You don’t need me to tell you how the retail sector is such a completive market, and standing out is becoming increasingly challenging, whether on the high street, or online. As you’ve landed on this blog, I’m presuming you’re proactively searching for an effective marketing strategy to stand out from your competitors. Over the years, Mr Flyer has helped dozens of businesses just like yours to dramatically increase their business, so we have compiled our most effective strategies into this dedicated blog for you.
What does print marketing cover?
Print marketing covers everything from the design and print of brochures inside your store, loyalty cards, the sales process, up-selling, showing appreciation to customers, POS and much more. The most successful print marketing strategy for retail stores is door to door flyer distribution. From inception (planning and targeting) through to execution (print and distribution).
The most successful strategy
Consider, when you receive a birthday present from your spouse, you appreciate it despite knowing they were obliged to give it! Yet when they present you with a gift out of the blue, you appreciate it so much more, right? This is the same with marketing, especially in retail. When you give a gift as part of your flyer campaign (ideally one with no/little direct cost to you), it will have a profound effect on your response rate, and enable you to track your responses. This is known simply as ‘gift marketing’.
Implementing the strategy
I’m sure you know, the purpose of delivering flyers is alert the receiver to your product(s), to entice the receiver to respond, and to do so promptly. It is the gift which acts as the catalyst or call to action (CTA). The ideal gift would be on a case by case basis, as it’s typically most effective when relevant to your business, or your sector, so make sure to ask one of our consultants for their advice on this. Here are a few reasons why the gift works so well:
- People love gifts and receiving things for free
- There’s no commitment needed from them to make a purchase, so no barrier
- It enables them to experience how great your store is
- Upon experiencing your store, they are more likely to now make a purchase
- It’s not cost your business much/anything to provide the gift
- An expiry date can encourage a prompt response
- It’s a GDPR compliant way to acquire their data (Free gift subject to them providing their name and email)
- You can track response rate based on the number of flyers received
The design itself
The design of your flyer or promotional item has a great impact on your response, and therefore on your ROI. Take a look at the example above and all that is included to ensure success. In a nutshell, the three keys to a successful flyer are:
- A bold headline. This is posed as a question, relevant to your target audience. E.g. a home furnishings store may say, ‘Will Your Home Smell Festive This Christmas?’ This can then be followed with a sub-headline, ‘Our FREE Gift to You This Christmas is Scented Candles’.
- An eye-catching image. Not the outside of your store (it’s likely not going to inspire them), instead sell the benefit. In this case, it could be a happy family opening presents next to the candle in a tastefully fitted out living room.
- A call to action. Based on the above, it would then invite them to visit in store to collect theirs upon presentation of the flyer.
- It should also highlight a prompt expiry, so you see a quick return on your investment.
The need to repeat
Just like any other marketing, you must repeat to the same targeted audience. It is known as the drip effect marketing principle. People are much more likely to respond to your flyer when they regularly receive it, so repeat to the same audience every 4-8 weeks, and do so at least three times before evaluating results rigorously. In the retail industry, it’s often relevant to create each campaign according to the season.
What’s next?
There are many more things to consider, but most of it we can do for you, saving you time and money. If you would like to build your business and your brand through our tried and tested print marketing strategies, please do get in touch with us today.
