Everybody loves free.
I love it. You love it. …everybody.
Need proof? Check out the families at Sam’s Club enjoying the free lunch samples.
At Sam’s Club free is a science.
In Emergency Medical Services (EMS), free is more like an ethical bribe.
But don’t sweat it. The difference between “EMS free” and “Sam’s Club free” is for some very practical reasons.
Many people don’t realize the difference between the two is also the reason EMS freebies do little to determine the success or failure of EMS programs.
And of course that’s good news if your flight program is one that rations out 12 pins and a stick of gum every year to the countless ground crews who support it.
The reason for this article is to alleviate EMS freebie stress.
The fear we hear from flight crews is that their program will get less calls than flight programs who lavish ground providers in free goodies.
Again, don’t sweat it.
We do love free. And frankly, who can’t use another leather bomber jacket and life-size wooden replica of the BK-117 helicopter, right?
But the truth is, there’s nothing to fear about giving out less freebies than others.
The Straight Scoop about EMS freebies:
Here’s the deal. Sam’s Club freebies are samples of products they sell. The reason your kids are sampling the port wine cheese spread is because there are 50-gallon tubs of it for sale behind the sample cart.
EMS freebies on the other hand, are traditionally pins, t-shirts and sundry items. For obvious reasons, EMS freebies are never samples of what EMS providers do.
The difference between free product samples and free random stuff is huge.
When your competitor hands out propeller hats and pins, it does nothing to increase the real or perceived value of the services it provides. Why? Because their business isn’t propeller hats and pins. Their business, like yours, is treating and transporting trauma patients.
So why do it?
What is the benefit to handing out freebies?
The one benefit to EMS freebies that do not qualify as product samples, is that all freebies engage a certain amount of reciprocity.
Talk to me goose, what is reciprocity?
The rule of reciprocity in layman terms is simply “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” The idea that if all other things are equal, a ground provider will call the helicopter service who gave him a free hat before the one who gave him nothing.
For more information about reciprocity, check out Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, written by Robert B. Cialdini, PH.D.
Aha! I knew it! Freebies do matter!
Okay. You got me. From the subtle psychological perspective of reciprocity, and how it influences our behavior, freebies do make a difference.
But here’s another reason you shouldn’t worry if your program gives little away in terms of trinkets and memorabilia.
Does your flight program do other things? Like EMS Night Out or Landing Zone training or follow-up letters to ground providers?
Because all of these engage reciprocity too. And at a much deeper level than propeller hats and proprietary dental floss (flight floss, if we dare).
So our advice stands. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Focus on patient care and doing your job well. Don’t waste time worrying about a competitor giving away more goodies than you do.
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Do you know somebody who worries about freebies? Or just really likes freebies? Share this article with them.
And if for whatever reason they’re not completely delighted………… kindly remind them, it’s free.
Clear skies and tailwinds,
Fly-write
