In my dealings with small business owners, I have discovered something very interesting: Leaflet advertising almost NEVER works for them. As you can imagine, since I own a leaflet advertising / marketing company that I grew from nothing using direct mail marketing, this comes as a huge shock to me.

It seems that, contrary to what has been proven over and over by thousands of other business owners, leaflet advertising actually doesn’t produce new customers, leads or revenue! I hope you can sense my sarcasm there.
Now, I will grant that not all marketing works for everybody. That’s a fact, too. But the truth is, marketing does work and it can work for you if you do it correctly.

Below are the 3 of the most common reasons why marketing hasn’t worked for you:

You don’t target your ideal market
You don’t communicate clearly
You give up

Now, please notice that they all start with “You”. There’s a reason for that. If you take care of the points above, you will have a change of heart — and revenue. The key is to find the marketing channel that works the best for your business and industry. However, if you commit the marketing sins above, even the best marketing will fall flat. That’s just the way it goes.

So let’s talk about how to avoid them. For each problem, I’ll lay out how you can solve it with direct marketing.

Problem: You don’t target your ideal market
Solution: Ask for a targeted mailing list based on the demographics of your current best customers.

For every business there is a smaller segment of the greater population that is more likely to need, want or respond to that business’s marketing. So, say you are a lawn care company. The people most likely to respond to you are those who can afford to have someone else do the work and those who live in a free standing home. Even more specifically, you can assess your current customer list to get most common income level and home value. The key is to find who that is for your business, then ask to target those people.

Problem: You don’t communicate clearly
Solution: Use proven copywriting and graphic design techniques to deliver your message with clarity.

If your prospect doesn’t grasp the point of your advertisement in the first fraction of a second, you’ve lost them. That means you need to read through your copy and take out anything that would slow down the reader’s understanding of the message. Be clear and to-the-point. Then, match that text with an image that supports the message. Atention, Interest, Desire, Action!

Problem: You give up
Solution: DON’T!

Think about leaflets in terms of television commercials. Do you ever see a commercial just once? The answer is no, because even if you have, you wouldn’t remember it! Repetition is the key to establishing yourself in the mind of the prospect, building credibility and being remembered. If you aren’t committed to marketing, it just won’t work for you, so don’t bother. However, if you are committed, go ahead and plan for more business!
Once you’ve corrected these mistakes, there is nothing standing between you and a significant increase in new customers.

For help putting together a successful leaflet marketing campaign get in touch with us here at Hallway Distribution.