Leaflets are a very effective marketing tool but to make it work you need a distribution plan strategy… A great delivery plan but an average leaflet will win over a great leaflet but poor or non-existent delivery plan every time. Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Make sure that your leaflets are considered, professionally designed and have:
• A great headline on both sides
• An attention catching image
• Been printed on the right stock
• A compelling call to action
• A time limited offer
• Even Ideally a unique tracking phone number
2. Don’t waste your money with unplanned, unprofessional delivery (no matter how cheap!). Consider the following:
- Demographics & Geography:
-Know the demographics and the total number of letterboxes in your target area.
-Don’t be too narrow in targeting – especially on the first couple of drops – as you find and learn about your audience. You may get surprising results.
-A drop area of less than 5,000 isn’t going to give you value in terms of measuring, for future tweaks. It would be just too small of a sample to be reliable.
- First Impressions count:
-Make sure your leaflet reflects the way you want your business to be seen and your brand perceived.
-Print on the best / heaviest paper you can with the best finish you can. We recommend at least 150gsm and up to 280gsm (depending on your product or service). 100gsm or lower and you are compromising your brand image.
- Campaign Strategy:
-Repetition to build Reputation: In almost every situation the default delivery plan should be a campaign, not a one-off drop. Here is how it works:
- Drop 1. Low hanging fruit
They were ready to buy and you have landed on their doormat at the right time. - Drop 2. Vague Familiarity. More considered buyers and low hanging fruit.
- Drop 3. Building a name; Response levels are 2-5 times what they were at drop 1. You are starting to ‘own’ the area.
- Remember that trust comes with recognition.
-Time between drops: Err on the side of more frequent. We suggest repeating areas between 4-6 weeks, to achieve the memory effect. Frequent drops also enable you to learn quickly what is working and what isn’t to refine your campaigns.
- Solus or Shared distribution? Both work well…. but there is a trade off with each method:
-Solus: your leaflet alone, pretty much where and when you want, ideally exclusively capturing attention. However, there is no control on what other leaflets or post is arriving immediately after. Also, this is of course at a premium price (3-4 times shared) to cover all overhead costs.
-Shared : with other leaflets. Cheaper as you are also sharing the costs of the delivery company.The trade-off being an amount of flexibility – you are restricted to going where that company has scheduled rounds.
- Be Ready for the response: Make sure who ever answers the phone is well briefed. No point in doing all this work and not being able to capture the new business!
- GPS tracking, checking and measuring: For piece peace of mind, you might consider what checks can be offered by your distribution company. Be sure to gather feedback, responses and trackable data from each drop. Most of your competitors don’t bother.
For more information check out Greg’s website on http://www.bristol.dor2dor.com/
The above is adapted extracts from the free Dor-2-Dor booklet: ‘How to Make Leaflet Drops Work – Brilliantly!’