In the complicated and changing world of brochure distribution it can be hard to decide what techniques are best to get your print pieces in the hands of your customers. As mailing and printing costs increase, each brochure becomes more valuable and making sure it ends up the in right hands is that much more important.
#1. Make a Plan
When creating a distribution strategy it is important to create a through plan well in advance. Include real dates and assign tasks to individuals to create accountability. It is recommended to plan out a year in advance to help visualize your mailing strategy and give everyone involved plenty of time to plan and complete their tasks.
#2. Know your Best Customers
Our research has shown that it is 6-times easier and less expensive to get an existing customer to repeat then it is to get a new customer. Therefore maintaining a best customers mailing list is extremely important. The best way to evaluate and decide what students should be on this list is a combination of past amount spent and purchasing frequency. Consider starting with students that have registered within the last year and spent more than your average course fee. Then you can adjust the parameters to create the best-sized list for your mailing. This list should always be mailed to and supplemented with any sort of purchased list or mass mailing you decide to do.
#3. Mail More than Once
Consider mailing at least twice for every brochure you produce. We recommend the first mailing be the largest and be sent to your best customer list, as well as any other lists you are using (paid lists, carrier routes, saturation mailings). The second mailing should be to your best customers list again. Though it may not seem intuitive to mail twice to the customers that already do a good job of utilizing your services, the best customers list provides the greatest value and has a much higher ROI than any rented or targeted list.
#4. Understand Carrier Routes
A carrier route is literally a route a mail carrier either walks or drives. They are more specific than zip codes. There are over 600,000 carrier routes in the United States as apposed to roughly 40,000 Zip Codes. The true value of carrier routes lays in how you select them though. We recommend mailing to the routes that have produced the most registrations or revenue for you in the past, in essence where your best customers live. Then you can assume that other people who are demographically similar to your best customers also live on those routes, and since you serve your best customers well, you should be able to offer these similar people programing that appeals to them. It can be difficult finding what your most productive carrier routes are, but that’s where LERN can help. As part of our Segmentation Report, we can provide you all the carrier routes in your area that have produced registrations and which ones are your most productive routes. This is a free service to LERN members, just inquire at [email protected].
#5. Distribute Locally
Local distribution should be an important part of your brochure distribution mix. Some students rely on picking up your brochure from a specific location like a magazine rack at a grocery store or in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. Making sure they can always find your brochure in these locations is very important; so always check back to make sure you don’t need to refresh the supply. Also make sure you are not leaving brochures in areas where they are never picked up. Monitor your drop off locations and adjust the number of brochures left at each location accordingly. Also, locally distributed brochures can act as free advertising. If someone in the community always sees your program name and logo when they leave the grocery store, they are more likely to use your program when they find the need to take a class or learn a skill.
Overall it is important to plan ahead and create a brochure distribution mix that works for your program, and maximize the ever-increasing value of the individual brochure.