Leaflet Distribution - The Best Way To Advertise Your Business in a Recession?

I got a direct call from a customer last week. Not to moan or complain about the service they?d received, but to express surprise (and not a small amount of delight) at the success of a recent campaign we had done for them. It had far outweighed their predictions in terms of a return on investment.

I?m not telling you about this purely to make us look good - although I admit there?s a small amount of that too! - but it did get me thinking about the number of businesses out there that still don?t know just what a targeted leaflet distribution could do in terms of increasing awareness and, ultimately, bringing in more money. Surprise is indeed a regular reaction from our new customers, although the effectiveness of a distribution is no secret to the regulars who come back time and time again.

I thought therefore that I would start out our new blog by spelling out some of the reasons why leaflet distribution is such an effective means of advertising - and particularly so in the hard times we?re all in at the moment.

A leaflet distribution helps you get your product or service in front of more people

Relatively speaking, I firmly believe that a leaflet distribution is the most penetrating form of advertising out there - you?re actually getting your business in people?s hands, and if you?re including a sample, people can actually try out your product. The stats back this up to - industry research has shown that 66% of 15 to 34-year-olds acted positively after receiving a leaflet and 84% of householders claim to at least look at the leaflets they receive.

A leaflet distribution gives you a tangible and extremely cost-effective return on your investment

We work with customers of all sizes, in both the public and private sector, and they?re frequently surprised by how much we can give them for their money. Our distribution rates start at £15 per 1000 leaflets, which is the kind of rate you won?t find anywhere else in the advertising world. If you combine that with our increasingly sophisticated targeting methods, we believe that?s a pretty unbeatable proposition for any business.

A leaflet distribution can be more accountable than ever before

I don?t want to bang on about accountability, but huge strides have been made in the last few years. For certain types of work in the north west, we have devised our own technology that uses GPS to track deliveries. Local advertisers can now receive a complete breakdown of what we?ve done for you on a door-by-door basis - an unprecedented level of accuracy for what is after all a generally large-scale means of advertising. If we?ve missed a street or even a door, you?ll know about it. We are hoping that such standards become the industry norm and we are looking to roll the service out into other areas because accountability for everyone, from the distributors to us back in the office, is what we believe makes our campaigns a notch above the rest.

A leaflet distribution is your way-in to the customer

When your leaflet is delivered, two things might happen: it will either be binned and never seen again, or the recipient will take some kind of action. The latter type is extremely valuable to you. It?s vital that you find out who they are, and the easiest way to do that is to offer something - like a sample, brochure or free gift - in return for their details. From that first exchange, the leaflet recipient can quickly become a long-term customer. A leaflet distribution can be the first act of the relationship.

A leaflet distribution can be as small-scale as you want

Still unconvinced by leaflet distribution? That?s fine. You don?t have to start big. Test your campaign - and your leaflet - on a small area and you?ll soon get an idea of how it would work on a bigger scale. You can then decide whether to make adjustments (and we often find that the slightest change can make a big difference to campaign success), or simply roll it over a larger target area.

Invest in a properly planned leaflet distribution and it could well be the kickstart your business needs at the moment.

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