Do flyers work for small businesses?

Yes. We have used flyers many (many) times. And there’s no question that the right flyer – with the right message & a strong offer, to the right people – WILL drive customers into your business.

Why?

Well, people want what you offer. Sometimes, you just need to give them a reason to buy. From YOU.

And a great flyer arriving neatly on their doormat is an awesome way to do this.

But it IS all about the quality of your message – what you say, and the way you say it. A half-hearted, boring attempt just won’t cut it.

Boring or not relevant to me = junk mail.

So how DO you avoid your marketing efforts being tossed away?

1) Tell your story. If your message is interesting and relevant to them, people WILL read it.

2) Include a compelling offer, with a deadline. Make it a no-brainer for your potential customers to take the action you want.

3) Spell out EXACTLY what they should do next.

Let’s break this down.

1) Tell your story.

Your flyer is in their hand. You have only seconds to keep their interest.

And the greatest way to do this is to tell your story.

We’ve all been at a bar or family gathering where someone’s banged on, telling a story that’s long / boring / irrelevant. Where everyone’s eyes glaze over. That is not what we’re going for here.

Good stories are interesting & get your point across in a compelling way.

Your story MUST be relevant & strike a chord. It’s got to be tailored to who you’re talking to. Irrelevant or boring = junk mail.

Your story should have a beginning, an issue, a solution (your product or service) and an end.

All neatly crafted into your concise, easy-to-read flyer.

2) Include a compelling offer, with a deadline.

• Free papadums and a free bottle of coke, if I spend £20 on a takeaway by this Saturday?
• Free window cleaning on all windows on the front of my house, if booked by next Tuesday?
• Just £5 for a large Veg Box from my local organic farm shop – with free delivery – if I order by Friday?

Oh, go on then.

Strong offers like these – with a strong deadline – work. And they don’t cost you, the business owner, a fortune to drive new customers in.

Papadums and coke are very low cost. But add a lot of value for the customer.

If you clean my front windows for free, then I’ll probably pay you to clean the back too. And book you again every month if you do a good job.

£5 for a large box of fresh, local organic veg is amazing value. And if just 10% of people then go on to order weekly, that’s a significant return on investment.

And the deadline drives action, NOW.

But…

• A voucher for 10% off?
• £5 off when I spend £50?
• An unspecified free gift with every purchase?

Or no offer at all (which is true of most stuff through my door)?

Not so compelling.

Recycling bin, it is.

3) Spell out EXACTLY what they should do next.

This makes it super-easy for your new customers to do business with you.

Spell out exactly what you want them to do:

“Call XXX before Saturday to order your takeaway – and give us this leaflet to get your FREE papadums & coke, when you spend £20!”

“Just call XXX by Tuesday to book an appointment. And we’ll clean all of your front windows, absolutely FREE!”

“Call XXX before Friday to order your first Veg Box for just £5!”.

Nice & easy – just tell them what to do next, so it’s crystal clear HOW they can take advantage of your super offer.

Of course, we could go on about design; layout; fonts; when to send them; which printer to use etc etc etc. This stuff is important (and we’ll come back to it in another blog).

But the bottom line is that your message & your offer are THE most important things.

Be interesting. Be relevant. Spread the word & find customers who’ll love you.

Go unleash your flyers on the world!

Until next time

This is WHY Your Story Matters…

Stories are powerful.

Let’s say your Mum has been unwell. You want to send her flowers, to cheer her up.

You hit Google, for florists where your Mum lives.

Fred’s and Bob’s pop up:

“At Fred the Florist, we’re known for the finest flowers in town! Our friendly & professional service delivers flowers to you Next Day, for all your special occasions. Covering 20 miles from our store, all our gorgeous bouquets are freshly made. For anniversaries, with sympathy or just because…call us today & we can help!”

Now, this is all completely true. Fred’s service IS excellent. They really ARE known for some of the finest flowers in town.

But compare it to Bob the Florist’s website:

“My love for flowers comes from my Grandma – I remember visiting every school holiday, and her tiny kitchen was always packed full of vases! So when I left school at 16, going into floristry felt like the natural thing to do.

“I qualified as a Floral Designer in 2004. But after several years in London, we were craving a slower pace to life – literally, time to stop & smell the roses! So, in 2010, my wife Lizzie & I moved to Herefordshire, with our black Labrador Banjo.

“And in 2011, we opened the doors of Bob the Florist to our first customers! Every single bouquet we make is different to work on, and I still get a buzz when we deliver them locally & make someone’s day. And it always makes me smile to think they’ll keep flowering away on their kitchen window ledge, a week or more from now!”

Who would you trust, to cheer up your Mum – Fred or Bob?

And that’s what stories do.

They help your customers to get to know you. To like you, and to trust you. And ultimately, to get them to want to buy from YOU – because they buy in to what you’re all about (and not just your product or service).

Ever since we were tiny children, we’ve been conditioned to listen to stories. They helped teach us & explore the world around us. As adults, we may have moved on to Danielle Steel or John Grisham (or J K Rowling, in my case!). But stories entertain us & introduce us to characters that we get to know & love.

There’s a reason John Lewis do it every Christmas (remember the Man on the Moon?).

And the truth is that telling your story is powerful in YOUR business.

How?

Well. To be clear, we’re NOT talking about making stuff up. It’s not fiction.

1. It’s about digging deep into your business, and uncovering the stories worth telling.

It might be around why you got started. It might be about your passion for your product or service, outside of work. The way you do things in your business, that set you apart from others in your industry. Your vision for the future, or your unique values that you bring to your customers.

Sometimes, for our clients, they’re so busy doing the doing – serving the customers, making the products, delivering the service – that they can’t see their own stories at first. But they are ALWAYS there, just waiting to be drawn out.

2. It’s about crafting your stories into a compelling message for your target customers.

No-one wants to read a boring story.

But a good story – well-told & absorbing & interesting – can engage with your target customers in a way that very little else can.

Especially in a world when we’re all pretty damn fed up of relentless marketing.

Stories are honest and real. They’re about real people – you. And people are ALWAYS interested in people (reality TV, anyone?!).

3. It’s about putting your compelling stories in front of the RIGHT people.

It’s no good spreading the word to people who don’t have any interest in hearing it.

People living in top-floor flats aren’t likely to want lawn care. People without a dog don’t want them walked. People with very low incomes might want great-value clothing, but probably aren’t in the market for luxury handbags.

They just won’t buy from you. It’s a waste of time and effort.

But the right people WILL.

It may be beautifully-written leaflets to the right houses, in the right postcodes. It may be carefully-crafted letters to those companies you’d love to have as clients. It might be highly-targeted Facebook adverts, to reach only the right people (like parents of children at your local school, or local pet owners).

It may be simply building your customer list and talking to them every week, by email & on social media.

Even just re-thinking your ‘About Us’ page on your website can help.

It doesn’t have to be complicated.

But whoever – and wherever – those people are, who would be the perfect fit for your business, is where your stories need to be told.

To turn them into not just customers, but people who really ‘get’ you – and buy from you again and again. Because they know you, like you and trust you.

And if we can help tell YOUR story – or spread the word to your perfect customers – just drop your details in below or email me (laura@tellmystory.uk).

We’re rather obsessed with it all, so always happy to help!

Until next time

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