If you want to be sure that your leaflets and other marketing materials have been distributed properly then you need to be able to check. Here is what you should look for from any reputable distribution company:
Proper Insurance
They should have appropriate up to date insurances, especially public liability insurance so that they are able to protect you against damage to property. Remember it is your leaflet that is going through the door so who do you think is going to be blamed for anything that goes wrong?
Accurate data
They should be able to tell you with a good degree of accuracy how many houses are in a particular area. Many companies will only be able to do this at postcode level. Really good companies will, however, be able to narrow this down to very tightly defined areas, even to street level. If they are not able to provide you with this sort of information, how can you know how many leaflets you will need? They should also be able to back this information up with proper systems – remember not everyone is an honest and trustworthy as you and tThere are many unscrupulous companies out there who will, for example, tell you that there are 10,000 houses in a particular area when, in fact, there are only 5,000.
Identify precise distribution areas
They should be able and willing to agree the precise areas they will distribute to for you. The best way to do this is highlight the area on a map, ideally in electronic format. If they are not able to provide electronic mapping then they are not likely to be a professional distributon company.
Target your ideal customers
They should be able to identify where your ideal customers live and deliver only to those areas. For example if you have a paving company are you going to want your leaflets delivered to flats and council houses? Of course not but there are companies out there (Royal Mail being one of them) who will just take your money and deliver to everyone, whether they are in your target market of not.
Provide detailed reports
They should , as a minimum, provide you with a detailed map showing the area(s) that have been distributed to (at street level) so that you are able to see exactly where your leaflets were distributed to (ideally in electronic format). This should enable you to check that they have, in fact, been delivered.
The very best companies will provide you with a list of non-deliveries. This will be a list of the houses (with street name and house number) where they could not deliver, along with a reason as to why they could not make the delivery.
Strong delivery ethics
They should have clear delivery ethics that they work to. Remember that they are representing your company so if they do their job badly then it will reflect badly on your business.
