With the rise of Instagram and other social media marketing, you’d have thought leaflet distribution marketing strategies may have been rendered redundant. Surprisingly, this isn’t the case at all. Indeed, having a marketing campaign that delves into both offline and online marketing strategies gives your business a better chance at succeeding, especially in the early stages of the company.
The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) recently released figures from a Royal Mail study on door to door leaflet distribution (or door drop marketing) to find out which sectors are most successful in leaflet distribution. With this in mind, together with Direct Letterbox Marketing, here are 5 IDEAL sectors that benefit from leaflet marketing.
LOCAL SERVICES
Perhaps you’re a local handyman, mobile nail technician or hairdresser? If so, leaflets can be a great way to get your name and number out there. According to the survey, 46% of consumers are happy to receive leaflets from local services.
This is hardly surprising – many people love to support local businesses, as it helps to bolster the local economy. Plus, there’s an element of trust in local people doing jobs for each other; if someone’s from the area, they are likely to know the variables that might impact, say, a gardening job or a DIY project double glazing window installation. You can even promote a discount to make your services competitive with larger salons or other services. Just remember you need a license to distribute them.
LOCAL EVENTS
Another local service to benefit from leafleting are local events. Leaflets are a great way to inform the community about the time and place of an upcoming event and help boost your attendance rate; remember, not everyone views or responds to social media in the same way, so it’s wise to have other options in your arsenal for promotion. After all, it’s difficult to be heard in the crowded online world, but people are always happy to hear about something to do at the weekend. EventBrite suggests you could even use custom URLs on your leaflet to track how successful your leaflet campaign has been.
RESTAURANTS AND TAKEAWAYS
If you’re anything like us, you still have a drawer of menus to peruse on a Friday night even in this modern world where it’s all available at the touch of a button and a few scrolls. Indeed, according to participants in the DMA study, 45% of people still keep leaflets in a drawer or pinned up for appetite based inspiration. For restaurants, 50% of people who took part in the study said they would be happy to receive a leaflet through the door. Keeping in touch with the previous point, local takeaways and restaurants can really benefit from flyer distribution – getting your menu, your phone number, and your prices out there is the best way to be seen.
Again, vouchers and coupons are the best way to go to ensure customers keep a hold of your leaflets – DMA noted that money-off flyers were 50% more likely to be held onto for at least a week, and 71% of consumers note that coupons and samples are useful for discovering services they need.
FMCG BRANDS
Also hugely benefiting of leaflets are FMCG brands. FMCG brands are Fast Moving Consumer Goods; think Coca-Cola and Warburtons, for example. These are products where the demand is almost always there, and the cost to produce the item is relatively low.
Campaign reported on the use of direct marketing from FMCG brands, with a quote from David Payne, head of direct marketing at the IPA:
“Most consumers think of [direct marketing] as junk mail – but that’s not true for packaged goods, where consumers actually like to receive mailings. There is usually some incentive, such as money-off vouchers, and in that sense, they don’t see it as junk.”
This effect is transferable to other services too; if you run a local bakery, for instance, you can capitalise on people’s enjoyment of supporting the local economy as well as the success enjoyed by FMCG brands like Warburtons. Offering an incentive will increase the likelihood of customers coming to your store to see what you have to offer.
RETAIL
DMA revealed that the retail sector was shown in the study to be the number one industry that sees success in leaflet distribution. According to the figures, nine out of ten customers are happy to receive regular direct mail from retailers.
Plus, the research showed that 48% of consumers visited the shop advertised. Again, money off vouchers and coupons can make an impact with leaflets, but for retail, you also have the opportunity to make a connection with your customers. Mailmen.co.uk found that 57% of people feel valued by receiving mail, andmail and doing so creates a better relationship between the consumer and the brand.