Effectiveness Of Door 2 Door Leaflets?

[chris2007]

I'm considering doing a leaflet drop to about 1,000 home in the northeast advertising a finance service. I just wondered if anyone on here has had much experience with them, and did they find they produced good results? what type of results did you get etc?

thanks

 

[artona]

Hi

what sort of finance service are you thinking of


stew

 

[brightbeandesign]

Hi Chris,

as with most marketing campaigns getting tangable feedback is the only way to find out how well or not you are doing.

Use some sort of referance code or offer code so you can see when a customer contacts you via campaign A.
Campaign B etc

you will then be able to get a picture of your success or failure.

A well designed leaflet can work in the right numbers.

*cough cough* I Happen to design leaflets and posters etc
If your intersted drop me a mail

Good Luck

 

[fisicx]

What do you do with all the junk mail that comes through your door?

Are you targetting your leaflet drop or just shoving it thorugh every door in the street?

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Hey there Chris. I offer this service at www.flyerservices.co.uk so I'll throw some advice up on here for you.

Leaflet/flyer marketing works great but unfortunately 90% of leaflets I see do almost everything wrong. No attention grabbing headline, poor design, no benefit-driven sales copy etc. I'm sure you've seen the kind of leaflets for businesses like plumbers which say 'this is my business name, this is what I do, this is my number'.

Because of this they get a very poor response rate. However, with the right design, right sales copy and good, trustworthy distribution, you can get a fantastic response. Of course, the percentage response you get depends on the service you're offering but I have yet to see a correctly designed leaflet not make back it's cost and a significant amount of extra profit.

 

[chris2007]

i am going to be tracking the campaign responses through phone numbers on the advertising... different numbers for different advertising etc....

 

[brightbeandesign]

Well then Chris you need a good audience targeted design and print.
have you researched your potential clients - demographics etc

Would you like to talk about this project further with myself?? PM me

 

[themonk]

I use leaflets to good effect! I get around 30,000 A5 full colour double-sided printed.
I usually get an interest of around 1:100 or sometimes 1:50. Depending on product/service. I believe the usual conversion is near to 1:1000.
If you offer money off etc on the leaflet, then expect to pay VAT on your order, otherwise it can be VAT free.
Due to the tough times we are facing however, my recent leaflet drop via the local 'rag' was not as successful as those before.
I do get calls from leaflets distributed up to 18+ months ago!
You just never know!
Do give it a go though!!!

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

I use leaflets to good effect! I get around 30,000 A5 full colour double-sided printed.
I usually get an interest of around 1:100 or sometimes 1:50. Depending on product/service. I believe the usual conversion is near to 1:1000.
If you offer money off etc on the leaflet, then expect to pay VAT on your order, otherwise it can be VAT free.
Due to the tough times we are facing however, my recent leaflet drop via the local 'rag' was not as successful as those before.
I do get calls from leaflets distributed up to 18+ months ago!
You just never know!
Do give it a go though!!!

1:1000 is extremely small for even any form of marketing campaign. A response of 2-5% is what I'd call good. Try popping the design up in a thead on UKBF for a review of the design and sales copy as that will make all the difference

Also do you get them distributed within local newspapers? Campaigns like that usually provide the lowest response rate. You'll be much better off distributing them door-to-door in smaller quantities.

 

[chris2007]

the service is offering financial advise on mortgages, re-mortgages, buy-to-let, insurances commercial and pers, investments, pensions etc etc.

i don't put them in the local paper. I'm looking at doing a 1st drop of about 1,000 A5 flyers. Got a few bits to sort in order to get going. Was thinking about using a distribution company as they pritty cheap, but i may do a few days myself dropping them through the doors 1st so i know exactly where they going to, what streets, post codes etc, and see what happens from there?

 

[paul881]

Hey there Chris. I offer this service at www.flyerservices.co.uk so I'll throw some advice up on here for you.

Leaflet/flyer marketing works great but unfortunately 90% of leaflets I see do almost everything wrong. No attention grabbing headline, poor design, no benefit-driven sales copy etc. I'm sure you've seen the kind of leaflets for businesses like plumbers which say 'this is my business name, this is what I do, this is my number'.

Because of this they get a very poor response rate. However, with the right design, right sales copy and good, trustworthy distribution, you can get a fantastic response. Of course, the percentage response you get depends on the service you're offering but I have yet to see a correctly designed leaflet not make back it's cost and a significant amount of extra profit.

Spot on advice for Chris and us all here. Plus some testimony statements (at least one) and a call for action like Call now on 01234 567890 for your free no obligation consultation.

 

[extremelyhappy]

I think sending a ton of direct mail through the letter box but I'm not sure if I can trust the person who hand deliver them personally as I've seen many of my friends letters ended up in the bin than in the letter box!

I gues of you know someone trustworthy then it should work a marvel!

Oh other bits, track the conversions too and always try PPC at the same time. Again, you never know. It might work the charm..

 

[Peter Bowen]

I ran several leaflet campaigns for my plant nursery back in south africa.

I'm a bit of a geek so I measured everything. This is what we discovered (your mileage may vary)

• The response rate increased by sending the same flyer to the same houses three weeks in a row.
• Black and white flyers with lots of words got better response than full colour ones that were mostly pictures.
• A good flyer would bring in >10% results, a terrible flyer less than 0.1%
• Testing a small sample (we used just under 1000 because it was size of one particular neighbourhood that the distribution company did) was worth it every time. If the response rate was low we didn't send the flyer.
• We just broke even on the first sale (ie the average profit X number of responses) but we had a great system for getting repeat business so it didn't really matter if we didn't.

Give me a shout if you want to see copies of what worked or if you need a hand designing the metrics.

Cheers

Pete

 

[paul881]

The market "average" response to flyers is around the 2%- 2.5% mark but as Peter states above, this could be a lot less depending on circumstances. And the key is not just to do it once - you need to do it repeatedly. And be very anal about measuring the responses you get too - marketing is as much about statistics as anything else.

 

[capsule01]

Junk mail, has a very low response rate...

I would suggest asking yourself a few questions first.

Would you buy your services from a leaflet dropped through your door?
Are your leaflets going to people who need your services?

good luck

 

[Sphinx]

I find the best response to leafleting is when you do them yourself. You really can't trust anyone else to do it properly.

I target the right areas and get about 1-2% response rate, sometimes more if i'm lucky. I do like to do small direct mail outs using royal mail but with my names and adresses every now and again. about a 1000 at a time. Some people respond to something that is adressed directly to them (not just 'the homeowner') better than a random leaflet.

Also sending them out with newspapers i find dosent really get a response at all, even if you're sending them to the right postcodes.

Another tip, doing leafleting during schools holiday times seems to cut down the response rate as well. I guess if people have gone on holiday they come back to find lots of 'junk mail' so it probably goes straight in the bin.

 

[themonk]

1:1000 is extremely small for even any form of marketing campaign. A response of 2-5% is what I'd call good. Try popping the design up in a thead on UKBF for a review of the design and sales copy as that will make all the difference

Also do you get them distributed within local newspapers? Campaigns like that usually provide the lowest response rate. You'll be much better off distributing them door-to-door in smaller quantities.

I have put them through letterboxes myself .... very hard going & will cover around 200 houses between 2 of us per 1.1/2 hours work. That'll usually get 2 - 3 enquiries. Cheap business but hard on the legs!
Have tried the local rag putting them out for around £12+VAT/1000. 20,000 go out at a time.
The best results for me tend to be hitting existing databases with leaflets by posting them out with an offer or with an incentive to recommend me!
Good results again follow!

 

[www.giftsupplying.com]

Hi Chris,

If you can make your leaflets special and the receivers keep them a long time,then you will success.

Recently,we produce 60000pcs coupons for a franchised garment shop.The design is really splendid.No one will imagine that coupons could be done like that.

If you would like to talk about this project further with me,you can email [email protected]

Bob
Fuzhou Forbetter Trade Co., Ltd
Your best choice for promo gifts!
Low price, high quality, good service, fast delivery
www.giftsupplying.com

 

[Dazzling Dazza]

Hi Chris,

I would go for a personalised campaign, rather than a mass drop, you'll get a much better conversion rate. You'll need to ensure you have the leads first though, but if they are good leads you can target a smaller market (thus saving costs) and gain a greater return. Like all things it'll only work if those who you target have a need for your service. Research your market, well.

 

[Brightpearl]

Hi Chris,

Lots of great advice here, I'm impressed with Peter's measurements. Direct marketing can work a treat but it has to be well designed to target your audience.

Peter was most successful when he delivered to houses several times. If you have the right design that covey's experience you are more likely to build trust. Debt used to be a good thing but is becoming a millstone so people will need your advice. If you can be percieved as a neighbour with expertses who is easily accessable (prehaps you could offer a free consultation) you may stand a good chance in getting calls.

Similarly to how Peter measures everything, track how sucessful the campaign is by logging how many mailshots you send to each contact, who gets back to you and value of those leads. CRM systems are great for this.

 

[designs2print]

I'm considering doing a leaflet drop to about 1,000 home in the northeast advertising a finance service. I just wondered if anyone on here has had much experience with them, and did they find they produced good results? what type of results did you get etc?

thanks

Hi There

We have a client that does door to door and the results they have got is very good and they offer financial services too!

Give it a try, do a small drop first and see what you get back from it...

 

[chris2007]

thanks for all the advice....

so the type of design i was thinking of is keeping it simple, black writing on a white background as peter advised, something like:

FREE FINANCIAL ADVISE
FIGHT THE CREDIT CRUNCH

Mortgages - Buy To Let - Insurance - Investments etc etc

Call now on: 123456789

simple, and to the point.

what yous think?

 

[Peter Bowen]

thanks for all the advice....

so the type of design i was thinking of is keeping it simple, black writing on a white background as peter advised, something like:

FREE FINANCIAL ADVISE
FIGHT THE CREDIT CRUNCH

Mortgages - Buy To Let - Insurance - Investments etc etc

Call now on: 123456789

simple, and to the point.

what yous think?

Bad idea.

Now before you get angry with me for raining on your parade can I would you consider the humble leaflet pushed through the door.

The homeowner picks it up and glances at it. Our leaflet has only a moment to state it's case before it's dumped. The headline has to do that job. It's got to resonate, promise something exciting enough to hold the reader's attention for a few more seconds.

Then, once you've got the readers fleeting attention the first paragaph has to draw him in, entice him to keep reading.

The rest of the space should be devoted to exploring the reader's problem from his perspective, and then gently pointing out how your solution will help him solve that problem better than any other available.

It's not hard to write a throway leaflet. I get a pile of them through my mailbox every week. Expect to spend several days on writing one that gets you business.

Cheers

Pete

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

thanks for all the advice....

so the type of design i was thinking of is keeping it simple, black writing on a white background as peter advised, something like:

FREE FINANCIAL ADVISE
FIGHT THE CREDIT CRUNCH

Mortgages - Buy To Let - Insurance - Investments etc etc

Call now on: 123456789

simple, and to the point.

what yous think?

Falls at the first hurdle in-terms of selling ability I'm afraid. It's like the plumbing leaflets I mentioned earlier which go 'this is my name, this is what I do, this is my number, buhbye!'. I'd be surprised if you got a single response from it.

Your copy needs to be benefit driven, you need to clearly explain:

• What you're offering
• Why you're offering it for free (it smells of scam if you don't get this point across, no one offers something for free for no reason).
• Why they should buy it (benefits benefits benefits for the reader).
• Why they should buy it from you (USP)
• Call to action at the end, tell them to get in contact with you.

Don't be afraid to put a fair few sentences in there, if it's well-written and you grab their interest then people will read it.

On top of this the headline is by far the most important part. You have to have a powerful, attention grabbing headline for the reader to notice. It must also make the reader want to read on.

As for design, I'd personally go for a well designed, colourful leaflet as UK audiences tend to respond to that better. Don't just ram it full of images though, make the design eye-catching and professional but include enough sales copy which is easily readable.

Hope this helps.

 

[paul881]

And make sure you have no spelling mistakes - i.e. "advice" instead of "advise" as you have written.

 

[Modern Print]

It all depends on what you are selling. Eg putting a leaflet through the door of a house that is up for sale about mortgages is a grate idea.

Trevor, printing and graphic design in Pembrokeshire.

 

[themonk]

Don't forget that white space also sells! e.g. Don't clutter it up!
'Wordy' leaflets/adverts switch me off everytime!
I agree with the use of colour. It isn't usually any dearer anyway!

 

[BakerSN1]

thanks for all the advice....

so the type of design i was thinking of is keeping it simple, black writing on a white background as peter advised, something like:

FREE FINANCIAL ADVISE
FIGHT THE CREDIT CRUNCH

Mortgages - Buy To Let - Insurance - Investments etc etc

Call now on: 123456789

simple, and to the point.

what yous think?

If the advice is free, are you funded by a government grant? Is the advice free in return for potential sales of some description?

You need to make it a lot clearer what you are doing and why they should use you.

The point that ScottSCD made was good. if it's free and sounds to good to be true, it'll be in the bin straight away.

I'm actually interested to know what exacctly you will be doing and how it works? can you enlighten us all?

 

[MarkAOrr]

So far nobody has mentioned the 'call to action' which is about the most important part of any marketing communication. If you would like more help on this then message me privately.

There are loads of problems with door to door leafleting and it only suits some products. However, testing it on just 1,000 households will hopefully give you some answers at relatively low cost.

He are some definitely do's

Do have a professional copywriter construct a strong powerful message for you.

Do take that message to a good professional graphic designer

Do use both sides of the leaflet

Do have a really powerful call to action

Do make sure that you monitor responses using special phone numbers, email addresses and even web sites

Do be very careful about the area you pick and why you picked it

Do deliver them all yourself. 1,000 is not enough for a proper professional company to deliver and if somebody offers to do it cheaply I suspect that many of them will end up in the bin

Do test proper direct mail against your door drop as I suspect it will give you better results and a better return on your investment.

Therefore, do measure all of your costs and all of your income accurately. Good luck.

 

[oldeagleeye]

Sphinx is right especially with just 1,000 DIY. The problem with other distributors is that they bundle lots of leaflets together so they all get binned. That is why most Chinesse takaways and curry houses DIY.

Don't expect too much of a response on mortgages and secured loans anyway. I used to take full page promotions in lots of local rag sheets during the good times at around £1,000 a page. We actually coverted every lead we got but they still worked out at £100 a pop.

Hate to be negative OP but even if you get a typical 2-5% response - given todays economic situation any enquires that you do get will be from timewasters with no equity and probably arrears and even Kensignton wouldn't look at those these days.

Frankly. You would be better off becoming an agent for small loans of £100 - £250 quid and stick postcards in local newsagents. Rob

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

So far nobody has mentioned the 'call to action' which is about the most important part of any marketing communication. If you would like more help on this then message me privately.

I mentioned it here:

Call to action at the end, tell them to get in contact with you.

And it really isn't the most important part of any marketing communication. There's many factors and it's hard to compare them all but the headline is probably the most important with benefit driven sales copy coming in second as these two factors directly influence and sell to the reader.

Other than that, the rest of the advice you gave is good so take note Chris.

 

[davidjackson1968]

Anyone have experience of this?

I, together with my partner recently delivered 3000 leaflets in Cambridge. The guy who gave me his box of flyers said it was based on trust, and if i said I did 3000 then would be enough for him and I would get paid straight away( even though he is from Bishop Stortford?)
On ringing him to tell him I had finished and would like payment, he then claimed, he didn't believe me as he had not one call in response to my deliveries.

So now I have tracked him down and written a letter, demanding payment within two weeks of 90 pounds.
He thought thought by parking his car along way off, when he came to my house and only giving first name that I wouldn't be able to trace him..but alas for him I am not as daft as he thought I was, and I found out his address and his bosses name.

Does anyone have advice and experience similar to this?
Thanks alot

 

[MarkAOrr]

I hope you get him and get paid but what an awful lot of hassle over just £90. Next time ask for all or at least half up front. If you give credit it is fair enough to ask people to fill in a credit application form. If they don't it is because they don't intend to pay you.

Do you regularly deliver leaflets? If so invest in a GPS tracking device so you can show people exactly where you have been on a satellite track.

Please name and shame this person somewhere so he can't do it again.

 

[davidjackson1968]

Well I cant name him yet,as I will take him to the small claims court if they dont pay up. I was new to this leaflet game so alas i didnt know about the pitfalls of it all. 90 is nothing but it's the principle and I dont like being taken advantage of.
His leaflets had only 08700 number on it and no home address, but i tracked him down by using 192 and paying for the privelege of it.
Will let you know more if you wish.
Thanks for the tips also.

 

[davidjackson1968]

Also just found out they were dissolved last November and I worked for them in January this year 2012.
I guess the man called John has acted fraudulently to still be trading.

 

[MarkAOrr]

I look forward to your direct email to me and then I will be able to help you.

 

[antonyjessjohn]

I think it could be useful to get the attention of most of the readers, no doubt some of the people do not like all these but can help to get the services.

 

[Searcher]

Also just found out they were dissolved last November and I worked for them in January this year 2012.
I guess the man called John has acted fraudulently to still be trading.

Sorry to hear that you've been stiched. For the sake of £90 it really isn't worth going to the Small Claims Court as you will in any case incur unrecoverable costs which will swallow up most of the £90. Plus it can take months for these cases to be processed. But most of all, if the company went bust before you took on the contract (which I assume was the Company and not the guy individually) then you have little chance of recovery even if you were owed a few grand.

My advice is go to the legal threads and find out how this guy can be reported for illegal trading. You can probably make life very unpleasant for him in other ways.

As for the £90 - possibly the best investment you've ever made in yourself if you've learnt some lessons from this.

 

[jfkcleanservices]

I have done a leaflet drop. A little spread out, but only did a 1000 in a few selected areas for a domestic cleaning business. I have not had 1 response. They were very nice, all flashy colour graphics etc. I find them expensive though so its interesting what Peter mentioned about the black and white option. When your delivering in 1000's maybe B&W will be better.

 

[MarkAOrr]

Hello JFK Cleaning services, I presume you targeted the houses you wanted to put the leaflets through so you know they have been delivered to the right audience.

If that is the case all you need to do is send me a copy of your artwork by email and I will tell you exactly why it didn't get a response. This won't cost you a penny and I am not trying to get your business. I would just like to prove to you that leaflet deliveries really do work....but only if you deliver the right message to the right people in the right way.

My email address is mark at printingandmailing dot co dot uk. I have to write it that way as this site doesn't like people putting their addresses in the conventional way.

Perhaps you could also tell me what material you had them printed on. Thanks