DOTC: Pounding the Pavement

With “cheap” marketing tactics, sometimes, it’s easy to over-think things and overlook the obvious.

I was thinking about this as I received yet another Chinese food menu (with coupons!) on my door. I get at least one of these a month, sometimes two or three.  I get other fliers too, but for some reason, it’s the favorite tactic of Chinese food restaurants in my area.

You see, there’s a lot of marketing advice out there, and it is rare when I see anybody mention good old door-to-door flyers for small businesses.

Yes, that means pounding the pavement with fliers and putting them on every door in a neighborhood.

Sure, it’s not sexy, but for some businesses, such as restaurants, lawn care, martial arts schools and

Pro tip:  Skip this house.

gyms, and during tax season, bookkeepers and accountants – it would work as well as any other tactic.

In my opinion this tactic is best for those with physical locations but it’s worth trying if your target audience are consumers (versus other businesses) to see if it works for you.

The main reason small businesses need to consider this option is that it is cheap.

Depending on your design, it can be very inexpensive to run off two reams (200) copies.  (Hint: you can use half-sheets and get two per page – just make sure to use a good paper cutter to cut them in half if your printer doesn't do it for you).

You can saturate a neighborhood in one day for a fraction of the cost of postage.  You can recruit teenage relatives and their friends to do it for you on a Saturday!

Make sure your flier includes the following:

• What service or product your provide
• Contact information (phone number, email, web site)
• Strong call to action (such as “Call Now for a Free Quote!”)
• Offer – this should be tested, but try an offer that’s only good with this flier that you use nowhere else

Make sure that you can measure the result – that is, it took (x) people spending (y) hours in the neighborhood, and it cost (z) in materials, and I got so many responses and sales as a result.

Don’t be surprised if your first attempt yields poor results.  Most people need multiple exposures to take action, so in your plan, make sure you hit up the same neighborhood several times over a period of several weeks.

Be sure to know any rules surrounding this tactic in your local jurisdictions and HOAs before you begin.

Need help with this (or other cheap tactics)?  Have you done it, and have any great tips to share?  Let me know!