Sales & marketing

4 ways to nail door drop marketing in 2018

The days of the door-to-door salesman may be long over, but door drop marketing proves to be a timeless tool for businesses that want to make a direct impact while keeping it local. Here?s how to nail door drop marketing with a modern twist.

It?s the age-old question. How do you reach potential customers and get them interested in your products or services? And more importantly, how do you do it affordably? Marketing is fundamental for any business, but if you?re a consumer brand that needs to reach households today, door drops and leafleting can change the way you interact with customers.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) carried out extensive research into the staying power and return on investment of door drop marketing.

89% of consumers remember receiving a door drop mailing ? more than any other marketing channel.

Potential customers need to see an ad at least seven times before they buy a product or service. In order to capitalise on drip effect marketing to get your company in front of potential customers, you need to identify the method with the most staying power.

Good old fashioned leaflets and flyers end up on fridge doors and kitchen counters for 45% of consumers, according to DMA research, which suggests a lot more visibility than an online ad or TV spot. In fact, door drops are revisited up to three times on average by recipients.

A ?500 (+VAT) marketing budget can reach around 8,000 households through this method, according to Royal Mail, which makes it one of the quickest and most affordable ways to reach the most number of potential customers.

But how do you build an effective door drop campaign? Here are four things to consider when getting started.

Identify your marketing needs

Any marketing campaign needs a clear goal and message. Door drops work within an integrated marketing plan that can move offline potential customers online or to your store.

Door drop campaigns make an immediate impact, generate rapid, measurable responses and build positive brand perceptions over the long term.

According to research from Royal Mail, 67% of consumers were prompted to buy as a result of door drops.

It is a proven medium that is used by the likes of Domino?s, Gillette and Waitrose for a reason.

To get started, consider your budget, forecast and what element of your marketing campaign requires generating footfall or general awareness.

Questions to consider: What do you want to achieve from the campaign? Who is your target audience? How can you reach the right people to help drive results? How much do you have to spend?

What is your message?

Consumers are bombarded with messages on a daily, if not hourly basis online and offline. From TV ads to tube ads, potential customers are constantly seeing offers and discounts from your competitors. Include a prize draw or questionnaire to entice potential customers to engage with your business. Whether it?s with a promo code or call to go online, make sure your flyer gives you to the option to collect customer data so you can track the impact of your campaign and add potential customers to your long-tail plans.

Questions to consider: To stand out, think about your marketing message and your brand values. What is the single most important message you want to convey? How can this leaflet or flyer help a potential customer use your products or services to solve a problem they face?? How can potential customers reach you, and what information do you need from them to help you (such as their email address or phone number)?

Are you targeting the right people?

You could have done all the right things, but unless you are speaking to the right customers, your campaign may not generate any real results. Door drop marketing can be targeted as accurately as a single street, or as broadly as every UK address. It?s always crucial to understand the demographics of the area you are sending your flyers to.

Questions to consider: Who are you targeting and why? Who are your best customers? Where do they live? What is the profile of your average/ideal customer? How do they behave? How do they consume your (or your competitors?) products?

Keep the design simple and on-brand

Flyers and leaflets tend to the make the rounds in the average household, from doorstep to kitchen table. In fact, they are kept in the home on average for 5 days and 13% of them over 4 weeks, according to Royal Mail MarketReach research. To stay relevant and make an impact on your audience, consider making your leaflet engaging, beautifully designed and on-brand so that one look is really all it takes.

Questions to consider: Is your flyer on-brand in terms of the colour scheme and look and feel? Will customers instantly recognise your business when they see your flyer? Does your flyer have a clearly defined call-to-action, such as (?take part in a customer survey for a chance to win a ?50 voucher? or ?bring this flyer to our store to get 10% off?)?

For all you need to know about door drop marketing and how it can grow your business, see how Royal Mail can help.

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