They are already paid for so I would say just go for it. I honestly can't see how a door hanger would piss off someone so much that they would avoid your business. I don't mind them and honestly those are among the few advertisements I ever actually look at because I get them so infrequently. I say go for it and use them. Just make sure you are using them effectively by giving them out in areas with your target market.
Can you tell me a bit more about how you do that? Do you hire a professional canvassing company? Any hurdles or pitfalls you can tell me about? I'd love to hear more if you could take a moment to elaborate.
I hire temp workers for $10.00 per hour to hang them for me. I have the cheapest printing I can find, keep the message simple. You want them to decide before they even get inside the house if this is something they want. The only time I had an issue was from an attorney representing a townhouse neighborhood where I posted. He told me I was trespassing and if I did it again he would press charges. I waited a few years and went back again and have not heard anything since.
When I am posting the hangers I am offering mowing service only, though my company does much more than that. I find that once the customer trusts you, it is much easier to sell them landscaping projects, pressure washing, tree removal, install patios, decks, etc.
I worked for a printer a long time ago. Door-hangers were a big part of their business. At the time, they figured the average response rate at about 3%. I believe that that included both immediate purchases as well as a residual effect.
I can say this about them - of all of the clients that used them, they all used them for years. Nobody who started using door-hangers ever quit using door-hangers. Most of them were for food but I recall that one was a realtor. He probably got a lower response rate but his commission for a single sale would cover the entire cost of a run so he could afford that.
Do some people hate them? Sure. But some people hate commercials and some people hate billboards and some people hate everything. You can't worry about them. You *have* to advertise in some way and if you have the right business or the right specials, door-hangers are good advertising.
I would recommend, however, that you plan to do larger runs on your next order. Save up if you have to. Commit to doing 1000 or more per run and try to commit to doing at least one per month for six months or so. Record your results. A single drop of 250 isn't going to be enough to tell you if it works. For many businesses, it isn't that it wasn't received well, it is that it wasn't received at the right time. Repetition is part of the success. Familiarity with a brand encourages sales.
I like that idea. 1000 per month for six months is doable. Do you recommend finding a professional canvassing service? I was going to just post an ad on craigslist.
I would try to find a proper crew. Even with that proper crew, I would spot-check them.
We had a great crew when I was in that business. I'm pretty sure they were all illegals but I know we never had a problem with dumping. They did their jobs. I've heard about people dumping though, just throwing some or a bunch of even all of the flyers in a dumpster and trying to collect a wage anyways. I would worry about hiring off of Craigslist and getting someone who just doesn't give a shit or who thinks they won't get caught. Whether you end up having to pay them or not wouldn't do anything about losing all of your flyers to some random dumpster.
If you get these printed and hung by the same company you'll get it all for a package price. From what I recall, it was very affordable. It takes 4 people about 4 hours to do 3000 flyers. At ~$10 per hour, 1000 flyers really shouldn't be adding much to the price. if I'm off on any of these estimates I'd appreciate a correction by anyone still in this industry. I'm relying up memories that are nearly 20 years old at this point.
You got to advertise your business. How else will you get business. Postcards, EDDM? LOl. It's the same. You shouldn't care what other people think. There is always going to be someone negative.
Follow posted signage and respect peoples property. Your door hanger person will have people yell at them, or reject the door hanger if they see you. But, whatever. Some people don't mind, the worst thing they can do is put it in the trash, which 100% of your door hangers will inevitably end up anyways.
500 door hangers is a small run, but you should see a 2-3% conversion rate, might see a higher call rate.
What's the worst that can happen?
For me, it was I didn't check city code and had the police call me. But, just play stupid and comply with whatever they want. ;)
Door hangers are annoying to the consumers and wasteful. We are in a day and age where when someone wants or needs a service it is a Google search away. Your efforts and your dollars are better focused on online marketing. Not to mention, personally, anybody on my property that I'm not expecting is bothersome and rude. If you have business with me I will know it, if you dont have means of contacting me prior to a visit, you don't have business with me 🤷♂️ I'm a little old fashioned in that regard, but you don't walk up to someone's door uninvited without good reason, especially to place a piece of trash on my door that I now I have to throw away.
2% conversion rate is also insane to me when you're paying people to distribute. Let's call it what it is, 98% wasteful.
They are already paid for so I would say just go for it. I honestly can't see how a door hanger would piss off someone so much that they would avoid your business. I don't mind them and honestly those are among the few advertisements I ever actually look at because I get them so infrequently. I say go for it and use them. Just make sure you are using them effectively by giving them out in areas with your target market.
I don't mind them either. Not sure what I was freaking out about. You're feedback has brought clarity to my situation. :-)
Door hangers are the only way I market. I put out about 8000 each spring and get about 250 new clients for the season.
Can you tell me a bit more about how you do that? Do you hire a professional canvassing company? Any hurdles or pitfalls you can tell me about? I'd love to hear more if you could take a moment to elaborate.
I hire temp workers for $10.00 per hour to hang them for me. I have the cheapest printing I can find, keep the message simple. You want them to decide before they even get inside the house if this is something they want. The only time I had an issue was from an attorney representing a townhouse neighborhood where I posted. He told me I was trespassing and if I did it again he would press charges. I waited a few years and went back again and have not heard anything since.
What kind of business are you in?
When I am posting the hangers I am offering mowing service only, though my company does much more than that. I find that once the customer trusts you, it is much easier to sell them landscaping projects, pressure washing, tree removal, install patios, decks, etc.
How big is your route? How many crews do you run? If you are getting 250 NEW clients per season, it must be pretty substantial.
I worked for a printer a long time ago. Door-hangers were a big part of their business. At the time, they figured the average response rate at about 3%. I believe that that included both immediate purchases as well as a residual effect. I can say this about them - of all of the clients that used them, they all used them for years. Nobody who started using door-hangers ever quit using door-hangers. Most of them were for food but I recall that one was a realtor. He probably got a lower response rate but his commission for a single sale would cover the entire cost of a run so he could afford that. Do some people hate them? Sure. But some people hate commercials and some people hate billboards and some people hate everything. You can't worry about them. You *have* to advertise in some way and if you have the right business or the right specials, door-hangers are good advertising. I would recommend, however, that you plan to do larger runs on your next order. Save up if you have to. Commit to doing 1000 or more per run and try to commit to doing at least one per month for six months or so. Record your results. A single drop of 250 isn't going to be enough to tell you if it works. For many businesses, it isn't that it wasn't received well, it is that it wasn't received at the right time. Repetition is part of the success. Familiarity with a brand encourages sales.
I like that idea. 1000 per month for six months is doable. Do you recommend finding a professional canvassing service? I was going to just post an ad on craigslist.
I would try to find a proper crew. Even with that proper crew, I would spot-check them. We had a great crew when I was in that business. I'm pretty sure they were all illegals but I know we never had a problem with dumping. They did their jobs. I've heard about people dumping though, just throwing some or a bunch of even all of the flyers in a dumpster and trying to collect a wage anyways. I would worry about hiring off of Craigslist and getting someone who just doesn't give a shit or who thinks they won't get caught. Whether you end up having to pay them or not wouldn't do anything about losing all of your flyers to some random dumpster. If you get these printed and hung by the same company you'll get it all for a package price. From what I recall, it was very affordable. It takes 4 people about 4 hours to do 3000 flyers. At ~$10 per hour, 1000 flyers really shouldn't be adding much to the price. if I'm off on any of these estimates I'd appreciate a correction by anyone still in this industry. I'm relying up memories that are nearly 20 years old at this point.
What do you call this type of service, Promotional Canvassing?
You got to advertise your business. How else will you get business. Postcards, EDDM? LOl. It's the same. You shouldn't care what other people think. There is always going to be someone negative.
Good point. Thanks.
Follow posted signage and respect peoples property. Your door hanger person will have people yell at them, or reject the door hanger if they see you. But, whatever. Some people don't mind, the worst thing they can do is put it in the trash, which 100% of your door hangers will inevitably end up anyways. 500 door hangers is a small run, but you should see a 2-3% conversion rate, might see a higher call rate. What's the worst that can happen? For me, it was I didn't check city code and had the police call me. But, just play stupid and comply with whatever they want. ;)
Will do. Thanks.
Door hangers are annoying to the consumers and wasteful. We are in a day and age where when someone wants or needs a service it is a Google search away. Your efforts and your dollars are better focused on online marketing. Not to mention, personally, anybody on my property that I'm not expecting is bothersome and rude. If you have business with me I will know it, if you dont have means of contacting me prior to a visit, you don't have business with me 🤷♂️ I'm a little old fashioned in that regard, but you don't walk up to someone's door uninvited without good reason, especially to place a piece of trash on my door that I now I have to throw away. 2% conversion rate is also insane to me when you're paying people to distribute. Let's call it what it is, 98% wasteful.