How the American Cancer Society Uses Push Notifications to Drive Loyalty

Since 1913, the American Cancer Society’s unwavering commitment to seeking a cure for cancer has made them one of the most respected health organizations in the world. And they’ve been able to make a difference thanks to a creative, forward-thinking approach to fundraising. Their main fundraising event is Relay For Life, an annual community-led effort that takes place in over 20 countries and has raised over $5 billion since 1985.

One modern method the American Cancer Society (ACS) has used to drive donations is push. Their mobile app push notifications, powered by Braze, helped the ACS boost fundraising for the campaign by 34%. The ACS’s success with push reveals some important lessons for brands of all types—including those who are trying to hack it in the competitive retail space. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Push Notifications Are Easy to Personalize

The ACS used a segmentation strategy to personalize their push notifications. For instance, ACS segmented all users who raised over $100 for Relay and sent them a message highlighting all of the powerful cancer-fighting efforts their money went toward.

In a retail context, segmentation is huge. If you’re trying to encourage purchases, you could segment all users who’ve filled their cart but haven’t yet made a purchase. Sending these users a quick push notification reminding them to complete the checkout process could lead to a drastic uptick in conversions.

2. Push Notifications Are an Important Part of a Effective Cross-Channel Experience

Most modern brands are trying to get that push/pull approach just right. That means “push” messaging that occurs outside of your app or website (e.g. email or push notifications) and “pull” notifications that occur within your app or website (e.g. in-app messages and Content Cards) that keep users engaged. If you nail both, you’ve established a powerful cross-channel customer experience that can significantly boost engagement and other key marketing metrics.

3. Push Notifications Benefit from Thoughtful Timing

Once you get that push/pull approach established, you want to get the timing right — which means sending messages at key moments. For instance, the ACS marked down National Cancer Survivors Day as a crucial time for donations. On that day, the ACS sent push notifications thanking members for their donations and reminding them of their important mission. Thanks to this careful timing, ACS’s new messages got an impressive 30% open rate.

Well-timed push notifications can be applied to the retail space as well. Have an important promotion ending soon? Or an exciting limited-time product hitting the shelves? Launching a well-timed push notification campaign can build urgency for these promotions and encourage customers to get in the app and make a purchase.

Final Thoughts

Want to learn more about how push notifications can help you drive customer loyalty and boost engagement? Then check out our Push Notification Guide.