Jim Negron
Door Hanger Distribution Idea: 5 To The Left and 5 To The Right
If you have a business that involves going to your customer’s home, such as a lawn service, painter, air conditioning company, etc., consider using each service call as an opportunity to distribute door hangers.
After completing the service call, hang door hangers on five homes on either side of your customer. If you make 3 stops a day and distribute 10 per stop, that’s 30 door hangers a day and 150 each week. If you make more than 3 stops and/or have other employees, this type of door hanger distribution can really add up.
If you decide to use this suggestion, personalize your door hangers with a headline that says something like this:
“WE JUST FINISHED SERVICING YOUR NEIGHBORS HOME – CAN WE OFFER YOU A FREE ESTIMATE WHILE WE ARE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD?
Mentioning the neighbor serves as a recommendation.
How To Target Homes With Door Hangers In Gated Communities
Gated communities with security guards or neighborhoods with city ordinances prohibiting solicitation are usually off limits to door hanger distribution.
In these situations, direct mail advertising may be an alternative option. Although direct mail will generally cost more than a door hanger distribution campaign, there are some advantages:
1. Communities that prohibit distribution will have less advertising and residents may pay more attention to your offers.
2. Direct mail offers more precise targeting using demographics (i.e. income age, etc) as well as geography.
3. Direct mail is reliable, not subject to weather or distribution irregularities.
If you decide to go the direct mail route, use a post card rather than a letter, so your message is visible as soon as the resident picks up their mail. Use the same offers and design that you’ve already tested with previous door hanger distributions.
Here is a link to our direct mail department .
We offer an affordable, one stop direct mail advertising solution. Prices start at just $388 for one thousand large postcards, including: custom design, printing, neighborhood mailing list, labeling and postage. Direct line is 866-594-3069. Check it out.
Door Hanger Coupon: The Same Offer 5 Different Ways
A coupon on your door hanger is a great way to generate create traffic for your business. Keep in mind, how you write the coupon offer can make a big difference in the response rate.
In the following example, we have taken the same offer and shown it 5 different ways. Lets say that a restaurant wants to offer a 25% discount to customers during dinner hours. Their average entree is $20.
Which offer do you think sounds the best?
1. 25% OFF Any Dinner Entree
2. Half Price Dinner – Buy One Dinner Get One 50% OFF
3. FREE Dinner – Buy 3 Dinners Get One FREE
4. $5 OFF – Any Dinner Entree
5. $10 OFF – The Purchase Of 2 Dinners
In each of the five offers, the restaurant will net $15.00 per entree after the discount.
The right offer will depend on what you are trying to accomplish. Offer #3 will result in a higher sale but requires a party of four, which may result in a lower coupon redemption. Some think that a “dollars off” coupon, like in offers #4 and #5, is better than a “percentage off” coupon, as shown in offer #1. Test your ideas on family and friends and get their opinion. You can also do a split run – where half the door hangers have one offer and the other half another.
Whichever offer you use, always keep careful track of responses and try to improve your next door hanger campaign by fine tuning the coupons.
Use A Headline On Your Door Hanger To Pass “The Glance Test”
In a previous post we discussed the importance of making sure your door hanger passes “The Glance Test”. The person who removes the door hanger from the door will glance at it for just a few seconds before deciding to keep it or discard it.
One method used successfully on many door hangers to pass “The Glance Test” is a powerful, comical or interesting headline.
Here are a few examples of Door Hanger Headlines:
RENT MY HUSBAND!
Used by a neighborhood handyman
LET YOUR NEIGHBOR CLEAN YOUR HOUSE!
Used by a cleaning service who was soliciting business in their own neighborhood
FREE LAWN CARE SERVICE!
Pay for 2 cuts at our regular low price and get the 3rd cut FREE
This offer amounts to a 33% discount – but the word “FREE” is very powerful
LOSE WEIGHT…RESULTS GUARANTEED!
Used by a personal trainer. If you follow his exercise and diet plan.
NEVER PAINT YOUR HOUSE AGAIN!
Painter offers a new process guaranteed to last 50 years or more.
Have you got an example of a headline that works? Please reply to this post with
your door hanger headline idea.
Distribute Your Door Hangers And Answer The Phone!
Door Hangers are an affordable and effective way to generate sales leads. Everyone wants a better response rate from their Door Hanger Marketing, yet many wind up losing sales because of the way they handle incoming phone calls.
Problem #1 – Voice Mail (a.k.a. The Answering Machine)
The internet has spoiled potential clients. On the internet, information is available with the click of a mouse. If they don’t find what they’re looking for, it’s on to the next website. The same reasoning applies to inbound phone calls from your door hanger distribution. You can create a lead with your door hanger, but If you’re not answering your phone, the prospect may hang up and dial your competitor.
Answer :
If you’re not in the office during regular business hours – forward calls to your cell phone. If you must use voice mail, make sure your message clearly informs the caller that you will get back to them promptly, ideally in 30 minutes or less.
Problem #2 – Your receptionist is probably not a sales person.
Taking a message for a call back is almost as bad as voice mail. Worse is having an untrained worker (who probably has other responsibilities) handle the calls from your door hanger campaign. If the person answering the call feels interrupted from their regular duties, they may be abrupt or impatient and chances for a sale are greatly reduced.
Answer:
Make sales calls a priority. Put them through immediately to someone who is trained on the products and services featured on your door hanger campaign. Make sure they have a copy of the door hanger at their desk. If you don’t have full time sales people, offer a financial incentive to your employee(s) for each call that is converted to a sale.
How To Design An Effective Door Hanger
This posting is not to encourage you to become an expert on Photoshop or to become a graphic artist… it’s about being able to tell the person who is designing your door hanger what you want.
There have been thousands of books written on how to design Direct Marketing Material. Remember a door hanger is not a “BROCHURE” it’s a “LURE”. The purpose is to generate a lead or an opportunity to make a sale.
Over the years we have developed 4 key points that have provided the outline for many successful door hanger designs.
Number 1 – “THE GLANCE TEST”
The nice thing about door hangers is that they get noticed. They are hanging on the front door so they are usually removed by the next person who opens the door. You’ve only got a few seconds to grab that persons attention so make sure your door hanger passes “The Glance Test”. Test your design on family and friends. They must be able to determine what the door hanger is about with just a quick glance. Use a large headline or an image (or a combination of both) to get that message across.
Number 2 – “USE A MAGNET”
A magnet is a powerful benefit or a reward. Something strong enough to compel your prospect to respond. It doesn’t always have to be a discount. For example: after Hurricane Wilma hit Florida in 2005, everyone wanted to install standby generators. Because of the demand there was a 3 to 6 month waiting list. We had a customer who advertised “STANDBY GENERATORS INSTALLED IN 30 DAYS OR LESS”. In this case, the benefit of a fast installation was strong enough to “generate” lots of response.
Number 3 – “CALL TO ACTION”
Decide how you want your prospects to respond and make sure the call to action is very prominent. If you have a combination of methods (i.e. PHONE, EMAIL, GO TO A WEBSITE, REGULAR MAIL or COME TO YOUR LOCATION) make sure they are listed in the order you prefer and vary the emphasis according to importance.
Number 4 – “CLAIM TO FAME”
Avoid cliches. Figure out what sets you apart from your competitors and include it on the door hanger. This information is usually less prominent than the other 3 items listed. It’s the “icing on the cake”. If items 1, 2 & 3 have done their job this can be the final response trigger.