Leaflet drops, are they worth it?

[blush09]

have been thinking of different ways of advertising and promoting myself
thinking of running couple promotions in time for the summer and have been considering having some leaflets / flyers printed then either delivering them myself of paying the local paper to do them
just wondered what others experiences were of leaflet drops, are they worth it?
many thanks

 

[-sophisticutz-]

I am thinking of doing the same with my local paper. I too would like to know if this has been very effective for other geeks?

I have been doing a recommend a friend scheme for the past 4 weeks. Only one has come back so far but I think it is still early days.

 

[persianista]

I think advertising doesnt really work well for hairdressers. I have never had any success despite spending vast sums. It really is word of mouth. I found that when I ran a rec a friend scheme we actually got fewer people recommended. Wierd.

 

[Tonimaxwill]

I am in the process of doing a leaflet drop done 1500 so far (which is a supprisingly small area!!) so far I have had 9 bookings, I am mobile so I am really happy with the response, I thought it would be a lot less. I read on here that a good time to do it is a Sunday as there is no mail and people are more likely to read/keep it. hth

 

[Glamour Puss7]

Hi there! I don't think any advertising for me really works, I try it now and again and it doesn't seem to bring more business! I delivered my pricelists around my area in November 2009 but it didn't bring new clients! I think it's definitely word of mouth that is the best advertising. "thanks to my clients" x

 

[newyou]

In my experience, flyers can be great but they need to have a strong offer and some sort of scarcity (limited numbers/timescale) to make people do something right now. No such thing as brand awareness in the salon game.

Also worth thinking about partnerships with other businesses in your area who work with the same sort of client base as yourself, but are not directly competitive. eg local gym, health food store, jewellers, etc. You can offer to their clients and you refer your clients to them - can work really well.

Hope of some help.

 

[wendy malley]

i've found they work better if there is a special offer on and a limited time to use it but sundays sound like a good idea too

 

[kezza*]

At the begining of March I had 5,000 leaflets (3 boxes),,, On one side abit about me and what treatments I offer and on the other side,,,,, March's offers,,,, a pedicure and I put the price and what is involved with a pedicure and they can have a complimentary shape and polish on hands or an eyebrow shape,,,,, the 1st week I delivered the leaflets myself and got rid of a whole box and the response has been amazing,,, I'm really please and it has been the cheapest form of advertising,,,,,,,,I also left them in wedding shops,,,, hairdressers,,,,, anywhere I can,,, I still have one box left,,,, It's beeen hard work doing the leaflets drops myself,,,, I pop out for half and hour sometimes inbetween clients,,,, I have a really busy week next week and I need to get rid of the rest I have,,,, It's been deffo worth it,,,, so area's you don't get a booking and others,,, it's like the whole street what's an appointment it's deffo best to get a lot of leaflets. It cost me £69 for the leaflets and I made my money back with in straight away.

Kerry

 

[kylieb]

If I do any door to door advertising then I do it as cheap as poss. I have 5000 business cards from vista for about £40. I will post these and even if I get 2 spray tans out of it then I have earned my money back. I put my website address on it with my contact details. I put out about 300 flyers a few weeks back and havent had anything back.
I have tried advertising in the paper but had nothing back. I think unless you pay more for a bigger section then nobody sees it.
I'm concentrating on on getting myself listed on all the directories at the moment. There are hundreds x

 

[master30]

When I first started up I did a leaflet drop but can't say it brought much new business. In my area we have a local book/mag advertising local businesses which goes to every household in the surrounding areas though it costs to advertise I've had much more success through that people round here just seem to bin flyers.

 

[Sharkster]

I think it depends on the flyers.

I have done this twice now, both times I sent out 5,000. The first batch had a bit of blurb about me on the front and my prices on the back. The second batch just had prices and some graphics/images. The first batch were massively successful, the second bombed. I think people liked to read a little & think 'that sounds nice, I'll give it a go'

I don't like the idea of putting them in the local paper as they already have other flyers in them. I just tip them straight out then bin them.

If you put offers on them just be careful of the expiry date and ensure that you can get them all delivered in time. I was delivering my with my dog and we could manage about 200 flyers in 1 & 1/2 hours also they are so heavy it's as many as I could carry in one go. It took me about 2 months to deliver 5,000!

x

 

[kezza*]

I deffo agree with sharkster about going ith the paper,,, you get so many leaflets that you take them straight out and bin them,,,,,,,

The local magazine I advertise in that every month and I only get a handful from it,,,,,,,,,this is the first time I did a leaflet drop and I'm really happy with it,,,,,,,

 

[M00min]

Hi

I am a marketing and PR manager with 10 years' experience so just wanted to put my tuppence-worth in!

Any promotional activities you do need to be sustained if they're going to help build your brand and get more business. All different types of promotion can "work", but it all works better if you use a variety of methods and plan them across a period of time. It's easy to say that something "doesn't work", but there are so many variables as to WHY it didn't work, it's unfair to simply blame the method.

One-off activities may cause a welcome spike in bookings, and result in some returning clients - but you need to keep it up to really reap the benefits. And the costs don't always indicate the return. Some cheaply printed, well targeted leaflets can bring in far more business than an expensive, badly thought through, one-off ad that in theory would've been seen by thousands.

My advice would be to look at the year ahead, month by month and ask yourself what can you do each month to promote your business. Think of the whole mix - leaflets, your website, email, advertising, PR with local newspapers/magazines, exhibitions, posters, giving demos/talks at local events etc. Some activities are more expensive, some just cost your time. Try and do something different each month - then you can evaluate which things work well, and which less well.

Think carefully about what you're promoting and who you're targeting. Often the better you target, the better the outcome - hence blanket leaflet drops often disappoint. You may find you have more luck promoting a specific service or special offer - especially if it's for a limited time.

In some ways, hairdressers might have more luck than beauty salons. For a start, a huge demographic - male/female/young/old - use a hairdresser - mobile or salon. It is mainly women that use beauty therapists, and then only a certain (albeit growing) percentage of women.

What do you want to achieve from your activity? Ten extra bookings that month? Long-term awareness of your brand? Facials a bit slow at the moment? Always have a goal in mind, and ask yourself if what you've done is likely to help you achieve that. Different activities have different strengths and weaknesses.

Eg. if the purpose of your activity is to secure ten extra bookings that month, is there anything in what you've done that creates a sense of urgency in the recipient so that they make an appointment asap? Limited special offers or "it's nearly holiday season - time to book in that pedicure/wax etc".

At a very basic level, is your ad/leaflet etc eyecatching? It has literally seconds to make an impact before the page is turned or it's put in the bin.

If you have direct competition you'll also need to bear in mind what your competitors are doing and what promotions they're running, which may shape your marketing.

All fundamental stuff, but it's amazing how many companies - across all industries - don't always apply it. Of course, word of mouth is arguably the most important marketing tool we have, so looking after the customers you already have, so they spread the word, is key.

Sorry to have rambled on!
xx