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Davem1234
- Original Poster
- #2
Hi Aaron
I can't give you a name of anybody but just an idea, I think newsagents would distribute your flyers with their morning papers. They would probably be the simplest to arrange and shouldn't cost too much.
When I gave out flyers I did it myself but there was only a few hundred and it was a one off.
By the way, if you need an accountant then please PM me. I am based in Dromore, Co Down.
Dave
I can't give you a name of anybody but just an idea, I think newsagents would distribute your flyers with their morning papers. They would probably be the simplest to arrange and shouldn't cost too much.
When I gave out flyers I did it myself but there was only a few hundred and it was a one off.
By the way, if you need an accountant then please PM me. I am based in Dromore, Co Down.
Dave
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Aaron - Try www.letterboxmarketingireland.com - Have heard good reports about them.
There is also a place on Boucher Road facing M&S (beside or in the old Eason's offices) can't remember their name sorry.
There is also a place on Boucher Road facing M&S (beside or in the old Eason's offices) can't remember their name sorry.
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I've had some personal experience here.
If you want it done, done well, and every (within reason) letterbox delivered to - do it yourself.
If you want a glamorous looking company to fill you with confidence and talk about penetration rates, back checks, verification processes blah blah , and then take your money and run - open the yellow pages or go with the type of company mentioned here.
Sorry to be so cynical, but I 've paid for a 60 000 print run, then paid for a 60 000 letterboxmarketing delivery. About 20 000 items went out (that I can tell)
When I asked for verification I got a list of streets. When I checked the people I knew on these streets - nothing.
Its truly heartbreaking to put your hard earned cash into something to have companies take your money, deliver a large percentage of your materials to the recycling skip, and get paid for their trouble.
I've developed a system that today allows me to have letterbox items delivered thoroughly. It takes a little more work on my part, but the delivery is done.
I'll talk you through it if you like.
Regards
If you want it done, done well, and every (within reason) letterbox delivered to - do it yourself.
If you want a glamorous looking company to fill you with confidence and talk about penetration rates, back checks, verification processes blah blah , and then take your money and run - open the yellow pages or go with the type of company mentioned here.
Sorry to be so cynical, but I 've paid for a 60 000 print run, then paid for a 60 000 letterboxmarketing delivery. About 20 000 items went out (that I can tell)
When I asked for verification I got a list of streets. When I checked the people I knew on these streets - nothing.
Its truly heartbreaking to put your hard earned cash into something to have companies take your money, deliver a large percentage of your materials to the recycling skip, and get paid for their trouble.
I've developed a system that today allows me to have letterbox items delivered thoroughly. It takes a little more work on my part, but the delivery is done.
I'll talk you through it if you like.
Regards
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Supreme
- Original Poster
- #7
Hello,
New to the forum, I am a manager in Letterbox Marketing Ireland and I can tell you that everything has changed in the company atleast since I've came on board. The thing with leaflet distribution is it's so hard to know who to trust, with many people not doing the full amount and maybe dumping the remainder.
I oversee the storage, distribution and returns of each clients leaflets. I also manage the team leaders, workers and vans of the company. This was never done before and I can tell you that one person over seeing the lot has far more controll than 2 or 3 departments.
I have just set up my own company where we will distribute certain quanities of leaflets.
SmilePrint if you tell me what company the leaflets were booked under I would be more that happy to look into what exactly happened to your drop. Nothing annoys me more than the actions of the past management getting us labled as a bad company.
Gerard
New to the forum, I am a manager in Letterbox Marketing Ireland and I can tell you that everything has changed in the company atleast since I've came on board. The thing with leaflet distribution is it's so hard to know who to trust, with many people not doing the full amount and maybe dumping the remainder.
I oversee the storage, distribution and returns of each clients leaflets. I also manage the team leaders, workers and vans of the company. This was never done before and I can tell you that one person over seeing the lot has far more controll than 2 or 3 departments.
I have just set up my own company where we will distribute certain quanities of leaflets.
SmilePrint if you tell me what company the leaflets were booked under I would be more that happy to look into what exactly happened to your drop. Nothing annoys me more than the actions of the past management getting us labled as a bad company.
Gerard
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Gerard,
thanks for your offer, but I strongly suspect your eagerness to resolve a company's issues will wane in a month or two.
Its always "all change" at any company after a customer has a problem, but having heard this many times from many companies I've found its usually not "all change".
I don't take kindly to companies taking my money and buggering off or hiding behind "procedures" when I ask legitimate questions.
BTW what exactly do you think will happen if I gave you the name and dates etc? If you're suggesting this company will refund me for the printing and delivery cost of the 75% that got binned and not delivered, then yes certainly I'll be happy to talk (circa £10K refund).
However, the problem cannot be rectified. And certainly not now. The business that was represented did not get the service promised, which affected its CREDIBILTY and ultimately its SUCCESS. (Business Directories promised to EVERY door in an area)
Meanwhile the cushy offices, the company cars, the expense accounts of the company responsible for the failure continue. And new staff, like you Gerard, get churned.
So, I'll continue to tell my story to all and sundry who will listen to ensure those I meet will never trust the words of the silver tongued salesmen or the biggest YP ad.
I work a simple system today, and I recommend those I meet to do the same; I pay on results.
When I check an area, only when I am satisfied it is delivered do I pay.
Its funny how most of the 'Big' companies don't want to do business on this basis. "You want back checks?" they say "Oh... the price will have to be another +£20/1000". What other industry would put up with this? Pay extra to have some type of hocus in-house assurance they have done what they are being paid to do?
Order 10 000 widgets, pay for 10 000 widgets, and get shown 50 widgets as conclusive proof that they were all made, plus a comment like "We make widgets for Tesco and they don't ask us these questions" "Of course we're trustworthy" I don't think many other industries would work like that.
So Gerard/ Supreme thanks for your interest, and we'll all watch this space eagerly for the return of £10 of my £15K spent on a print and distribution run.
Regards and keep smiling
thanks for your offer, but I strongly suspect your eagerness to resolve a company's issues will wane in a month or two.
Its always "all change" at any company after a customer has a problem, but having heard this many times from many companies I've found its usually not "all change".
I don't take kindly to companies taking my money and buggering off or hiding behind "procedures" when I ask legitimate questions.
BTW what exactly do you think will happen if I gave you the name and dates etc? If you're suggesting this company will refund me for the printing and delivery cost of the 75% that got binned and not delivered, then yes certainly I'll be happy to talk (circa £10K refund).
However, the problem cannot be rectified. And certainly not now. The business that was represented did not get the service promised, which affected its CREDIBILTY and ultimately its SUCCESS. (Business Directories promised to EVERY door in an area)
Meanwhile the cushy offices, the company cars, the expense accounts of the company responsible for the failure continue. And new staff, like you Gerard, get churned.
So, I'll continue to tell my story to all and sundry who will listen to ensure those I meet will never trust the words of the silver tongued salesmen or the biggest YP ad.
I work a simple system today, and I recommend those I meet to do the same; I pay on results.
When I check an area, only when I am satisfied it is delivered do I pay.
Its funny how most of the 'Big' companies don't want to do business on this basis. "You want back checks?" they say "Oh... the price will have to be another +£20/1000". What other industry would put up with this? Pay extra to have some type of hocus in-house assurance they have done what they are being paid to do?
Order 10 000 widgets, pay for 10 000 widgets, and get shown 50 widgets as conclusive proof that they were all made, plus a comment like "We make widgets for Tesco and they don't ask us these questions" "Of course we're trustworthy" I don't think many other industries would work like that.
So Gerard/ Supreme thanks for your interest, and we'll all watch this space eagerly for the return of £10 of my £15K spent on a print and distribution run.
Regards and keep smiling
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Supreme
- Original Poster
- #9
Brendan,
I can imagine your anger at the service you received so dont think that this reply is in any way disagreeing with you. Your right as this was most likely before my time I couldn't say you would get a refund. That said you havent given a company name the work was booked under so until then nothing could be vertified.
You said 20,000 went out that you could tell, well I could look at the actual order and tell you exactly what happened. I have no alliance to the previous regime.
You suspect 20,000 of 60,000 went out but then said 75% return not 66%. As I said I understand your anger and would be exactly the same, I dont know of the system you have developed but we have a client that we deliver 200,000 leaflets a month for. They have back checks via phone call which they carry out. Time consuming yes but 100% foul proof, I dont have anything to do with sales but I feel strongly about giving the customer what they paid for.
I myself monitor each leaflet that comes back to my warehouse and know if a certain area has or has not been delivered. This is in no way trying to justify anything my employers have or have not done in the past. Nor am I trying to bring in new business for them.
I am merely saying I can clarify if infact there was 60,000 booked in and as you suspect only 20,000 was delivered. I am a member on here to promote my company Supreme Marketing NI and to get valuable advice on how to make it a success.
It's just I hate seeing people ripped of especially by people I work for, so my standards will never wane. I'll leave this post the same way I came in with my morales intact.
The offer is there...........
Gerard
I can imagine your anger at the service you received so dont think that this reply is in any way disagreeing with you. Your right as this was most likely before my time I couldn't say you would get a refund. That said you havent given a company name the work was booked under so until then nothing could be vertified.
You said 20,000 went out that you could tell, well I could look at the actual order and tell you exactly what happened. I have no alliance to the previous regime.
You suspect 20,000 of 60,000 went out but then said 75% return not 66%. As I said I understand your anger and would be exactly the same, I dont know of the system you have developed but we have a client that we deliver 200,000 leaflets a month for. They have back checks via phone call which they carry out. Time consuming yes but 100% foul proof, I dont have anything to do with sales but I feel strongly about giving the customer what they paid for.
I myself monitor each leaflet that comes back to my warehouse and know if a certain area has or has not been delivered. This is in no way trying to justify anything my employers have or have not done in the past. Nor am I trying to bring in new business for them.
I am merely saying I can clarify if infact there was 60,000 booked in and as you suspect only 20,000 was delivered. I am a member on here to promote my company Supreme Marketing NI and to get valuable advice on how to make it a success.
It's just I hate seeing people ripped of especially by people I work for, so my standards will never wane. I'll leave this post the same way I came in with my morales intact.
The offer is there...........
Gerard
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We send out leaflets now on a regular basis. We used Letterbox Marketing to deliver 8,000 leaflets in December 2008 to South Belfast but got no response what-so-ever to the leaflets, whereas when we do it ourselves we get a reasonable response rate.
It's a pity because I'd have gladly given them 20 times more business if I was happy with the response rate. Hence, I'd recommend you save the money and do it yourself.
It's a pity because I'd have gladly given them 20 times more business if I was happy with the response rate. Hence, I'd recommend you save the money and do it yourself.
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Yourlocaltrades
- Original Poster
- #11
That says it all!!
I had 5000 brochures printed up, i am delivering them ALL myself!!
Reason: as i have quoted SpiralHosting above!
You should always do the first lot yourself, if you then require help, either get it in yourself, pay them p/h or get a company, you will know the feedback expected, and PAY once it is done.
All companies i called wanted money upfront, NO NO NO!! i am not stupid! i would leave them to gather dust in my own garage!!
I started Express Marketing, to do leaflet drops, but my wife and i do jobs of no more than 5000, not for much longer thoguh, why?? STAFF!! they think we are silly!!
One bloke delivered 2500 for us, i gave him the week, just 500 a day would be good, it took him an HOUR and wanted paying!!
Back checks need to be done, so he went off on one, so i went around and explained-face to face!! one hour!!!!!!! superman lives!!!
The best thing about this?
I asked him why the leaflets where behind his bin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I saw them before we even knocked his door, lucky it wasn't his face!!!
My wife and i delivered them obviously!!!!!
Please do your first ever drop yourself, feedback can be forever monitored around this, sometimes will be alittle better, some alittle worse, but none-the-less, monitor and keep an eye on the feedback!!!
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Supreme
- Original Poster
- #12
From my own experience an average person can deliver 140 - 160 an hour for about 6 hours straight. Get a daily update of to what they have delivered.
I myself do about 200-250 but that wont last beyond 5 hours at a time. It's hard to get anyone to do more than 1000 a day because they lose interest especially if the weather isnt the greatess.
Tip: If your getting someone to do it, tell them you have a number of friends living in the area and will use their response to determine if a good job been done.
As had been said before if you can do the first drop yourself you'll know exactly if your being bull s***ed when you get someone else to do it.
I myself do about 200-250 but that wont last beyond 5 hours at a time. It's hard to get anyone to do more than 1000 a day because they lose interest especially if the weather isnt the greatess.
Tip: If your getting someone to do it, tell them you have a number of friends living in the area and will use their response to determine if a good job been done.
As had been said before if you can do the first drop yourself you'll know exactly if your being bull s***ed when you get someone else to do it.
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Seems the general consensus is that if you hire delivery company you get little or no response but if you do it yourself you fare better! however its not that black and white whilst I understand the nightmare scenarios detailed in this thread all distribution companies shouldn't be tarred with the same brush.
Yes you guessed it I run a leaflet distribution company so of course I going to defend the industry a bit however I do understand why it generally has a bad reputation.
The obvious reason why you would use a company such as myself is that you want to advertise this way but you'd rather spend your time on your core business activities rather than pounding the streets.
What I do with my clients is show them this benefit and if they are happy to proceed I get all agreed objectives in place, areas, rates & quality control(back checks etc) although that all seems obvious I've been amazed to hear how many companies don't even get those basics right.
As for payment I do stipulate payment in advance only because when I first started up I agreed to take payment afterwards just to get the work and then spent best part of 5 weeks trying to get it not good when you've delivered 10k on your own!! anyways if you only have 200-500 to deliver then it maybe best to do it yourself even though that little would surely only be a test! btw our personal best was 1206 for one day and the area was full of long driveways and big houses as well.
As said I do still understand why people shy away from using a leaflet distribution company however I would check out everything beforehand and you never know you maybe pleasantly surprised plus you've saved yourself valuable time as well.
Yes you guessed it I run a leaflet distribution company so of course I going to defend the industry a bit however I do understand why it generally has a bad reputation.
The obvious reason why you would use a company such as myself is that you want to advertise this way but you'd rather spend your time on your core business activities rather than pounding the streets.
What I do with my clients is show them this benefit and if they are happy to proceed I get all agreed objectives in place, areas, rates & quality control(back checks etc) although that all seems obvious I've been amazed to hear how many companies don't even get those basics right.
As for payment I do stipulate payment in advance only because when I first started up I agreed to take payment afterwards just to get the work and then spent best part of 5 weeks trying to get it not good when you've delivered 10k on your own!! anyways if you only have 200-500 to deliver then it maybe best to do it yourself even though that little would surely only be a test! btw our personal best was 1206 for one day and the area was full of long driveways and big houses as well.
As said I do still understand why people shy away from using a leaflet distribution company however I would check out everything beforehand and you never know you maybe pleasantly surprised plus you've saved yourself valuable time as well.
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If you have a large quantity you could always pay someone to deliver them with you, but I wouldn't trust someone to go off and do it all by themselves. Perhaps find another local business in the same situation and do joint-deliveries with them (providing you aren't competing for customers!).
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Supreme
- Original Poster
- #15
It also depends on the business of the leaflet drop, I've had people call me because on the day of the drop they didnt receive any calls to their take away even though it was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Another client had a drop done and that night they could barely keep up with the pizza orders.
Find someone you can trust or who can gain your trust.
Find someone you can trust or who can gain your trust.
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Thanks for your input Joe, you seem a nice enough guy and I'm sure no one else here would in any way want to smear you or your business.
The problem lies in this; How can I differentiate you and the con artists?
Everything you would say to strengthen your position - so would the thieves.
Companies/People who want to rob businesses , don't appear in shabby clothes with dirty hands to the sounds of chilling music.
They look the part, smell the part, talk the part etc...
So, how do I find people like you Joe in my area, or in any area throughout the UK?
The only rational way, to defend/protect the business owner who wants leaflets, is to pay on results.
Which leaves us at an impasse. You(and the industry generally) want paid beforehand, I want to pay on completed delivery.
Its irreconcilable, until we know and trust each other. We can't know and trust each other until one of us moves from our position.
I'm offering advice from personal experience to small businesses on UKBF who want leaflets delivered, not attempting to lure them into losing money to any of the many fraudsters in the industry.
Last year I lost a high value print job when it was subbed out from a trusted colleague to someone else for a delivery fee of £400. Backchecks proved the delivery wasn't done, as well as evidence from a local taxi firm with 70 drivers dotted all across the area!! Only when I threatened Small Claims court (for the price to re-print) did I get anywhere. I got the price to re-print but not without a fight.
So, back to the start, in order to get leaflets done, I recommend doing them yourself - organising a team yourself, and paying on results.
Unless you live near Joe!! (Well done on your 1206 in one day!! - I work to 100 per person per hour; averaged out over various types of residential areas)
Brendan
The problem lies in this; How can I differentiate you and the con artists?
Everything you would say to strengthen your position - so would the thieves.
Companies/People who want to rob businesses , don't appear in shabby clothes with dirty hands to the sounds of chilling music.
They look the part, smell the part, talk the part etc...
So, how do I find people like you Joe in my area, or in any area throughout the UK?
The only rational way, to defend/protect the business owner who wants leaflets, is to pay on results.
Which leaves us at an impasse. You(and the industry generally) want paid beforehand, I want to pay on completed delivery.
Its irreconcilable, until we know and trust each other. We can't know and trust each other until one of us moves from our position.
I'm offering advice from personal experience to small businesses on UKBF who want leaflets delivered, not attempting to lure them into losing money to any of the many fraudsters in the industry.
Last year I lost a high value print job when it was subbed out from a trusted colleague to someone else for a delivery fee of £400. Backchecks proved the delivery wasn't done, as well as evidence from a local taxi firm with 70 drivers dotted all across the area!! Only when I threatened Small Claims court (for the price to re-print) did I get anywhere. I got the price to re-print but not without a fight.
So, back to the start, in order to get leaflets done, I recommend doing them yourself - organising a team yourself, and paying on results.
Unless you live near Joe!! (Well done on your 1206 in one day!! - I work to 100 per person per hour; averaged out over various types of residential areas)
Brendan
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Smileprint thanks for reading my post, You've hit the nail right on the head when you said its about trust, Trust is the key to a sucessful campaign but how do you build it? its a tough question especially when you quite rightly say about the impasse over payment terms.
I've been thinking for a while now to introduce into my business a 50/50 situation so half is paid upfront and the other half paid on satisfactory reports being completed for the client its not perfect but it may go someway to alleviating the situation.
It may prove to be a good differential even though it's probably nothing new, I suspect some firms have done this before maybe with varying
degrees of success, as finding people like me; you wont I'm special
In all seriousness as you point out it's difficult the last thing anyone wants is the nightmare scenario you went through, Personally I just try to be open and not too desperate for business I ask for what I want, I'm honest to give feedback on the potential difficulties I can see forsee, I provide testimonials if required, I work with my clients and when I say work I really mean that; a proper sit down to work out all the details of the distribution which includes all the above and the bottom line is that i love what I do! I love meeting people seeing how they run their businesses planning with them and then delivering on objectives that are set.
I love being outside all day whatever the weather (Am abnormal like this!!)
Not sure if all this helps anybody to tell the difference between the genuine and the fraudsters though.
Regards
Joe E
I've been thinking for a while now to introduce into my business a 50/50 situation so half is paid upfront and the other half paid on satisfactory reports being completed for the client its not perfect but it may go someway to alleviating the situation.
It may prove to be a good differential even though it's probably nothing new, I suspect some firms have done this before maybe with varying
degrees of success, as finding people like me; you wont I'm special
In all seriousness as you point out it's difficult the last thing anyone wants is the nightmare scenario you went through, Personally I just try to be open and not too desperate for business I ask for what I want, I'm honest to give feedback on the potential difficulties I can see forsee, I provide testimonials if required, I work with my clients and when I say work I really mean that; a proper sit down to work out all the details of the distribution which includes all the above and the bottom line is that i love what I do! I love meeting people seeing how they run their businesses planning with them and then delivering on objectives that are set.
I love being outside all day whatever the weather (Am abnormal like this!!)
Not sure if all this helps anybody to tell the difference between the genuine and the fraudsters though.
Regards
Joe E
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Hello All,
I have just started a leaflet distribution company in Northern Ireland and am determined to provide a quality, reliable service.
Getting paid afterwards would leave me open to getting ripped off - I can't exactly go and get all the leaflets back if you don't pay.
How else can I earn your trust? I am a very open and honest person, and have started the business with my father. We currently have about 6 people who we have talked to about delivering for us, once the orders build up. They are all trustworthy people and I intend to monitor them closely.
As a legitimate company who won't dump your leaflets, how do I earn your trust?
William
I have just started a leaflet distribution company in Northern Ireland and am determined to provide a quality, reliable service.
Getting paid afterwards would leave me open to getting ripped off - I can't exactly go and get all the leaflets back if you don't pay.
How else can I earn your trust? I am a very open and honest person, and have started the business with my father. We currently have about 6 people who we have talked to about delivering for us, once the orders build up. They are all trustworthy people and I intend to monitor them closely.
As a legitimate company who won't dump your leaflets, how do I earn your trust?
William
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I've contacted many distributors,
One of my concerns is the inability of many who profess to be authentic distributors to fulfill the most basic of checks.
Do you have a website?
Do you display a physical address?
Do you have a landline phone number?
Are you listed on Yell.com or other online directories?
Do you use a [email protected] or a [email protected] email address?
In other words do you appear legitimate in some basic checks? Or are you doing this while claiming inability to walk/sickness benefit?
There is still the meeting in person, and how you come across in person.
But in direct reply to your question DeliverEase, if you take my items which cost me £1000, and bin them and I have paid you up front, how do I seek recourse for my total loss of £1000 plus delivery fee? I can't exactly take back my product and get my money back off you just as you can't un-deliver items you've put through letterboxes.
The onus is on you to prove you can do the work, you will do the work and you're a legitimate business, before asking for blanket trust from your target businesses.
Hope this helps.
One of my concerns is the inability of many who profess to be authentic distributors to fulfill the most basic of checks.
Do you have a website?
Do you display a physical address?
Do you have a landline phone number?
Are you listed on Yell.com or other online directories?
Do you use a [email protected] or a [email protected] email address?
In other words do you appear legitimate in some basic checks? Or are you doing this while claiming inability to walk/sickness benefit?
There is still the meeting in person, and how you come across in person.
But in direct reply to your question DeliverEase, if you take my items which cost me £1000, and bin them and I have paid you up front, how do I seek recourse for my total loss of £1000 plus delivery fee? I can't exactly take back my product and get my money back off you just as you can't un-deliver items you've put through letterboxes.
The onus is on you to prove you can do the work, you will do the work and you're a legitimate business, before asking for blanket trust from your target businesses.
Hope this helps.
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Supreme
- Original Poster
- #20
From my own experience you have to do the first job with payment after delivery, we posted 6,000 leaflets for 5 businesses over 2 days. I received payment after the job was complete, 1 was a taxi firm so there's always the feddback from the customers they pick up.
By doing this I earned their trust so much so that when I went back a year later they bit my hand off when I offered they ad space in my booklet.
As Brendan said it's how you come across in person but that works both ways, you will know if the customer is on the level when you talk to them. On the plus side you know where they are, so you'll know where to find them is they dont pay. Anyone who is going to pay someone to deliver their leaflets has already committed to reaching potential customers, so they wont want a bad name by not paying you.
By doing this I earned their trust so much so that when I went back a year later they bit my hand off when I offered they ad space in my booklet.
As Brendan said it's how you come across in person but that works both ways, you will know if the customer is on the level when you talk to them. On the plus side you know where they are, so you'll know where to find them is they dont pay. Anyone who is going to pay someone to deliver their leaflets has already committed to reaching potential customers, so they wont want a bad name by not paying you.
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Hi there
I don't know if that is competitive in your part of the UK but £45 is borderline where I am. I generally charge £35-£40 then £45-£50 for really far afield
Then again in London I maybe wrong but I would guess £45 is cheap.
You might want to consider a tiered system where anywhere within so many miles is one price and then everywhere else is another price.
Hope that's of some use
Kind Regards
Joe E
I don't know if that is competitive in your part of the UK but £45 is borderline where I am. I generally charge £35-£40 then £45-£50 for really far afield
Then again in London I maybe wrong but I would guess £45 is cheap.
You might want to consider a tiered system where anywhere within so many miles is one price and then everywhere else is another price.
Hope that's of some use
Kind Regards
Joe E
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Any sub-genius can make leaflets work if they charge £25 / 1000.
Deliver 4 to each house or deliver 4 different ones to each house.
Its easier to deliver 4 of the same leaflet to each house because you don't have to go look for businesses to sell your services to.
But if you treat it like a business, and co-ordinate your deliveries, or concentrate on one area, then getting 4 different businesses to go at once isn't rocket science, and yet its profitable.
Simple I would have thought.
Work out your fixed costs to have 1 person go to 1000 letterboxes, and work forward from there.
Deliver 4 to each house or deliver 4 different ones to each house.
Its easier to deliver 4 of the same leaflet to each house because you don't have to go look for businesses to sell your services to.
But if you treat it like a business, and co-ordinate your deliveries, or concentrate on one area, then getting 4 different businesses to go at once isn't rocket science, and yet its profitable.
Simple I would have thought.
Work out your fixed costs to have 1 person go to 1000 letterboxes, and work forward from there.
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This is too simplistic, I must be a 'sub genius' because even though I can make this business work for me I do not charge £25 per 1000 and I wouldn't recommend anyone else does either.
it would also be wrong of me to say any sub genius could get a cheap 2 or 4 colour printer bangout some leaflets advertising I'm a printer and then call myself one.
You know business dosen't work like in that it takes dedication and a lot of getting your name out there and then delivering what you promise consistently.
Agreed the trick is to get multiple leaflets to out at the same time to the same places but that is not always easy life dosen't always fit nicely into that pidgeon hole, it can be done and I have done it on many occasions but I started out just doing one for my very first client because I was unknown plus don't forget a lot of clients want a Solus delivery and will pay a bit more for that, but not as much as you would get from having another clients leaflet.
I do agree though with the formula stated you must work out your fixed costs and then see what margin you can achieve whilst remaining competitive at a guess the same as most businesses.
it would also be wrong of me to say any sub genius could get a cheap 2 or 4 colour printer bangout some leaflets advertising I'm a printer and then call myself one.
You know business dosen't work like in that it takes dedication and a lot of getting your name out there and then delivering what you promise consistently.
Agreed the trick is to get multiple leaflets to out at the same time to the same places but that is not always easy life dosen't always fit nicely into that pidgeon hole, it can be done and I have done it on many occasions but I started out just doing one for my very first client because I was unknown plus don't forget a lot of clients want a Solus delivery and will pay a bit more for that, but not as much as you would get from having another clients leaflet.
I do agree though with the formula stated you must work out your fixed costs and then see what margin you can achieve whilst remaining competitive at a guess the same as most businesses.
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sparkies
- Original Poster
- #28
We have a small business and also used letterbox marketing to deliver 12000 leaflets but got a very bad response we couldnt understand why
so we done our own enquiring into it and found out that a majority of houses didnt receive them
People still coming into premises and saying didnt no we were there
we made a complaint to leterbox marketing and just got excuses in fact some properties were delivered to twice
so we done our own enquiring into it and found out that a majority of houses didnt receive them
People still coming into premises and saying didnt no we were there
we made a complaint to leterbox marketing and just got excuses in fact some properties were delivered to twice
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streetwise1
- Original Poster
- #31
I manage a small distribution company with 12 staff,
door to door distribution is hard work indeed,
half up front and half on completion is the way forward here
you cant expect 100% penetration but almost,
I would not like my workers to work for a week with no wages
you would not purchase new shoes and pay for them when youve worn them would you?
read the terms and conditions fully then trust is the key
do your own back checks as well as the distribution companies to put your mind at ease
remember the distribution company is working to promote you
and most do a great job indeed.
Any campaign must be planned and thought out
we delivered 5000 flyers for a pizza shop yet the customer did not get one call.............why??????????
answer> there are 18 other people doing the same thing not offering the consumer anything different apart from brand name.....
why not £2.00 discount on production of flyer then its a genuine response to the offer not the brand name.
If the consumer enjoyed that (providing you can do a nice tasty pizza
he or she will be back next weekend and then the brand name will prevail...........
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I found this thread because i too am looking for a solution for getting door to door distribution done effectively in Northern Ireland. We publish a magazine and wanted it delivered door to door in a specific postcode, not an impossible task surely? Well like many already posted here it is harder than it should be to get a reliable distribution company! We have advertisers in our magazine so it is vital to us and them that distibution actually happens. We have had a few experiences, none of them good including finding 3000 copies in the local recycling centre skip! We are still looking for a solution. Any suggestions welcome (as long as they work!) oh and I think the idea of a 50/50 payment split seems a fair compromise.
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it is harder than it should be to get a reliable distribution company! We have advertisers in our magazine so it is vital to us and them that distibution actually happens. We have had a few experiences, none of them good including finding 3000 copies in the local recycling centre skip! We are still looking for a solution. Any suggestions welcome (as long as they work!) oh and I think the idea of a 50/50 payment split seems a fair compromise.[/quote]
Spot on it is but shouldn't be there are several things you can do to protect yourself before putting your trust in them I can PM them if you would like.
A find like that gives us the industry a bad name and it is absolutely unforgivable! I'm presuming their price per 1000 was cheap?
Spot on it is but shouldn't be there are several things you can do to protect yourself before putting your trust in them I can PM them if you would like.
A find like that gives us the industry a bad name and it is absolutely unforgivable! I'm presuming their price per 1000 was cheap?
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Royal Mail do deliver leaflets,
However its neither suitable or practical for many businesses. Neither is it watertight.
1; Book minimum of 6 weeks in advance.(& Pay for)
2; Cannot be delivered alongside another co of similar offering.(you are subject to someone else booking before you)
3; Standard sizes only.
4; Supplied folded already, if required.(doesn't always come off the presses like this.)
5; Bundled into packs of 50's (or similar)
6; Delivered to Toome Street (Belfast) Office (or other regional centre)
7; Not all guaranteed to go out in same period.(See point 2)
I have used Royal Mail and forewarned certain people and staff in selected parts of the distribution area, many got, but some did not. Raised this with Door-to-Door who said they did an investigation and said they were satisfied it was done. So no more watertight than a well watched distribution company.
If you can afford it, pay in advance, fulfill all their pre-delivery checks, deliver them to the office, bundle them as requested, and wait 6 weeks then yes, Royal Mail is an option. Just an option though.
Regards
However its neither suitable or practical for many businesses. Neither is it watertight.
1; Book minimum of 6 weeks in advance.(& Pay for)
2; Cannot be delivered alongside another co of similar offering.(you are subject to someone else booking before you)
3; Standard sizes only.
4; Supplied folded already, if required.(doesn't always come off the presses like this.)
5; Bundled into packs of 50's (or similar)
6; Delivered to Toome Street (Belfast) Office (or other regional centre)
7; Not all guaranteed to go out in same period.(See point 2)
I have used Royal Mail and forewarned certain people and staff in selected parts of the distribution area, many got, but some did not. Raised this with Door-to-Door who said they did an investigation and said they were satisfied it was done. So no more watertight than a well watched distribution company.
If you can afford it, pay in advance, fulfill all their pre-delivery checks, deliver them to the office, bundle them as requested, and wait 6 weeks then yes, Royal Mail is an option. Just an option though.
Regards
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I am somewhat shocked at what I am hearing and felt compelled to post a response.
My company is involved in leaflet distribution throughout the UK including Northern Ireland. It is true that in terms of a reliable and successful service from a company, Northern Ireland trails way behind. Not just in their delivery methods, but also in their data sources for this type of work.
Reading this post i have to say that it all sounds very complicated, but it's not.
To put it simply, there would seem to be two types of customers. The first kind want to deliver a small amount of leaflets in a specific postcode sector. The second wants to deliver a lot of leaflets in various postcode sectors. Both of these types of customers want a 100% success rate. And why not?
To do this there are two types of company that you can use. The first kind is what is commonly known in the trade as a 'man with a van'. With this, you roll the dice, you take your chances and you get what you pay for. The second is a reputable company who know the industry, the job and what they are doing. A company like this will know what the client requires and they will also know what can and can't be done. Again, you will get what you pay for.
A sad fact is that there are people who will take money for nothing. they will promise something, get the money and simply not deliver. Is this so much of a surprise? People are intrinsically greedy. Many do not pride themselves on a job well done. And many do not see the bigger picture. A happy customer is a repeat customer.
The man in the van will not have the resources to complete a big job. He will think it is easy, but as the day drags on it is easier to pitch the leaflet in the recycling. This happens more than I care to mention in my industry.
The royal mail have millions of items to deliver everyday. Your 5000 leaflets may not seem like a priority for them.
As a company who deals with distribution in the UK (a system which would appear to be light years ahead of Northern Ireland) we do talk in business terms. Penetration, Backchecks, Quality Control etc. If this is annoying to you, the customer, fair enough. But I would suggest that finding your leaflets behind a skip may be more annoying than dealing with people who monitor the process every step of the way.
The national accepted average on successful distribution is 92%. We currently run our operations with an expected success rate of 100% per job minimum. 99% is excellent. 98% is good. 97% is fine. Luckily we have yet to drop this low. But please understand that as much as I would like for every household to contact you once receiving your leaflet, this is not the case. The best I can do is give every household the option to contact you, by putting your leaflet in their home. One leaflet per household is not rocket science.
This is all about the quality of staff I use and the quality of the delivery information that they work with. And all of this is connected to the price of the job which is not extortionate by any means. But if you want reliability you must be prepared to pay for it.
There is no reason why a price offered to a customer cannot include externally verified backchecks. There is no reason why a consultation cannot take place first to organise details of the delivery. People on this post have mentioned this, but surely it is just good business practice.
And as a customer if you are concerned about the company you are dealing with why not give them a testbed amount to begin with, to see how they perform. If you were buying a car you would take it for a test drive. Its good business sense.
Prices for this type of work do vary throughout the UK depending on area (london is expensive), volume, logistics, etc but there are ways to achieve your distribution without breaking the bank.
The simple fact is that when all is said and done, a client is a client, a leaflet is a leaflet, and a letterbox is a letterbox.
Aaron.
My company is involved in leaflet distribution throughout the UK including Northern Ireland. It is true that in terms of a reliable and successful service from a company, Northern Ireland trails way behind. Not just in their delivery methods, but also in their data sources for this type of work.
Reading this post i have to say that it all sounds very complicated, but it's not.
To put it simply, there would seem to be two types of customers. The first kind want to deliver a small amount of leaflets in a specific postcode sector. The second wants to deliver a lot of leaflets in various postcode sectors. Both of these types of customers want a 100% success rate. And why not?
To do this there are two types of company that you can use. The first kind is what is commonly known in the trade as a 'man with a van'. With this, you roll the dice, you take your chances and you get what you pay for. The second is a reputable company who know the industry, the job and what they are doing. A company like this will know what the client requires and they will also know what can and can't be done. Again, you will get what you pay for.
A sad fact is that there are people who will take money for nothing. they will promise something, get the money and simply not deliver. Is this so much of a surprise? People are intrinsically greedy. Many do not pride themselves on a job well done. And many do not see the bigger picture. A happy customer is a repeat customer.
The man in the van will not have the resources to complete a big job. He will think it is easy, but as the day drags on it is easier to pitch the leaflet in the recycling. This happens more than I care to mention in my industry.
The royal mail have millions of items to deliver everyday. Your 5000 leaflets may not seem like a priority for them.
As a company who deals with distribution in the UK (a system which would appear to be light years ahead of Northern Ireland) we do talk in business terms. Penetration, Backchecks, Quality Control etc. If this is annoying to you, the customer, fair enough. But I would suggest that finding your leaflets behind a skip may be more annoying than dealing with people who monitor the process every step of the way.
The national accepted average on successful distribution is 92%. We currently run our operations with an expected success rate of 100% per job minimum. 99% is excellent. 98% is good. 97% is fine. Luckily we have yet to drop this low. But please understand that as much as I would like for every household to contact you once receiving your leaflet, this is not the case. The best I can do is give every household the option to contact you, by putting your leaflet in their home. One leaflet per household is not rocket science.
This is all about the quality of staff I use and the quality of the delivery information that they work with. And all of this is connected to the price of the job which is not extortionate by any means. But if you want reliability you must be prepared to pay for it.
There is no reason why a price offered to a customer cannot include externally verified backchecks. There is no reason why a consultation cannot take place first to organise details of the delivery. People on this post have mentioned this, but surely it is just good business practice.
And as a customer if you are concerned about the company you are dealing with why not give them a testbed amount to begin with, to see how they perform. If you were buying a car you would take it for a test drive. Its good business sense.
Prices for this type of work do vary throughout the UK depending on area (london is expensive), volume, logistics, etc but there are ways to achieve your distribution without breaking the bank.
The simple fact is that when all is said and done, a client is a client, a leaflet is a leaflet, and a letterbox is a letterbox.
Aaron.
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sineadnorton
- Original Poster
- #39
hi there
My name is Sinead Norton. I own a laundry and cleaning company in Mid Ulster. We do all our own leaflet dropping and it always guarantees a good result. The more effort we put in, the more response we get.
Recently we offered to deliver leaflets for other businesses as well, after all, we are already doing it so why not. We charge £35 per 1000, half up front, half afterwards, and we supply the names of the streets covered. We have 20 part time staff on standby for xmas. You know we will do it as we need it for our own business that we survive on the rest of the year.
Any questions, just give me a shout 02886748838
My name is Sinead Norton. I own a laundry and cleaning company in Mid Ulster. We do all our own leaflet dropping and it always guarantees a good result. The more effort we put in, the more response we get.
Recently we offered to deliver leaflets for other businesses as well, after all, we are already doing it so why not. We charge £35 per 1000, half up front, half afterwards, and we supply the names of the streets covered. We have 20 part time staff on standby for xmas. You know we will do it as we need it for our own business that we survive on the rest of the year.
Any questions, just give me a shout 02886748838
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Hi,
After the same sort of experiences outlined in this thread, I used NI Post to deliver 30,000 in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus a few months ago. They were fantastic, with no missed areas as far as I could tell. I've been getting work out of this for the past 3 months.
I did a similar drop in Belfast a few years ago with a company mentioned at the start of this thread and got absolutely no response, and from the people I spoke to, was sure that my leaflets had been dumped.
Contact Roisin at NI Post on 02890 246002
Hope this helps
Philip
After the same sort of experiences outlined in this thread, I used NI Post to deliver 30,000 in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus a few months ago. They were fantastic, with no missed areas as far as I could tell. I've been getting work out of this for the past 3 months.
I did a similar drop in Belfast a few years ago with a company mentioned at the start of this thread and got absolutely no response, and from the people I spoke to, was sure that my leaflets had been dumped.
Contact Roisin at NI Post on 02890 246002
Hope this helps
Philip
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0
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