Well if only the businesses knew what I did when they dare to deliver tat to my door.

One local estate agent canvassing for business sparked this, a poorly specified and equally un-inspiring single-sided flyer. So, what did they do wrong and what can you do to avoid doing the same mistakes?

1) It was a flyer! Flyers are not a product for door dropping. Flyers are for handing out and inserting into packages. The 130gsm gloss art paper just spanks of being cheap and nasty, which it is. The first thing which I think is they do a cheap and nasty service, so think about the specification, does it match your service or product?

2) Again, the specification let this down, as to get it through a letterbox, it had to be scruffily folded down to a stupidly small size, so again making the item look insignificant or worthless – I’m sure they don’t offer a service which matches or do they?

3) The most significant part of this campaign probably would have been the distribution, even if they had got their cousins’ son to walk the streets, it’s still a big investment in time and money. So why only a single-sided flyer! You have a second side to tell more of your story or provide another call to action point.

4) On scrutiny and a closer eye reading the flyer, there were 4-5 grammatical errors on the page. Yet again, if you are trying to get a high-value ticket sale, attention to detail matters. All these small points matter as your brand is at the heart of the message, if these small points add up, what is the message you are delivering?

So, what could they of done better….
1) Specified and designed correctly. Understanding how something is going to be used and received is essential to get your message across correctly. We don’t just put ink on paper, we ensure you your message right and it sits correctly for you and what you are doing. Using a thin card stock would have been better, equally, they wouldn’t have needed the A5 size, it could have been A6 or DL, which would have equally worked.

2) Relevance, there was nothing relevant about the flyer to me, or to where I was. Huddersfield is a big place, I could be in Holmfirth or Birkby and I would engage very differently to it. So, think about who is receiving it and what’s important to them. No imagery on the flyer created any sense of locality, you state Huddersfield, but you could be in a back bedroom in Leicester for all I know.

3) The offer showed no sign of being time-limited or restricted, so why do I need to act now. The call for action, was a non-call for action, why should I engage now?

We have many more tools for creating empowering engagements with customers. Estate Agents, we can help you more than you think, as we can bring locality, bring data to convince vendors to sell or let. Unfortunately, this Estate Agent was using a scattergun approach, which equally will not result in any significant return. A keyword in marketing is targeting, if you have a target audience, drive messages to them to convince them, the key is them.

So if this agent was feeling like they wanted a campaign which would have returned them good enquiries and leads we would suggest

–           Localisation, bring it down to the area, Almondbury, Netherthong, wherever. If you want to be more specific and the Estate Agent has a pedigree selling in the area, use the street name. This will further engage the recipient, create a value, show respect and understanding of the area and its properties.

–           Use statistics and facts. People like to know if they are going to put their biggest asset on the market, they are doing the right thing. Demonstrate any increase in value for the postcode, which reinforces their hunches. The estate agent needs to demonstrate their ability to sell the property, so the time from going on the market to sale completion. 

–           Use the right product if you are door dropping, you know the areas, what the values are, so be reflective in the product you door drop. Here we can help you with an array of solutions.

How do we do it, we are a digital print house, and thus can vary data on flyers and door drops. Even if they are short runs with specifics, we are set up to manage and control this. 

So don’t be like the un-educated, be smart marketeers, focussed targeting, use relevant products to engage your audience appropriately to create higher levels of engagement. Which result in better enquiries and sales. Start your smart print solutions journey with us.