especially for those who live alone. Donating to places like Mind, will help people who might be feeling the same way connect with each other via their online peer support community. They also have their Infoline to provide some support for those who choose to call. Also, remember to randomly FaceTime your friends and family to make sure they’re okay! Side note: the app HouseParty is such a fun way for you all to play virtual games and keep these online sessions as intense as playing Monopoly with the fam post-Christmas dinner!
If you’re thinking about putting charity at the centre of how you keep customers engaged, remember to do it for the right reasons. It’s not what you said or did. It’s how you made them feel.
