Rnli Marketing Mix

Marketing mix for meeting the objectives of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in terms of recruiting volunteers

RNLI as a nonprofit organization depends on individuals and their contributions in order to achieve its objectives. According to RNLI's plan of 2010, the reason for recruiting volunteers are to promote the saving of lives in water, expanding sea safety, extention of the RNLI role to rescue more people and providing better support for crews. There is not a quick solution for attracting the new volunteers, the most important step in defining the elements of the marketing mix is to understand the behaviour of existing volunteers. Service marketing mix is composed of 7Ps: product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and process.

The Product of RNLI in regards to recruiting volunteers can be seen through personal satisfaction, being part of the rescue team, obtaining new experiences, sharing and obtaining new skills, making friends, high standard of training, exchange of knowledge. Furthermore, the RNLI organize workshops for developing skills in creating promotional material or for using equipment for lifesaving, celebrating festivals, educational visits, indoor and outdoor activities. Okun and Schultz (in Andreasen and Kotler, 2008, p.391) identify six following benefits for volunteers: "gaining career-related experience, enhancing self-esteem, reducing negative feelings, strengthening social relationships, learning more about the world, expressing important values like humanitarianism or concern for the environment".

Price relates to what volunteers are giving back to the organization in exchange of the benefits that they receive from experience and the learning of new skills. In this case the price would be time and energy that the volunteers give depending on their responsabilities. Some volunteers help with fundraising projects for the RNLI, generating funds and sponsorship for improving RNLI performance. The opinion of Andreasen and Kotler (2008) is that volunteers help nonprofit organisations in reducing their expenses by contributing their time to a cause they believe.

Place, attracting new volunteers could be from any location. Starting with schools, colleges, universities, churches, workshops and other activities, parks, beaches, ports.

Promotion is an important element in recruiting volunteers. The most effective way to increase the publics awareness is through word of mouth by volunteers, friends, and families. Promotion can be seen through adverstising in various media outlets; internet, newspapers, media. Promotional stalls in schools, stations, ports, parks. Increasing the brands image by selling badges and t-shirts, even colaborating with other NGOs. In addition to this, the RNLI have recruited some famous people in their campaigns and indeed have a long standing relationship with the Royal Family. Donation