Will leaflets work for us?

[cts1975]

We are an airport transfer / private hire minibus company in Cheshire. I was wondering what response we would get from doing a leaflet drop in our town and the surrounding towns and villages. We have been trading sine 2000 but most of our booking come via Google/Yahoo etc. We also seem to do OK on word of mouth.
Leaflets are just something I've never tried. Any feedback appreciated.

 

[Alan]

Not exactly leaflets, but business cards style, people put these in their little pile of useful stuff and maybe months later get to them.

The best think our local kebab firm did was a magnetic card, now the kebab shop number is stuck to the fridge.

In my various experiences (not of them in your field) I recon about 1 new customer in 200 leaflets/cards.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I was wondering what response we would get from doing a leaflet drop in our town and the surrounding towns and villages.

That'll depend on the leaflets, the desire for a service like yours (what are the current alternatives?), and the strength of your offer.

 

[WHUK]

We are an airport transfer / private hire minibus company in Cheshire. I was wondering what response we would get from doing a leaflet drop in our town and the surrounding towns and villages. We have been trading sine 2000 but most of our booking come via Google/Yahoo etc. We also seem to do OK on word of mouth.
Leaflets are just something I've never tried. Any feedback appreciated.

Leaflet drop is a good idea. However, in my opinion this works the best only when the leaflets are attractive. The leaflet will attract the attention of the users and they should feel like reading it. Also try getting online banner advertisements on the forums / communities related to air travel, it will help

 

[Leafletfrog]

I strongly agree with the comment above. People who receive your leaflet will judge your business on it entirely. It's about first impressions. If the design and print of the leaflet are professional and of high quality it will have a much greater impact. With regard to whether leaflet drops 'work', we have many repeat customers who are ordering regular reprints of their leaflets, so i can only assume they are receiving a positive response from them.

 

[ethical PR]

We are an airport transfer / private hire minibus company in Cheshire. I was wondering what response we would get from doing a leaflet drop in our town and the surrounding towns and villages. We have been trading sine 2000 but most of our booking come via Google/Yahoo etc. We also seem to do OK on word of mouth.
Leaflets are just something I've never tried. Any feedback appreciated.

Answer = 1 - 3% if targetted, well designed with strong, clear offer

Also, how about also looking at third party marketing though local travel agents? - ask them to put your leaflet in with the tickets pack they give to their customers (you will need to check with them on costs) but this will be much more targeted then leaflet door drops.

 

[N8rbos]

Put well designed leaflets out with a couple of example prices on and link to your website, do a drop say a month before the holiday seasons,2/3 times a year.hand cards/leaflets out outside clubs pubs etc,get inside and
Leave the same if you can,offer a free phone no.direct to you. Find something you can offer that no-one else does.

 

[AlexanderR]

Fridge magnets and third party marketing are great ideas.

If your private hire firm is 24/7, wall mounted cigarette bins with your number on could work well. I see these outside pubs, clubs, hospitals and public transport depot's and stations all over the country. This would further help to promote the airport transfers too.

 

[BusyVids]

Might be an idea to test the leaflet approach first on say 100 premises/properties. Include a business card with the leaflet and maybe offer a 10% discount on production of the leaflet, otherwise it will just be bin fodder.

 

[SliQsw]

I'd be more inclined to consider targeting potential customers more specifically rather than a general leaflet drop. Jot down who your ideal customers are likely to be and then where you're likely to reach them. You might have a better success rate targeting groups that need a minibus or do tie ins as someone else suggested with travel agents or for example nightclubs hosting hen parties etc? Obviously these are just examples, you'll know who you want to attract but I'd advise going more specific. Good luck.

 

[Toughcookie]

Interestingly our local firm just did the same and they had little or no response, but it doesn;t mean you won't. What about local publications- free mags etc, they don;t have to be costly

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

It depends on the sales copy used on the leaflet. Does it provide good enough reasons to choose your company over your competitors? Does it provide a good enough incentive for the recipient to keep the leaflet and use it next time they need a private hire?

 

[StoneTileCompany]

We find leaflet a drops worthwhile, although you must ensure that they are of a good quality. Also considering a promotional offer for the reader - there needs to be something to attract the reader (what's in it for them?)

 

[HFE Signs]

If your design is good and you can offer a promotion or discount, but you do need to do a lot to grab just a few customers..

 

[Devney]

I run bootcamps and tried leaflets a while back. Started with 250 and had no replies. The leaflet even entitled the holder to one free session. So I guess it depends on the target market. I personally won't use them again. Lesson learned. On a side note what I came to realise after was I had wasted a day and x amount of cash on this for nothing. I then looked over the last few months where all of our customers had been coming from, 80% of which came from the web. The next time I had cash to spend on advertising/marketing, I used it for the Internet. Might as well stick with upgrading you best revenue stream.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

I run bootcamps and tried leaflets a while back. Started with 250 and had no replies. The leaflet even entitled the holder to one free session. So I guess it depends on the target market. I personally won't use them again. Lesson learned. On a side note what I came to realise after was I had wasted a day and x amount of cash on this for nothing. I then looked over the last few months where all of our customers had been coming from, 80% of which came from the web. The next time I had cash to spend on advertising/marketing, I used it for the Internet. Might as well stick with upgrading you best revenue stream.

What did your leaflet actually say?

Did it speak about the results and get the reader to imagine how much weight they could lose, how much better they would look and how much more confident they would feel?

Getting high conversions is all about good copywriting, and good copywriting is about selling the benefits and selling the results above all else.

 

[N8rbos]

250 is only dipping your toe,a national company who prints and dels leaflets did a 10,000drop for a lawn treatment company with 54 jobs coming of it for a outlay of £300. Good or bad? Can you post your leaflet up for members to have a look over?

 

[Alan]

My experience with leaflets is 1 in 200 so 250 isn't really trying. As posted above 54 in 10,000 is 1 in 185. So as a rule of thumb thats not a bad starting point.

 

[justbought.it]

We are an airport transfer / private hire minibus company in Cheshire. I was wondering what response we would get from doing a leaflet drop in our town and the surrounding towns and villages. We have been trading sine 2000 but most of our booking come via Google/Yahoo etc. We also seem to do OK on word of mouth.
Leaflets are just something I've never tried. Any feedback appreciated.

I know this doesn't answer your question but I thought I'd ask none the less given it might be helpful to you.

Have you considered teaming up with local independent travel agencies? I'm sure you could offer a special deal they could offer to their customers.

Just a thought.

I hope that helps.

Glen.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Will leaflets work for us?

I guess it depends whether they can drive and how much you'll pay them.

[Sorry, couldn't resist]

 

[ScotComp]

I've got another business where we done leaflet drops, we got about 50-60% of our customers this way and over the years it's spread without us sending out any leaflets.

They do work if they are done properly but only for certain types of businesses.