The UK postcode is a marvellous thing. It is recognised globally for its unique alpha-numeric format and granularity which allows for a pinpoint accuracy that does not exist in other countries. There are approximately 1.8 million postcodes in the UK which cover over 30 million residential households and we’ve barely scratched the surface as there are up to 48 million possible combinations.
Using postcodes for marketing measurement
Now while this 6 or 7 digit wonder can help you get your pizzas delivered piping hot and ensures Amazon drivers can find even the remotest of addresses, it is also massively useful in helping you measure the effectiveness of your leaflet campaigns. While the postcode itself is GDPR-compliant by nature, meaning there is no sensitive personal data contained within it – on average 17 households share a postcode so there is no way of identifying an individual from it – like most codes it can be unlocked to reveal a wealth of information that aids marketers in their targeting.
Understanding the audiences that live in specific postcodes, their buying habits, their lifestyle choices, their shopping behaviours is the bread and butter of Leafletdrop and helps you ensure your campaigns are landing in the most relevant of homes.
But that same clever postcode is a like a thin red thread running through the whole campaign, from the targeting, through delivery and ultimately to the measurement. If you have any method of capturing the postcodes of your customers – think loyalty cards, online sales, straw polls at tills - then we can match back to the distribution plan to understand if you have seen an uplift in sales/orders/registrations etc. from those who have been exposed to the leaflet campaign and compare it to those who have not. Clear, transparent measurement that the team here at Leafletdrop are experts at and keep our customers coming back for more because with every campaign we run, we learn and our customers learn. What worked, what didn’t. Was it the creative? Was it the offer? Was the targeting not quite right? So each campaign works just a little bit harder than the last allowing you to sit back and watch the return on your marketing rise.
When you don’t have postcode-level data
Of course not everyone has access to postcode level customer data but all is not lost. Every doordrop will generate some response and of course nowadays much of that response is harvested online. While your Google dashboard might try to claim the leads that other advertising generate because a search on Google might be part of the customer journey, in reality no one wakes up one day and spontaneously types your brand into a search engine. They do so because they were inspired by some other stimulus – a conversation they had with a friend down the pub, something they saw on the telly or in the local newspaper and yes, of course, a leaflet that came through the door with your message on it.
It should be possible to see the impact of your leaflet advertising online, even if you can’t measure it accurately. Does your website traffic go up after you’ve sent out your leaflets? Do you get more online leads or orders? If you are using PPC, does its performance improve when you are running leaflets at the same time? In reality, the answer to all these is probably yes so these are the sometimes hidden impacts of leaflet advertising but they do point to actions being taken. And we know from multiple sources – research, client feedback and detailed data-fuelled analysis – that driving action is one thing that leaflets are really, really good at!
Get in touch with us
If you are struggling to tell if your leaflet campaign has delivered for you, reach out to us at 01628 816611 or email us at leafletdrop@whistl.co.uk and we will be happy to support you and proving our value.
