Articles by DoorhangersEtc.com
How Door hangers Can Work for YouDespite the fact that door hangers are the least expensive of the print media, we believe that they are one of the most effective. The key to an effective door hanger promotion is the right design and the right call to action. Your design must reflect your company’s personality and your message has to induce the customer to buy and buy now.“In the Door” AdvertisingBecause your advertising message is hanging on your prospect’s door, it is likely to be carried into your prospect’s home. Unlike the other advertising that your prospect receives in the mail and on television, the door hanger typically stands alone without competition. With an impressive design, your message is very likely to be read.Buy Now & LaterMost door hangers include a call to action such as a special promotion, limited time offer or coupon. Because they are printed on a heavier weight stock, they are perceived as less disposable than a text-weight flyer. Not only is the customer prompted to buy now, he will keep the door hanger to take advantage of your offer later. Your message will be on-hand the next time your prospect is in need of your product.Howdy Neighbor EffectDoorhangers also act as a personal calling card. To leave a door hanger on your prospect’s door, you had to have visited them first. Door hangers demonstrate your knowledge of the prospect’s presence while making him aware of your presence in his neighborhood as well.Name RecognitionThe more often you visit your new neighbor, the greater tendency he will have to think of you. A consistent doorhanging campaign trains your prospect to think of you when need arises for your product or service.Co-op advertisingLet a business partner pay for your adversting in exchange for exposure to your customer base. Several of our customers order boxtoppers or door hangers with their advertisement on one half and a business partner on the other. >Other FunctionsDoorhangers are not restricted to promotional advertising. They can be used to disseminate information, to build name recognition, as service reminders, even as calling cards to let your customer know you paid them a visit. As a direct marketing tool, door hangers also offer a unique opportunity at very personalized messages. Some of our customers have directed their messages to specific neighborhoods and apartment complexes, calling them out by name on the door hanger. The customer reached their target and created the perception that the offer was special and exclusive to their target. Door hangers are such a valuable, versatile and cost-effective medium, we’re proud to make them our name and our business. To us, everything else is, well...et cetera. » back to topWhat to Do When Your Competition Doorhangs TooIf ‘the other guy’ also utilizes doorhanging, don’t fret! Door hangers are still useful for you. As a matter of fact, your competitors doorhanging efforts necessitate your doorhanging - to keep you in the competition. Try ways of making your doorhanger stand out from your competitor. For example, if ‘the other guy’ uses regular 11 inch door hangers - try 14 inch jumbo door hangers. Try a jazzier design, a different color scheme or try a double sided door hanger. Fill the front with an attention-getter and use the back side for your information and other offers. » back to topSizing Up the Competition: Are you getting cut short?
Sparked by customer inquiry, we recently compared our offers to a competitor’s lower-priced offer.
We quickly discovered how they were able to trim their price – by trimming their door hanger. The special offer applied to their 3.66” x 8.5” door hanger, or as we refer to it, our mini doorhanger.
So what’s the difference?
The mini door hanger is essentially 1/3 of a letter-sized sheet of landscape oriented paper when comparing to the full sized 4.25” x 8.5” doorhanger. So, the same great marketing vehicle with just a bit less space.
Other questions to ask as you compare doorhangers:
Business Sense: Interview with Larry Dodson, July 1999Larry Dodson of Five Star Pizza in Jacksonville, FL is making business sense. I recently took the time to sit down and interview Larry Dodson - owner of a delivery/carryout pizza store named Five Star Pizza in Jacksonville, FL. Here is what Larry is saying about pizza and doorhanging. DE:How long have you been open? Larry: I opened up my place in Jacksonville two years ago. DE:What percentage of your sales is delivery? Larry:We do 94% delivery, 6% carry out and no dine-in. DE:When did you start doorhanging? Larry:We started door hanging from day 1, literally. We put out 2000 our first day and at least 300 a day for the next 100 days. This is very important for a non-chain restaurant with no name recognition. The only way people will know that you are there is if you go to them and tell them. DE: Who do you send out doorhanging? Larry: For the first 18 months I would accompany 90% of doorhanging. I would put out 30% of the coupons myself. However, the main goal is to teach someone well enough so that they can do it on their own. We have now contracted the business out to one of our employees who gets paid 10.6 cents per coupon. He in turn hires people and pays them 7 cents. This allows me to run the business and him to run the doorhanging. We have had great success with the doorhanging crew wanting to put out as many as possible (i.e. going into businesses and leaving a few). DE:What kind of increase in sales have you seen? Larry:Since we have moved to 5000 Doorhangers a week from about 2000, we have increased sales almost 30%. Door hanging will definitely increase sales, but more importantly it will prevent sales from sagging due to other advertisements and a whole array of factors. Door hanging is something that needs to be done consistently. Even if you want to lower your total volume, it still needs to be steady. Some of our worst weeks have come 4-5 weeks after we stopped doorhanging, not the 1 or 2 you might expect. DE:What other forms of advertising do you do? LARRY:The only other form of advertising that we do is the Mint Magazine, a coupon based magazine that is very popular in the south. This is almost a defensive mechanism against the two page spreads that all the big chains take out. It does bring us business, but having only 30% of the coverage in our delivery area hurts our advertising costs. A new store to the west of our existing one will help solve that. DE:What kind of doorhanger do you get? LARRY: I get a 14” 2-color 2-side doorhanger with my menu on the front and 7 coupons on the back. DE: In closing, are there any words of wisdom that you would like to share with our readers? Larry: Being relatively new to this business I have learned a lot in two years. Unfortunately, what I have learned is that your customer is ... well, they think differently and need reminding. I thought that providing the best product (we easily have the best product in our area) at the best price ($1-$2 on average) would be a slam dunk. I though that once the customer had tried the product there would be no chance that they would ever buy anything else again. I know that is how I am, but the average consumer isn’t. They need to be CONSTANTLY reminded of your product. I always used to wonder how in the world that anyone would eat a [Large Chain Competitor] pizza... it is bland, underdone and relatively just plain BAD. However, [the Large Chain Competitor] has one of the most aggressive advertising programs going, including door hanging for most franchises. They understand that a good advertising program can make up for a bad product... well, think what can it do for a GOOD product ! » back to topA Note of ThanksWhen we opened our print shop in the garage of our home over 10 years ago, our goal was very simple. I’d successfully managed pizza restaurants and learned quite a bit about how to stay in front of an often forgetful customer with low-cost branding and advertising pieces. That is, making sure that I was at their door, in their mailbox or somehow visible at the time that the need arose for our services. I’d used and had come to believe strongly in the effectiveness of a good and frequent door hanging campaign. And so, I set out to offer a product that I knew worked and was an essential for every restaurant and home delivery service. Along the way, we met realtors, politicians, lawn care specialists, home maintenance and cleaning companies, and other service providers looking for an affordable method for reaching prospects in the area. As they reported back on the effectiveness of the doorhangers and communicated their other printing needs, our selections of printed marketing materials evolved. Soon in addition to our 2-color door hangers, we began offering: full color door hangers, boxtoppers, menus, brochures, postcards, letterhead and envelopes, coupon punch cards. And we’ve recently expanded the offering to include corrugated yard signs, car magnets, banners, and more. But as we’ve grown and evolved, the thing that has remained the same and continues to be at our core is you – our customer. Your requests and the discussions about your business needs have fueled our evolution. So, we wanted to pause to thank you for your business as well as your feedback and ideas. Oh, and your 2 am phone calls! I jest, but we sincerely feel privileged to have been a trusted partner in reaching your customers, and in some cases creating your logo or helping to shape your corporate identity. We have more new things in the works with you in mind. A new site, TampaBizCards.com launches this month highlighting our full color business cards. Edwards Printing and Signs or EPSPrints.com will also have an online home in the coming months. And because some of you are not close enough to visit and socialize with us, we’ve joined Facebook and MySpace so we can ‘hang’ with you there. So check back soon and keep sharing your feedback! With sincere appreciation,Haydn & The Doorhangers Etc. Crew » back to top |
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