Why do some leaflet distribution campaigns produce lower response rates than others?
Many companies do not always get the good response rates but can’t figure out why.
Often one of the main reasons for poor response rates is that they are making some basic errors in their leaflet distribution campaigns.
We have spent some time looking into why some leaflet distribution campaigns are less successful than others. As a result of our research, we have identified the most common errors that people make with their leaflet distribution campaigns. This article discusses these errors and how to avoid them to help you to improve the response rates.
1) Wrong targets
It is possible for identical leaflets to be distributed to two different target audiences and get wildly different response rates.
It is, therefore, important for you to have a very clear understanding of what your ideal customers ‘look’ like and then target them with your marketing materials. The most effective way to do this is to use of demographic profiling to identify your ideal customers and customer and market analysis to find out where they live.
Targeting the people who are most likely to be interested in your products or services is key to improving response rates
2) No testing and measuring
Testing and measuring is a very important in any form of direct marketing. If you don’t test and measure you will effectively be shooting in the dark, not just with one campaign but with every campaign you ever run.
By testing all aspects of your leaflet distribution campaigns, from different materials to different contact lists to different offers, etc. you will be able to work out what works and what does not. Then, when you find what works best, repeat it on an increasingly larger scale, always continuing to test and measure the results to ensure that it is continuing to produce expected results.
3) No offer
As with all forms of direct marketing, leaflet distribution is a highly competitive field. Remember that you are competing with many other companies who are fighting for the attention of your potential customers who are being bombarded with marketing messages from many different sources.
Consequently, you need to make your leaflet ‘stand out from the crowd’ to improve your response rates. One way to do this is with an outstanding offer. It is the offer that persuades readers to choose your product or service over what your competitors are selling. Your offer must differentiate you from the competition by way of price, terms, guarantees or value added extras.
4) It’s all about You
This may come as a bit of a shock but people are not interested in you or your company or your products and services. They are interested in what your company and its products and services can do for them. This sounds pretty obvious yet how much marketing material do you receive where the primary focus is on the company or the features of the product or service they are selling.
If you want your leaflets to have impact, ensure that all of the messages are aimed at the prospect and say everything from the prospect’s point of view – don’t begin your copy with “we” when you can begin with “you.”
For further information, read our article “It’s the Benefits that Sell“.
5) Slow in getting to the point
You have a maximum two seconds to get the reader’s attention. If you have not gained their attention by then your marketing material is either heading for the bin or it’s already there.
Don’t make the mistake of a slow build-up – get straight to the point and put your strongest selling point (or benefit) in the first line of copy. Give them a reason to continue reading. For more information, see our article “Does Your Headline Sell?”
6) No call to action
Finally, the whole point of leaflet distribution campaigns is to encourage potential customers to buy your products or services so make sure that you know what action they have to take in order to make a purchase.
If you don’t ask for a response, you won’t get one. Tell your potential customers exactly what to do and make it as easy as possible. Some examples include a free telephone number, a pre-paid response card, an e-mail address or web site address.
Whatever method you choose, make sure that it is appropriate to your audience – including a good call to action can dramatically improve response rates.
7) No time limit
Don’t make the mistake of allowing your potential customers to put off responding to your leaflet until they forget about it all together. The best way to avoid this is to put a time limit on your offer and make that time limit crystal clear in your literature. You may also consider making a special offer to those who respond quickly. This does not necessarily have to be a time limit. You could, for example, say something like “The first 50 people to respond will receive a further 10% discount”.
8) Poor follow-up
One final note of caution: There is no point in putting a lot of effort into creating great leaflets,ensuring that it is delivered to your ideal target customers and generating a great response rate if you are not ready to deal with the resulting enquiries. If you are slow to respond to the leads that your leaflet distribution campaign generates it would have almost have been better never to have started in the first place.
Make sure that you are ready to deal with enquires and ensure that all leads are followed up within 48 hours, ideally within 24 hours. To do this you should have worked out exactly how you are going to handle enquiries before you start your campaign and have all of the relevant material ready to go.
If you are going to follow-up by telephone, make sure that the people who are on the ‘phone are comfortable with telesales and have an appropriate script.
