Is leaflet distribution effective?

All you need to know before you start advertising with leaflets

Always research before you spend money!

4 minutes read

Dear Reader,

 If you landed here, you probably consider a leaflet distribution as a way to promote your business. Besides, you might wonder where you should start.

 There are numerous aspects of door-drop planning we would like to share with you. In this article, we will concentrate on the most essential things you should consider before booking your first leafleting campaign.

 Will leaflet distribution bring me more business? (or Is it effective?)

The main question every advertiser must ask when deciding on a leaflet distribution for the first time.

Yes, positively! Leaflet distribution has the potential to increase your sales and bring in loyal customers even now - in the so-called digital era.

You might be familiar with the available research, and the figures that state a response rate of 1%. After ten years in the business of leaflet distribution, we say that the percentage could be higher - around 3% depending on the industry and factors like timing, schedule, offers, and strategy. Leaving the response rates aside, the percentages for the overall performance of leaflet distribution are relatively high. People do like receiving leaflets, and this is one of the most successful direct marketing channels to date. One of the main reasons is that they are tangible - 45% of recipients keep them, and 90% remember receiving a leaflet.

However, these figures do not answer your question - will leaflet distribution bring more business to your business in particular? 

Yes, for sure. Nevertheless, leaflet distribution has its pros and cons, as does every other marketing channel and to achieve results you should do your homework first.

Let's take a look at the pros and cons of leaflet distribution. Knowing its powers and weaknesses will help you manage it better:

PROS:

 It is cost-effective - in contrast to direct mailing or signboard advertising, with leaflet distribution, you don't need to bother with buying mailing lists or huge billboards. Besides you can choose from different distribution plans that could reduce the cost significantly.

Full control over quality and content - you are completely flexible regarding the content and design of your leaflets. With a catchy design and straightforward message, your door drops will pay for themselves.

Broad coverage - leaflet distribution is ideal if you want to cover a large number of households in a particular area. While you will not be able to personalise the mailings, you can promote to many recipients, increasing the likelihood of a satisfactory response rate. 

Accurate targeting - The precise targeting depends on the quality of the databases you use. While you can use public databases to choose your postal sectors, it is essential to develop your own. It allows determining your tactical approach in terms of frequency and type of offers to advertise with leaflet distribution. It also enables following how the relationship with specific demographic groups is going and thus - taking better strategic and tactical decisions. If you don't have a database yet, many suppliers could help with general information about the different demographic groups in the area you want to cover. With our new service at My.Logiforce.com, you can use an interactive map to choose your postal sectors for delivery and check the numbers of households, for example.

CONS:

Less effective than direct mail 

While direct mail can be personalised with the name of the person, leaflet distribution could land in the hands of anyone from the household. That is why the quality of the database is of such significant importance. You can better calculate the likelihood of people in certain areas to be interested in what you offer and avoid waste.

 Less control if the supplier doesn't provide GPS tracking

Not all leaflet distribution companies use door to door GPS tracks and provide post-distribution reports. Like Royal Mail who do not offer GPS tracking for their leaflet distribution services. So choose your supplier carefully.

Logifoce has developed its own proprietary mobile tracking app and it uses an additional third-party GPS logger as a backup for every distributor.

Conclusion and tips: 

Leaflet distribution is efficient and will bring you more business, if:

• You do your homework regarding the areas you want to cover. Use as much demographic information as possible and use it strategically. Do you want to penetrate, to wake up asleep customers or to promote on a competitive market? Decide on your aim and ask your supplier to help you with advice. My.Logiforce.com offers a number of tools and wizards as well as real-time advice when booking your leafleting on our platform.
• Pay close attention to the content and design of your leaflets. We will cover this topic in a separate article. However, what you want to think about is that even you don't pay attention to bad design and dull massages.
• Think of leaflet distribution in the long run 

          As, with anything else in life, nothing significant happens with just one try. You cannot say that you learned to swim because you touched the sea once, right? Depending on your business goals and the budget you have, prepare a strategic plan for regular leaflet distribution.

 We hope you can extract some inspiration and ideas for your next steps with your leaflet distribution from this article.

 In our next insight, we will cover questions such as: is leaflet distribution the right channel for you, what delivery options are there and which one will suit your needs best. Stay with us for more insights!

 Happy leafleting!

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 Do you need help with arranging your leaflet distribution or perhaps additional advice? Book a meeting or a demo here. 

 If you are ready to take the next step and book a leaflet distribution – sign up for our instant booking platform here. Booking takes no more than 10 minutes, and approvals are usually within two working hours with live chat support.