Advertising

Direct Mail How and When to Mail to Prospects

Advertising, Direct Mail, Leaflet Distribution, , , , ,

It is the prime aim of every business to sell their products and services to generate the absolute maximum revenue possible. Direct mail has stood the test of time and here is how.

Your marketing methods and strategies play a crucial role in the success of your online, as well as, your offline business.

If your offers are not marketed correctly, no one will ever be able to learn about your products and services no matter how effective and beneficial they are. You can use a number ways to market your business, however, advertising methods like flyers, direct mail, posters, banners, exhibitions and product shows are tried and true ways to attract new business.

Direct mail marketing is a promotional technique that helps you in advertising your business by mailing your specifications directly to the customer. With the help of direct mail marketing, you capture those potential customers that are actually interested to purchase your products and services.

You can access a consumer mailing list to mail directly to a targeted demographic that will likely have the highest response rate. You can also use a number of tools to find out the mailing prospects like you can use social media, business listings, yellow pages, telephone directories to find more even more addresses.

We’ve found that the best time to distribute flyers and send direct mail is when you have clear, definitive business goals in your mind. If you do not know what your actual goal is from the mailing or distribution, you can’t help but fail.

The biggest benefit of flyers and direct mail is its effectiveness in generating new customers. At the same time, it can also help you to expand your market to serve wider, more diverse demographic. It is also effective to drive repeat business from existing clients and customers.

However you use your flyers and direct mail, keep in mind the most important element is creating goals and tracking the results. Without measuring the success of your direct mailing or flyer distribution, you will never actually know what is working, and what is just costing your business money.

According to a 2018 survey direct mail drives higher return on investment (ROI) than any other marketing channel. Discover just how by clicking HERE.

The survey, which polled more than one hundred small business advertisers on a variety of sales and marketing-related topics, also found that most respondents spent an average of £5,000 to £22,000 on ads each year.

Additionally, 34.71% of respondents listed direct mail as their top marketing channel by spend, followed by social media (18.18%) and search engine marketing (14.88%).

So to book your next leafleting campaign in and around Cheltenham get in touch with Hallway Distribution today, before your competition beats you too it.

QR Codes For Leaflet Distribution

Advertising, Leaflet Creation, Marketing Strategy, , , ,

Todays question is about QR Codes for leaflet distribution, are they a good idea or a big no no?

Qr Codes and leaflets

Confused about QR codes

The advertising world, not to mention the public, is very divided on the subject of QR codes.

You may have seen QR codes on bus stop ads and in magazines, they are basically bar codes that when scanned with the camera of a smart phone using a special app will automatically open a related web page.

So far so good, anything that makes advertising more interactive for the consumer is a good thing, right? Well, not exactly.

The problem is that the industry got so excited about the concept of interacting with print adverts that they didn’t always think through the various stages of their campaigns properly, resulting in some awful follow-up pages.

As a result, the QR codes have also been tainted in the eyes of some consumers as well, who consequently see no value in them.

Link to your site with QR codes

Is your website mobile friendly

Problems come when QR codes are used without thought, resulting in the user either being directed to a non-mobile-friendly website, or to a page telling them exactly the same information as the advert.

But when used correctly, they can have massive impact. We have been using QR codes here at Hallway Distribution for our clients for a couple of years now and we love them, they are a great way to combine offline and online effectively. They can be a great tool in taking the user one step further down the buying funnel and closer to an end purchase.

Driving customers to a special offers page or a voucher code to redeem in store is a fantastic way to measure integration versus redemption rate for a leaflet distribution campaign. It also allows you to compare the return rate from leaflets distributed in different regions effectively.

Information such as this is invaluable to help you fine tune future leaflet distribution campaigns. If 300 people downloaded the voucher but only a handful redeemed it, then the leaflet was a success but was there an issue with either the offer itself or the demographic of residents that received it?

Using this information means you can confidently adapt your offering and garner even more success from your next campaign.

Your views and opinions are always useful to us here at Hallway Distribution,  so please comment away in the box below and we will answer as soon as we can.

Is your business mobile friendly, check out a short post on our sister marketing site.

Marketing With The Right Colour

Advertising, Leaflet Creation, Website, , , , ,

So how do you see colour affecting your marketing, this includes online as well as offline. Get the colour wrong and you may well struggle to strive, sounds silly but the psychology behind the use of colours is massive.

Did you know that the colours you choose for your marketing materials affects the impact they make on your target market?

Colors act as a sort of non-verbal communication. They also contain symbolism. So in your marketing pieces, it is helpful to keep in mind how the eye and the mind perceive certain colors as well as what the meanings are that we associate with each color.

Sometimes colours create a physical reaction (i.e., red has actually been shown to raise blood pressure and blue is known to create a calming effect). And other times colours have a cultural meaning (i.e., in the United States & Great Britain white is used for weddings but in some cultures it is the colour for mourning).

Colours also follow trends. For example, burnt orange and avocado are synonymous with the 60s and 70s to many consumers, so unless you’re selling a retro look, it’s best to avoid those as the primary colour for your marketing.

To understand the impact marketing with the right colour has we need to know about colour theory.

Finding a good combination of colours be tough. Colour theory makes it easier. In order to find a good colour scheme (the set of colours that produces the best impression), we need to choose a base colour then see which colours can coexist with it and which can’t. Some combinations are uncomfortable, or disturbing, while others are pleasant.

As you probably know from school, the primary colors are red, blue and yellow. All other colors are made by combining two or three of these colors. Primary colours are seen as simple and direct. So they would be good to use for projects that aren’t extravagant such as for preschools, kids’ stores, etc.

Secondary colours are half way between the three primary colours. They are orange, green and violet. Bright secondary colours can convey action and excitement. They would be great to use for sports brochures, restaurants that have a lively clientele, etc.

Tertiary colours are created when primary colors are mixed with adjacent secondary colours. Take a look at the colour wheel and notice which colours are considered tertiary. You’ll notice that they are in between primary and secondary colors. Teal and fuchsia are tertiary colours.

Hue, saturation and value of colours
Infinite colors can be created by altering three variables: the hue, the saturation and the value of the colour.

The hue is the shade of a particular colour. Deep hues of violet, gold, maroon, etc. are used by marketers to convey richness and security while earth tones feel natural and inviting.

The purity of a hue is the saturation. A highly saturated hue has a vivid, intense colour, while a less saturated hue appears more muted and grey.

Value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a certain area. It is often used for emphasis. For example, variations in value are used to create a focal point for the design of a picture.

Colours often have different meanings in different cultures as we discussed before. If you will be working with a client from another part of the world, it would be beneficial for you to do a little research to find out what colours mean in that society.

Even in Western societies, the meanings of various colours have changed over the years. But today, researchers have generally found the following to be accurate:

Black
Black is the colour of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Use the colour black to convey elegance, sophistication, or perhaps a touch of mystery. Black works well with bright, jewel-toned shades of red, blue, and green. Black is the ultimate dark colour and makes lighter colours such as yellow really pop out. Photographs often look brighter against a black background.

White
Doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility. In most Western countries white is the colour for brides; however, in Eastern cultures it’s the colour for mourning and funerals.

In most cases white is seen as a neutral background colour and other colours, even when used in smaller proportion, are the colors that convey the most meaning in a design. Use white to signify cleanliness or purity or softness. Some neutral beige, ivory and creams carry the same attributes as white but are more subdued, less brilliant than plain white.

Used with light or pastel tones, white is soft and spring like and helps to make the pastel palette more lively. White can make dark or light reds, blues and greens look brighter, more prominent.

Brown
Brown represents wholesomeness and earthiness. The colour brown and its lighter versions tan, taupe, beige or cream make excellent backgrounds helping accompanying colours appear richer, brighter. Use brown to convey a feeling of warmth, honesty and wholesomeness. Although found in nature all year round, brown is often considered an autumn and winter colour. It is more casual than black.

Shades of brown coupled with green are often used to convey the concept of recycling or earth-friendly products. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather. Brown can also be sad and wistful.

Red
Red is power. The most emotionally intense colour, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the colour of love. Use red to grab attention and to get people to take action. Use red to suggest speed combined with confidence and perhaps even a dash of danger. A little bit of red goes a long way. Small doses can often be more effective than large amounts of this strong colour. Multiple shades of red and even pink or orange can combine for a cheerful palette. Red is often used in restaurant decorating schemes because it is an appetite stimulant.

Pink
The most romantic colour is pink and can be tranquilising. Sports teams sometimes paint the locker rooms used by opposing teams bright pink so their opponents will lose energy. Studies have shown that large amounts of pink can create physical weakness in people.

Both red and pink denote love but while red is hot passion, pink is romantic and charming. Use pink to convey playfulness or tenderness. Add strength with darker shades of pinks and purple and burgundy.

All shades of pink get sophisticated when combined with black or grey or medium to darker shades of blue. Medium to dark green with pink is also a good combination.

Blue
Blue is one of the most popular colours. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals.

Blue conveys importance and confidence. Long considered a corporate colour, blue, especially darker blue, is associated with intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism.

A deep royal blue or azure conveys richness and perhaps even a touch of superiority. Combine a light and dark blue to convey trust and truthfulness. Create a conservative but sophisticated look with subtle contrast by combining light and dark shades of blue.

Mix the color of blue with green for a natural, watery palette. Add grey for understated elegance.

Sky blue and robin’s egg blue, especially when combined with neutral light brown, tans, or beige are environmentally friendly color combinations.

Throw in a dash of blue to cool down a hot red or orange scheme. Grab attention with the contrast of blue and yellow.

Dark blue with white is fresh, crisp and nautical. Use dark blue with metallic silver accents for an elegantly rich appearance.

Green
Green symbolises nature. It is the easiest colour on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing colour. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients. Dark green is masculine, conservative and implies wealth.

With both a warming and cooling effect, green denotes balance, harmony, and stability. Use several shades of green for a fresh, springtime feel.

Green with blue produces echoes of nature, water and forest and can denote new beginnings and growth. Green with brown, tan, or beige says organic or recycled and can be a good colour combination for packaging of those types of products. Tri-color combinations of green with yellow and black or white are sporty, outdoorsy colors. Purple with green can be highly contrasting causing a lively effect.

Yellow
Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. While it is considered an optimistic colour, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies will cry more. It is the most difficult colour for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism.

Although it can work as the primary colour, yellow often works best as a companion to other colours. Use bright yellow to create excitement when red or orange may be too strong or too dark. Yellow can be perky. Use yellow to perk up a more subdued cool palette of blues and greys. Use lemon yellow with orange to carry out a healthy, summery, citrus theme. Very pale yellows can work as neutrals alongside darker or richer colours. Yellow and blue are a high contrast, eye-popping combination. Mix yellow with neutral grey and a dash of black for a high-tech look.

Purple
The colour of royalty, purple connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication. It is also feminine and romantic. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.

Deep or bright purples suggest riches while lighter purples are more romantic and delicate. Use redder purples for a warmer color scheme or the bluer purples to cool down.

A deep eggplant purple with neutral tans or beige is an earthy, conservative color combination with a touch of the mystery that purple provides. Green and purple can be a striking combination in deep or bright jewel tones or use lighter shades for a cheerful, spring like feel. Pink and purple has feminine appeal.

Gold
The colour gold is associated with wealth and prosperity. Add a small amount of metallic gold ink to a project for a special, rich touch. Bright gold catches the eye while darker subdued shades of gold lend richness and warmth.

Orange
As a warm colour orange is a stimulant, stimulating the emotions and even the appetite.

If you want to get noticed without screaming, consider the colour orange, it demands attention. The softer oranges such as peach are friendlier, more soothing.

Orange really pops with a medium blue. Red, yellow, and orange can be a fiery hot combination or, in tamer shades, a fresh, fruity experience. Make it tropical by pairing it with green.

Orange is often synonymous with autumn yet the brighter oranges are a summer colour. Orange is mentally stimulating as well as sociable. Use it to get people thinking or to get them talking.

Turquoise
Create feminine appeal with lighter shades of turquoise. Some shades of turquoise have an old-fashioned 50s and 60s retro feel. Teal has a darker, somewhat more sophisticated look. Like the mineral, turquoise shades range from almost sky blue to deep greenish blues.

Keep the soft, feminine qualities going by mixing turquoise with lavender and pale pinks. A bright turquoise and pink create a sparkly clean, retro look. Make it art deco by pairing turquoise with white and black. Turquoise with grey or silver as well as terra cotta and light browns have a European flavour. Turquoise with orange or yellow creates a fresh, sporty look.

Grey
Like black, grey is used as a colour of mourning as well as a colour of formality. All shades of grey can be good, neutral background colours. Use lighter greys in place of white and darker grey in place of black. Taupe, a greyish brown neutral is a conservative, slightly earthy, warm shade of grey.

Light greys with pastel shades of pink, blue, lavender and green have a feminine quality. Darken those colours for a more masculine feel. Cool a warm palette by adding grey to rich reds or golden yellows.

Silver
Silver often symbolises riches just as gold does. Silver can be glamorous and distinguished.

It can be earthy, natural or sleek and elegant. Silver can be used much like grey although when using shiny metallic inks, small amounts for accents is best.

Silver coupled with turquoise evokes the Southwest. A touch of silver pops with medium blue. Use silver with other colours to create a high-tech or industrial look.

Leaflet or Magazine Advertising

Advertising, Direct Mail, Leaflet Distribution, , ,

You have come to a point where you want to promote your business and are wondering what form of advertising to go for. Nowadays, there are numerous options available, from the Internet to print, but when you are a small business the first two ways that come to mind are most likely leaflets or an ad in a local magazine. So the question beckons leaflet or magazine advertising?

Both means of promotion work well on a local scale; however, when you consider all the pros and cons in more detail, leaflets turn out to be the most efficient strategy. Here are five key reasons why leaflet distribution is more effective than a local magazine advert.

  1. COST-EFFECTIVENESS

No doubt about it, for the price of the same size (A5) advert, usually a full page in local magazines, you can have twice as many leaflets printed. Leaflet distribution is a very affordable way of getting your name out to the wider public, and let’s be honest, when you’re a small business you don’t have a £1million+ marketing budget, do you?

  1. PERFECTLY TARGETTED AUDIENCE

When it comes to leaflet drops, we’re able to hand pick the most responsive areas for your campaign. We look closely at demographic and geographic factors and plan your distribution to ensure your leaflets go to those most likely to be interested in your services. We are even able to skip particular streets, to give you a fully tailored service. By contrast, with a local magazine you are not able to target specific areas in such detail, rather you are locked into the major areas that their distribution covers – and locked out of others.

  1. FLEXIBILITY

When it comes to designing your leaflet, the sky is the limit. Make it round, square, postcard, folded, DL – you name it, we can produce it. An ad gives you a standardised size scale, without much room to make your business really stand out. The flexibility leaflets provide also means that you can have two different design leaflets going out to various areas as part of the same campaign, whereas with an advert you’d have to pay for two advertising spaces, which would both be distributed to the same areas.

  1. QUICK TO PRODUCE

Had a change of heart? Realised you’ve put a wrong telephone number? With leaflet distribution we’re able to stop your campaign and quickly print a new batch, so you can always be sure that the right materials are going out. Unfortunately, with an ad, once it’s signed off to print you can’t call it back to update your artwork or copy.

  1. CONVENIENT

What’s easier to quickly fold and put into your pocket or bag? The answer is simple. Leaflets have the advantage that they can be easily stored for future reference, something a magazine doesn’t have. They are also a fantastic way of presenting your offer to the potential customer in a concise and direct way, whereas in a mag your ad might go unnoticed amongst a sea of others, thus producing no results but significantly draining your budget.

Next time you face an advertising decision-making moment bear in mind the features described above. Leaflet or magazine advertising is a big decision, these are only five of them, but in our opinion they are the most important aspects, particularly for small businesses. Affordable, well-targeted, flexible, quick to produce and convenient means are the most efficient and fruitful media to help you grow your company. Having over 9 years’ extensive experience we’re always here to help you promote your brand, so get in touch today to see how we can work together to achieve your business objectives.

We hope you got some value from this article, five reasons why leaflet or magazine advertising. If so leave your comments below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canvassing

 

How To Have a Memorable Leafleting Campaign

Advertising, Leaflet Distribution, Marketing Strategy, , ,

Today I am going to share with you five secrets to make your direct marketing leafleting campaign memorable.

Breaking the mould and capturing people’s attention with your direct marketing campaign is not easily done. But with the right idea, design and strategy, your mailing can have a huge impact. All businesses crave a memorable leafleting campaign.

1. Think laterally to capture the imagination of your target audience

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Successful direct marketing is about making your mailing stand out and the most effective way to do that is by capturing the imagination of your readers. People get used to seeing the same thing, it’s boring. If you give them something they are not familiar with they are more likely to want more.
However, don’t go overboard. It’s not about shocking people. But at the same time you need to think about an arresting way to engage them with the right image, the first thing they’ll notice about your mailing and strapline. And the best way to do this isn’t always by making your direct marketing directly relevant to your product or service.

Think laterally, ask your readers a question, and tell them something surprising. One of the most successful campaigns I’ve ever worked on for a carpet cleaning company asked readers: ‘What does your carpet tell you about you?’ The response, as people glanced guiltily down at their floors, was overwhelming.

2. Sell the feeling that the product or service will give

The most important thing to remember when working out your strategy is to focus on your target audience. How will they benefit from the product or service that you’re offering?
Drone on about the features of your product or service and they’ll soon lose interest. But tell them how good it will make them feel and they’ll want to know more.

An example I often refer to when explaining this concept is selling plane tickets. People don’t care about the features of the plane they’ll be travelling on. They’re sold by the lure of a holiday of a lifetime or of being reunited with friends and family.

So the best agencies will not only take the time to understand what your business does, but will think about your product or service from the point of view of your target audience. What’s the benefit for them? That’s what you should be selling if you want a memorable leafleting campaign.

3. Research your target audience thoroughly

You can blow the budget by having a beautifully glossy leaflet with a captivating image and strapline. But if you don’t know anything about the people you’re targeting you could be throwing your money away.

I once worked on a campaign for a landscape gardening company who wanted to launch their new tree felling service. Despite my reservations, they went ahead with an incredibly expensive campaign. Unsurprisingly, due to the large amount of flats and social housing in the area it failed miserably.

By contrast, I recently worked on a campaign delivering leaflets in envelopes, the aim was to prove that leaflets delivered this way would be more beneficial to the client, and it was a roaring success. It was a popular, effective and memorable campaign.

In the last four years the door drop market has changed. Advances in mapping technology (which we’ve helped develop) mean you’re able to target very specific sectors of the demographic. So the more you know about your target audience, the more you can focus on what will be memorable for them.

4. Don’t think just in terms of return on investment

Often people keep your leaflet for future reference or even if someone discards your leaflet immediately, they still have to pick it up to do so. They may not read it but you can guarantee that they will glance at it for five seconds, even if they’re not aware they’ve done it. It’s human nature.

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And then, the next time they’re on the high street or searching the internet and see your product, they’ll notice it. Even if they can’t remember where they’ve seen it before.
In this sense, a door drop leafleting campaign is a unique and powerful medium with a huge scope to reach everyone it targets.

The sales benefits of a direct marketing leafleting campaign may not be tangible. I’ve managed campaigns that didn’t get the response rate the client had hoped for. But often shortly afterwards the client has seen a huge boost elsewhere – in internet sales, for example – despite not carrying out any other marketing. This is no coincidence.

The success of a door drop campaign can’t be measured in return on investment alone. The effects are subliminal. So, in a sense, every campaign is successful, whether or not it’s memorable. That’s not to say that the memorable ones don’t have the greatest impact, of course!

5. Have a strategy and think of your leafleting campaign as a taster

The main aim of a leaflet campaign is to give your potential customer a taste of what you’re offering. It’s like an invitation or a recommendation. So if your mailing is memorable, you’ll have tantalised your customer and left them wanting to know more.

Nowadays, people like to research things for themselves, especially online. Pique their interest and they’ll look up your product or service.

A direct marketing campaign should never be just a one off. Most campaigns will be successful if they’re ongoing. It takes two or three attempts for people to start to understand that your product or service is around.

My most successful clients are those who have a budget and a strategy for the year. They make a plan and stick to it. And they’re the ones that conduct the most memorable campaigns and see the best results.

Want to know more about how our technology has revolutionised the door drop market?

email: laurenwillis@hallwaydistribution.com

Choose Wisely Grasshopper

Advertising, Business Branding, Leaflet Distribution, , , ,

downloadWhen I was younger I would watch a TV show called Kung-Fu, which was full of old Chinese proverbs, it was about a Shaolin monk who was always called Grasshopper by his teachers. I use the following quite regularly in my daily life today and that is; choose wisely.

The following post is exactly why you should choose wisely in your business especially when advertising it. There have always been frauds and scams carried out by unscrupulous people looking to relieve decent law-abiding citizens of their hard-earned cash. But with the introduction of technology, fraud has become easier as far more people can be approached by the fraudsters and scammers.

The telephone has become one of the instruments where the bad people contact their victims with promises of easy wealth.

Many people have been conned by the false promises of money to be made by investing in fine wines, and many people have lost thousands by scammers convincing them to invest their pensions in non-existent financial schemes.

All these corrupt telephone callers sound plausible and convincing, and now they have another weapon they can use to dupe people: The Internet!

The website

Now it is possible for them to design and put up a highly convincing website to draw people into their dodgy schemes.

The opening up of the internet and the comparative ease to design and put a professional looking website up on it has made it simple for people to start their own businesses.

A majority of new businesses launched online are not frauds and scammers and are in fact genuine offerings. However, some don’t have the expertise their websites’ suggest and ultimately don’t have the ability to provide the services they are offering.

The chancer

Among the genuine businesses operating online, there is a group of people who, although are not actually dishonest can cause unsuspecting people as much financial damage as the fraudsters.

These people are looking for a business that, on the surface, seems easy to set up and operate. They then create an attractive looking website selling these services and hope to develop clients and income streams without any real knowledge of the business they have decided to operate.

One of the businesses they try to operate in is leaflet distribution.

They think it is easy

It is easy to see why these chancers think leaflet distribution is an easy business to enter. To them it is just a matter of convincing some small business owners to hire them, then get some leaflets printed, hire a few students or unemployed people to distribute them and then send an invoice. It’s easy, even their grandmother could do it. Only she couldn’t.

Leaflet distribution & door drop marketing is a business that requires management skills and the availability and deployment of modern technology.images

Soon the poor business owner who hired them realises they have been seriously misled. They begin to realise this when no orders or enquiries are forthcoming from their campaign. They also realise their mistake when the so-called distribution company they hired cannot provide proof of any deliveries because they do not have GPS tracking, and have been using inexperienced and untrustworthy people to deliver the leaflets.

It is not long before they realise they have wasted their marketing budget; their money.

This is what a chancer, a person looking for a quick buck, can do to a business: it can do lasting damage. And it can do lasting damage to our industry too.

How many of the people who have fallen foul to the imposters, offering cheap prices, posing as door drop experts are left with the belief that leaflet distribution does not work?

So what should business owners beware of when they are faced with a glamorous website promising them the earth?

What to look for & choose wisely

You should ask the people behind the site what they are really offering.

Does their blog only have one or two posts from months, even years ago?
Is the content on their website well written and informative?
Do they have any reviews or case studies from previous clients?
Do they monitor the leaflet distribution using the latest GPS technology?
Do they supply a detailed report of the distribution including dates and GPS logs of the delivery?
Do they provide a complete leaflet design service and do they offer examples of work they have done?

Choose wisely with Hallway Distribution not only offer every capability listed above but we also offer expert advice to help you get the best results from your leafleting campaign. This includes the best time and the best place for launching a marketing campaign, how to present your business with the design of the leaflet, what material to print it on and much more.

Door To Door Marketing Techniques

Advertising, Leaflet Distribution, Marketing Strategy, , , ,

Door to door marketing can be intimidating, but it also offers a lot of benefits as a strategy for building your business. The chance to directly engage with potential customers and pitch your offerings in person brings a connection with your audience that commercial advertising can’t match. Understanding some basic marketing techniques can help beginners make the most of these interactions.

Location Is Key

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A key part of any door to door marketing campaign is picking the right neighborhoods to canvas. If you already have a database of previous customers, the neighborhoods or post codes that show up most frequently are good places to start. If you’re the local ice cream parlor, for example, walking around the neighborhoods within walking distance or a short drive away and handing out coupons for a free small cone at the beginning of summer can be a great way of either introducing yourself or reminding folks that you’re there at the start of your biggest sales period.

Hone Your Pitch

A successful transaction rarely is as simple as knocking on the door of the fortunate customer who already needs what you’re selling. You’ll have a very short amount of time to convince the resident to patronize your business, and many times the best way to do so is to sell a larger idea rather than your specific product. Someone might not think they need a pest control service, but if you ask them if they want to protect their home from termites it might resonate. Use whatever strengths you have if you’re naturally funny, start with a joke, for example. But whatever you do, make sure you’re focused on the customer and their wants and needs.

Make Materials Count

If you’re going door to door marketing to promote your local business, the fact that nobody answers when you knock doesn’t mean your marketing work is over it just means your prospective customer will have to read about what you have to offer instead of listening to you say it via a leaflet. As you are working your script to present in person, don’t neglect the brochures or other marketing material that you’ll leave behind if nobody’s there. Make sure they catch the eye, that they include a call to action or incentive to become a customer and that they’re placed somewhere hard to miss, like hanging from a doorknob or placed in the mailbox.

Set Realistic Goals

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Doing door to door marketing isn’t going to make you a millionaire over night. Be realistic about your expectations and also be realistic with any canvassers you hire to go door to door for you. It can be a frustrating job with a lot of rejection, and it’s only worse if someone goes in expecting nothing but credit card numbers and referrals. Whatever your business is, and wherever it is located, you should be able to find out an expected response rate to serve as a benchmark. Use that as an initial guide to determine whether your own efforts are effective, and adjust as necessary if you fall below that threshold.

Supercharging Your Business

Advertising, Business Branding, , , ,

imagesThe following are some of the best ways for super charging your business, no matter what kind of business you are in.

  1. “Same-Old” is out

    Getting attention with something new is in. To get new business, you must strive to be innovative and dramatic. For example, an insurance agency, offered “the biggest steak dinner in town” if it couldn’t save any person money on their car insurance. This challenge was enough to make the telephone start ringing off the hook for days at a time. The customer flow was “absolutely crazy” for days.  The bottom line: dozens of new insurance buyers and tons of new cash flow and all they had to do was fork out the cost for a half dozen steak dinners!

  1. Tight target marketing.

    The big job in marketing and sales is getting to the right people inside another company. Addressing mail to “Facilities Manager” or printing a “routing slip” on the outside of the envelope is ineffective. Hitting the target is the challenge. Scoring a bull’s eye means making contact with the right individuals and is the only way to make the sale. Taking time to be highly targeted in business communication is essential.

  1. Be more creative.

    Pushing direct-mail pieces out the door or sending the newsletter to the mail room isn’t doing the job. Ask yourself: “Will anyone be intrigued enough to read the mailer before tossing it in the wastebasket?” Ask the same question about the company newsletter. A highly creative approach is necessary to be different and distinctive. Creativity costs money. But, if more people read the ad, take time with the newsletter or decide that the offer in a mailer makes sense, you have accomplished the goal.

  1. Focus on what customers care about.

    imagesAfter listening to the admissions director talk about what should be shown in the school’s new recruiting video, the marketing consultant asked, “Is this what parents and prospective students are interested in knowing?” Suddenly, everyone became less confident. Someone suggested asking the student tour guides what questions the visiting parents and kids asked? Whether creating an ad, a brochure, or a sales presentation, knowing what the customer wants, needs and expects is what works.

  1. Tell customers how to think about your company.

    We come to conclusions by making comparisons. If you don’t let customers and prospects know why it is in their best interests to do business with you or buy your product, they won’t. The rating of life insurance companies makes an impact on customers. The J.D. Powers’ customer-satisfaction survey on cars and personal computer manufacturers influences buying behavior. Wise companies spend time and effort consciously influencing the way they are perceived by customers, prospects, bankers and stockholders.

  1. When supercharging your business make your offers outstanding.

    Customers are cautious. They don’t like being put on the spot; they don’t want to make a mistake. This is why offers are essential. “Try it for 30 days free.” “We won’t deposit your credit card slip for a month.” “Your satisfaction is guaranteed.” “Take the car for the weekend and drive it all you want.” The goal is to overcome the customer’s reluctance.

  1. Be in the right place at the right time.

    “Why didn’t I think of you last week when we bought the new…” Some salespeople simply shrug off such comments. Oh, well. I can’t be in the right place every time.” Wrong. Being in front of the customer is today’s assignment. Developing a consistent program for staying in front of customers regularly is the challenge. A mix of seminars, newsletters, bulletins, fact sheets, special events and informative articles will keep you in the customers’ minds.

  1. Be relentless when supercharging your business.

    Persistence is power in marketing and sales. Far too many firms fail in their efforts because they don’t follow through long enough to produce proper results. Marketing momentum comes from a consistent effort. Once you start a newsletter, issue it on schedule. It takes time for customers to comprehend what you are doing and for prospects to get acquainted and comfortable with a business.

  1. Get rid of the self-serving nonsense.

    Most company publications, ads, letters, brochures, and other sales materials are filled with words, photographs and information that do nothing more than toot the company’s horn. No one cares that the business says it is the “best,” “oldest” or the “biggest.” Pictures of the staff are only interesting to the staff. A better approach is to ask prospects what they want to know about your company. We doubt anyone will be anxious to see pictures of the CEO, chairman of the board or the executive vice president.

  1. Tell them everything you know.

    Spill the beans, so to speak. Since today’s customers want information, knowledge and helpful ideas, do everything you can to share everything you know. This is the only way to become a valued resource to your customers. When people use your ideas, they will buy what you sell.

  1. Be generous.

    No one wants to do business with firms operating on a one-way street. Buy a new car and the dealer hands you a 20-cent plastic key holder! It sends a message that this dealer doesn’t under-stand his customers. You may forget the car, but you will never forget the lousy key ring! Another auto dealer delivers the new car to your office. What a difference. This dealer sends a powerful message our customers are important.

  1. Make prospect identification your mission

    imagesThe single most important daily activity in any business is prospect identification. By making prospecting a continuing process, companies produce a steady flow of new sales leads. They never stop asking, “Who do we want to do business with if we have the chance?” Then make sure all prospects are entered into a database so they can be cultivated over a period of time.

  1. Scrutinise your corporate identity.

    Yes, how a company presents itself makes a difference. Is the logo appropriate? Is it dated? Does it communicate the right message and the correct image? Is the president the only one who understands it? What about the company colours? Are they reminiscent of the late ’70s? Do the letterhead, mailing labels and business cards convey a strong, positive message? Or, are they dull and ordinary looking? If you don’t think this is important, your competitors will be thrilled. Corporate identity is the face you put on your company.

  1. Write customer-centered letters.

    Most business letters have cold, impersonal words. “As per our conversation,” “Pursuant to our agreement.” When was the last time you heard anyone talk this way at lunch (other than perhaps a lawyer)? Yet, give the same executives a pen and they become stilted. There is no reason why business letters should not be warm, friendly, conversational, interesting and customer-centered. Write as if you were the one reading it. Should a letter end at the bottom of the first page? Yes, if that’s what it takes to tell the story? But it may take two, four or six pages. A letter should be as long as necessary and always interesting to the reader.

Print vs Digital

Advertising, Direct Mail, Leaflet Distribution, ,

We now have the scientific proof. Print is better than digital for advertising.

Despite the enormous migration to electronic media, neuroscience research shows that paper-based content and ads offer special advantages in connecting with our brains.

HImage result for print vs digital imagesow many times over the years have we have been told print is dead?

Ceefax (remember that?) was going to kill newspapers and videos were going to replace colour brochures. Now both theories were confined to history while print carried on.

But then the digital world exploded onto the scene. It did at the time, look as though print had met its nemesis.

Marketing people began turning to electronic mail and the internet to sell their products and services. Some even openly disparaging print as old-fashioned and doomed. However, some of the savvy marketers continued to use print to sell products because they believed it still worked and worked better than digital.

Now science has proved us right.

What we found the print vs digital facts

So, what is the scientific community telling us about printed messages being more effective than digital ones?

A study by a Canadian neuromarketing firm, True Impact, compared the effects of digital media in the form of display ads and email against a direct mail piece.

To carry out this test, the firm used two technologies. These two technologies were a high-resolution EEG that measured brain waves and eye-tracking techniques.

The critical metrics evaluated in this study were attention, persuasiveness and ease of understanding. In all three cases, the direct mail piece was found to be easier to process and proved to be better for brand recall mentally.

Those participants exposed to the direct mail piece had recall 70% higher than those exposed to the digital advert.

Now we cannot expect a mass exodus from digital marketing to direct mail and door drop leaflets. However it does prove that print-based advertising still has a significant part to play in the marketing plans of advertising managers across the land. And we cannot expect digital marketing to disappear either. The print vs digital argument will roll though.

The future is going to be print and digital working together.

Image result for print vs digital images

Any good direct mail piece or door drop leaflet must also have an online presence.

Despite the popularity of print in getting a sales message across, many people feel comfortable ordering from a website, and print can drive this valuable traffic to an online order or enquiry form.

However, a printed leaflet can only work if it has been carefully constructed. It must be well written, designed and printed by people who know their craft.

Hallway Distribution can not only advise on where to distribute your printed marketing leaflets, we also provide copywriting, and a design service all of the highest quality.

Marketing Via Leaflet Drops

Advertising, Leaflet Distribution, Marketing Strategy, , , , , ,

Many businesses depend on marketing via leaflet drops as their primary strategy for bringing in new clients. We at Hallway Leaflet Distribution not only help entrepreneurs and businesses to get their leaflets through doors but we help them use the proven “direct-response marketing techniques” that have helped many other businesses to succeed.

Marketing via leaflet drops is a very powerful strategy when used correctly. It should give you the facility to bring in new business at a rate that is chosen by you! The control that you will have over your leaflet distribution campaign should give you the flexibility to scale up (or scale down) the influx of new clients as you require it. Very few marketing techniques or strategies have this flexibility.

To make a profit from your distribution campaign is absolutely paramount. To put thousands of leaflets through doors in the belief that you are successfully raising your companies profile (but not actually making any money), with the hope that people will “eventually” decide to use you when the time is right, is unfortunately one of the biggest mistakes you can make with leaflets.  The techniques I can show you to maximise your results from leaflet distribution will be focused on gaining an immediate targeted response from ‘ideal’ clients you want to work for (i.e. filtering out time wasters)!

The following guidelines for designing your distribution campaign outlined here are not business specific but have been proven to work for many different types of businesses.

See The Bigger Picture

Marketing Objectives

Decide exactly what you wish to gain from your leaflet campaign. Workout all your costs and how much revenue you need to make for it to be successful. For example, consider: How many leads will you need from the campaign?  What is your conversion rate?  What is your average job value?  What is your cost of sales? You need to consider what information you will need to know to establish whether you are making money, breaking even, or losing money. Tracking the origin of client inquiries is absolutely essential for monitoring the success of your campaign.

Design Campaign

Design your leaflet campaign to meet your marketing objectives. Consider also the types of client you’re hoping to attract and the demographics of target areas. It is always worth thinking who your ideal clients are (i.e age, income, home owner, geographical area etc), have a look at your existing client database if you are unsure. If you are unsure as to which geographical areas will be suitable for your business then contact us for further information. Your leaflets will probably get an excellent response in some areas and a very poor response in others. Careful planning as to where your leaflets are dropped will always improve your response.

Tracking

Ensure that you have a robust system of tracking PROFIT from your campaign and assessing whether marketing objectives have been met. It is a fact of life that certain types of marketing strategies will not work for certain types of companies.  Leaflet distribution is no different, and if you are not making money you need to know straight away. Effective tracking is the only way to do this.

Designing Your Leaflet

USP

What is your Unique Selling Proposition?  This will be a reason why clients will choose you over your competitors and should be something that you convey in your literature. A USP can be anything from being ‘the cheapest’, ‘the best quality’, ‘the fastest’, ‘the most thorough’ or anything that gives your business an edge. If you tell people why you are different you will attract the sort of clients who want to use your service. For example, if you are selling a product which is of the finest quality or of high value you need to tell people that specifically because those are the types of people you trying to attract. If you don’t mention this fact, and you only attract people who are seeking the cheapest product on the marketplace, then you will have failed to pre-select your ideal customers using your leaflet.

Services/Features Versus Benefits

A typical flier design that many people use is: company name at the top, a list of the services provided in the middle, followed by a phone number at the bottom. Unfortunately, this type of design will do nothing to convey to your prospect clients why they should choose you as opposed to your competitors. You must convey the benefits of using your service. If you are not absolutely clear what benefits your clients are looking for then ask them! Try to build as much ‘value’ into your product as possible. If a client doesn’t perceive the ‘extra’ value you offer them over your competitors their decision to buy will be based entirely on price comparison. If you are selling a product on price alone, working with the thinnest possible margin, the only route to success is to sell MASSIVE volume. Selling high-volume is not as easy as some people might lead you to believe, and is certainly much harder than building value into a product or service (which is consequently sold at a higher price!).

Objections

If your clients typically have objections to using your kind of service then it is important to raise them and explain why they will not be a problem if they choose your company. If you do not tackle your client’s main concerns head-on they may decide not to use you. It is in your interests to raise these issues (assuming that you have a very convincing argument as to why your company can overcome these objections).

Using Text

Don’t be afraid of putting lots of text in your leaflet.  If you were going to use a new company you had never used before (and spend hundreds of pounds with them) wouldn’t you want to spend five minutes reading about them to know that they were a good company? People will read it! The design process is NEVER about designing the most beautiful flyer; it’s ALWAYS about getting people to pick up the phone and call you. Don’t fall into the trap of asking your friends and colleagues (who may know nothing about direct response marketing techniques) what they think of your newly designed flyer only to get put off by their comments that they think you have inserted too much text and that it doesn’t ‘look attractive’.

Image Based Marketing

Many companies make the mistake of trying to get “brand recognition”. Unless you are a huge national company with massive marketing clout you will struggle to achieve this.  Smaller companies need to focus on getting a direct response from their marketing. If your initial leaflet design concept revolves around your company logo and some nice looking pictures don’t be surprised if you get virtually no calls from your campaign. It might work for multinational companies with millions of pounds to spend on developing their brand awareness, but “pound for pound” will almost never be the most effective way for you to spend your money.

Specific Design Mechanisms

Heading & Subheading

Putting your company name at the top of the flyer is a wasted opportunity. You need a catchy hook to get them to look at the rest of the flyer. A good heading might include your foremost USP, a guarantee, or special offer for example.

Make Them An Offer They Can’t Refuse

Don’t just tell them what service you provide, make them a fantastic offer that they must take you up on before a specific deadline. Build the offer up with a story if you can. Make it believable, giving them a reason why this offer is a one-off offer and if they don’t take you up on it they will miss out for good!

Vouchers

Put a voucher in your leaflet is a great way to market via leaflet drops. It is a fantastic mechanism to get people to keep your leaflet and gives it real value.  Make sure your voucher has a dotted line around the outside and has a very bold deadline to it. A deadline is absolutely essential for getting clients to call you straight away.

Testimonials

Proof from satisfied clients of yours will be the best advertisement you will ever have. A good testimonial will probably have a client stressing a particular benefit or overcoming a potential ‘objection’ to using your service.

Guarantee

If you guarantee an aspect of your service it will give a prospect client confidence in you. A guarantee can be anything from a moneyback guarantee, a lowest price guarantee, guaranteed timelines, 100% satisfaction guarantee, or quality guarantee for example.

Website

A leaflet gives you a limited amount of space to convey to your prospect client why they should use you.  If you have an excellent web site which markets your company really well it is important to direct your clients to it from your leaflet.  Don’t forget to give a reason to go to your web site, perhaps you are giving away special offers or consumer information for example, or maybe they can book or order on-line. There are specific things that you can do with your web site such that it will run alongside your leaflet campaign, and make it more effective. If you are not experienced with maximising the potential of your web site please get in touch with us as we have some of the best contacts in the industry who are able to advise you in how to fully exploit this medium.

Contact Information

The way you present your contact information on a flyer will affect your response. You should always have a contact address on a leaflet (even if you’re not local to the area you are dropping the flyers in). Rogue tradespeople don’t have addresses on their flyers and prospect clients know this! Consider also the type of phone number you’re using.

You may get more calls if you use the local area code for the area you are dropping the leaflets in, even if your office is not from that area. People like to use local companies and will be attracted to the local number as a consequence. These days obtaining a ‘local telephone number’ for an area that is then rooted through to your main office is VERY cheap to do. You should also consider having a freephone number that people can call (some people will call an 0800 number but will not want to pay the expense of paying for a local rate call!). Never put your mobile number as a main contact number.

Most people will not want to spend their money on expensive mobile charges, and besides it won’t help you to look professional. If you do not have someone to take calls in office hours it is very straightforward to have your business landline number diverted to your mobile phone or a remote messaging centre to take your calls whilst you are out (or indeed do both together!).

Professional Bodies

If your company belongs to any reputable (but relevant) trade bodies it is a very good idea to include this information in your leaflet. A logo with a brief explanation of why it is beneficial for a prospect client to choose a company who is a member of this body is all that is required.

Testing Your Leaflet

Once you have got together a design you’re happy with don’t forget to test your leaflet. It is recommended when conducting tests to use a reasonable sample size (at least 10,000 leaflets) otherwise the statistics you gain will be very difficult to analyse, or worse – probably meaningless. The best way to improve your leaflet, once you have something that works, is to conduct an “A-B” test using two different flyers to ascertain which one is the most effective. There are specific ways too conduct this type of test however if it is to be truly representative. The only way I would recommend doing this test is to systematically mix two equal numbers of Leaflets A with Leaflets B and distribute them to the same area on the same day (remembering to deliver to a reasonable sample size). As long as each distinct flyer has a separate reference number which is tracked when clients call (or some other way of easily distinguishing them) you will have enough information to know which leaflet is the most effective. Marketing via leaflet drops need to be tested this way.

Whilst all the above will help you maximise the response from your marketing campaign don’t fall into paralysis by analysis.  The only way to be successful is to act (and actually put something out!). So good luck with your marketing campaign and don’t forget we are always here to help.

Graphic Design & Printing

Hallway Distribution is a specialist door-to-door distribution company.  We do however have a large amount of experience working with graphic designers and printers to ensure that our client’s promotional material not only looks great but is also delivered on time and to specification! If you are at that initial stage of planning your campaign and you want to save a couple of days time trying to find a good printer or designer then call us. We have some of the best contacts in the industry, which will probably save you hundreds of pounds, plus a great deal of stress! I should also stress that we receive no commission from recommending you to other businesses, the gain for us is the more successful you become through leaflet distribution the more successful we become! Good business is about developing good relationships!

How Can I Make My Business REALLY Successful?

Learning how to run a successful business is no different to learning how to make (for example) your leaflet distribution campaign successful, in that it is all about getting the right information. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, all the good information is out there, you just need to seek the right sort of success information for your business. If you need pointing in the right direction then get in touch and let me know, with some of the many marketing and business development contacts I have developed over the years I have no doubt that I will be able to put you in touch with people who can help.

Check out more advertising tips right here.