Ralston Valley Volunteer Fire Department - Case Study Example

Consequently, among Rick’s promotion objectives should be to increase the awareness of the Ralston Valley Volunteer Fire Department (RVVFD) as an organization because the case highlights that people, in general, do not know about the organization and often learn about the work which volunteers do through word of mouth. In such a scenario, when people are not even aware that they are required to work how can they be expected to apply for it? To create awareness regarding the issue, Rick must include in his marketing objectives the task of providing ample information to the customers that impart to them enough information to make them want to apply whether it is for giving back to the community or the adventure appeal. It would also be a good idea for Rick to include in his promotion objectives to attract as much young talent as possible for the simple reason that the youth might just be in better physical shape to cope with the rigorous demands of firefighting and thus be better able to adjust its schedule to attend the monthly drills and in general give in more time to the volunteer work as compared to a corporate employee who might otherwise be tied up in his job.    

To go about achieving his objective Rick can start by targeting high school students and conduct a campus drive if permitted by the budget. The plan should be to visit campuses with current volunteers who could interact with the students and tell them how rewarding the work is and how content one feels after doing something without it being backed by any monetary compensation. One important reason why high school students might also be interested in becoming a part of RVVFD is that those students who are interested in pursuing higher education would know that extra credit is given for doing voluntary work. Consequently, if students might not be thrilled by the idea of giving back to society they would still take it as an opportunity to glorify their resumes with.

To create brand awareness getting posters and standees made would be a cheap alternative to going for an all-out mass marketing campaign on television that will not even be feasible for the company because volunteer work does not have mass appeal. The case suggests that Rick is considering the option of making a Facebook page, which seems very relevant in the case at hand, particularly if Rick does plan to target the youth and high school students because Facebook is a second home to this generation. Rick could put in videos of the survivors of the fires which RVVFD helped extinguish and these videos when uploaded on the page could serve as heartwarming testimonials that would make people want to serve the community. Furthermore, introducing a referral program is also a viable option whereby every volunteer must refer one or more volunteers to RVVFD instead of a monetary reward that might not be very extravagant but enough to keep the volunteers motivated.

As for marketing to the existing volunteers in an attempt to retain them, it might be workable however since the majority of the volunteers are over 40 years of age, it would make a lot more sense to induct young people into the organization and create a culture of compassion which makes them stay longer with the organization as well as commit more time to the cause.

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