Sure they’re old school, but door hangers are also a great way to let local audiences know that your business is right around the corner and ready to serve. Especially during the summer months, businesses tend to hit the streets and pay their local prospects a face-to-face visit in an attempt to ramp up seasonal revenue growth. Door hangers are a convenient leave behind and can bring awareness to your business, product, or service.
Just like any other piece of marketing collateral, there are ways to position design, copy, the key message, and offer to maximize impact and return on investment. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your door hanger designs:
Follow the same best practices as used for direct mail design
First and foremost, start with a plan and define your desired outcome. Doing this, even for something as seemingly simple as a door hanger, will help you generate a marketing piece that has purpose.
Be simple, clear, and concise with your message. It helps to feature just one key idea per piece. You’ll probably only have a few moments to get your message across so don’t muddy the water by trying to say everything all at once.
Choose a clutter-free design and use bold imagery. This will call attention to your door hanger and increase the likelihood that prospects will give it a glance at the very least.
Provide a compelling offer or call-to-action to motivate response
Highlighting a differentiating factor that sets your business apart from other similar businesses can pique interest of a prospect and even compel action. For example, if your residential lawn care company specializes in grass rehabilitation, bring that point to the forefront. If your pizza delivery service offers the option of gluten-free crust or soy cheese, make sure that’s noted on the marketing piece.
Additionally, time-sensitive or limited-time promotional offers—such as a free trial, exclusive discount, free service consultation, access to valuable information, and so on—have the ability to capture attention and motivate response.
Include ways to track responses
Today’s technology allows businesses to track activity and response generated by direct mail marketing, flyers, magazine ads, and other print media—of which, in the past, were seen as difficult to measure. However, businesses now can easily include QR codes, a unique URL, a dedicated phone number, and coupon codes on print media to track responses.
Use door hangers in combination with other local marketing efforts
Strategically timed multi-channel marketing works to make a greater impression on your prospects’ memory. Time direct mail postcards to arrive in a neighborhood around the same time as when you distribute door hangers.
Use door hangers to increase market share in existing service areas
Businesses can attempt to increase market share in areas where they’re already providing services. How? By disseminating door hangers to their existing customer’s neighbors after every service call. The repetition will not only keep your business top of mind; it’s a great opportunity to test offers among a smaller group before rolling out campaigns to a wider audience (try a different offer each visit to see what works best to motivate response).
With these best practice tips in mind, stock up on your door hangers, hit the streets, and let local audiences know you’re ready to do business.
