How a great leaflet-drop can help bring success to your business... [Part 2 of 2]

Does the good old-fashioned flyer drop still work?

As a business owner I don’t need to tell you that advertising budgets are frequently constrained – there are many mediums to choose from and it’s always difficult to decide the best place to allocate your budget. A successful letterbox drop is broken up into two crucial and equally important factors; the material (previous post) and the execution of the campaign (this post).

Effective advertising involves more than just determining a way of reaching your customers, it's how you do it (and the more creative, the better the results too)…

The Execution

Equally as important as the material being sent is the matter in which the campaign is executed. No matter how great the material sent, a poorly timed campaign sent to the wrong people may not obtain the desired result. Successful letterbox drops requires:

A receptive market

It is helpful (and somewhat scary) the amount of data that can be obtained about certain regions, right down to individual households or businesses. It’s very important that you research the market to which you’ll be advertising and take a little time ensuring they will be receptive to your product.

Test, test and test!

Sometimes a small variant such as a change to a colour, text or call to action can impact the results of your campaign significantly. By testing regularly and keeping tabs on the results, future advertising campaigns will be much easier to implement.

Consistency

Consistency is key when determining whether a letterbox drop, or a PO box drop, or both is right for your business and its advertising goals. It’s very, very important to think long term. For the most part, while letterbox drops can and do elicit an immediate response, sometimes this can take at least a couple of months, if not more. Beyond that, your response rate will dramatically increase on subsequent campaigns. Typically some recipients might need to receive correspondence multiple times before they act. Sometimes up to seven times! That could be over the course of a couple of years. Quite often the highest response rates from a campaign come after being targeted a third or fourth time. TLC (The Local Connection) is testament to this. You should check it out how well it works in this respect at www.thelocalconnection.co.nz

Frequency

The frequency with which to send out consecutive campaigns will vary depending on the kind of product you sell and how frequently consumers will be purchasing. To be safe, one to two months between campaigns is normally standard.

Integrating with other marketing channels

Your campaign must be integrated with your other marketing channels to help boost the response rate. Different forms of advertising that support each other to create a greater response rate. While a recipient may receive your advertising piece in the mail, they may not act upon it until they walk past your store or visit your website, for example. Or even see it on social media. An awesome example of multi-media advertising is TLC. I know I keep banging on about this BIG little advertiser, but TLC works wonders by using their website and display stands of print in malls and supermarkets, plus PO Boxes and mail drops to rural and urban areas all simultaneously. TLC is different and works very well in terms of being highly visible and residual as it's displayed in coffee shops and waiting rooms etc. The website forwards email correspondence to you and it's just so much better than a newspaper one-off hit as it all works together for you.

Realistic targets

There isn’t a standard (even industry-based) as to what an appropriate response rate might be. In some cases it can be as low as 1% and in extreme cases over 10% with even the former yielding great returns for the advertiser. As a business owner, you will need to regularly scrutinise your campaign to gauge its response rate.

Businesses of any size can obtain significant results with letterbox drops as long as their material is well designed and written and the campaigns are thoughtfully planned. If that sounds scary, try TLC in your local area, they do it all for you! TLC now has three distinct areas running through Selwyn, Christchurch and North Canterbury. Haven't seen this yet, I can show you, just contact me.

First impressions do count – is yours up to the mark?

Do you need help with your design and distribution?

Book in today for a free 60-minute graphic design and advertising consultation around your current company logo, brand image and supporting material over a coffee.

In this session we will discuss how to get your “creative business advantage” from your brand and how to make it really perform for you. NB: This is limited to the first five local applicants.

This may include...

• An assessment of your current logo, advertising and brand image.
• See how your brand image stacks up compared to others in the market.
• Look at your current marketing material branding: web, print and signage and how to best use it in the above-mentioned channels.
• Recommendations on how to make your company look like a winner,
  online and offline.
• In general, discuss creative ideas and means on how to get you more business through various promotional graphics and activities.
  
  FaceTime, text or call Clint today on 021 11 44 014 or email [email protected] now.