Image: Screenshot of Seinfeld “the Soup Nazi” episode.
I had a potential client approach me this week enquiring about a door-to-door flyer delivery service. I had told him in a previous conversation that Lev Promotions has offered this service to our clients in the past, but it is not something we do on a regular basis. When he called me yesterday to find out what our rates are to delivery door hangers for his house painting company, I had several questions ready for him, but I never got past the first one: “Do you just need us to deliver door hangers that have already been produced, or are you looking for someone to help you creating them and then deliver them?” The answer was that they already had the door hangers and just needed them delivered. I said, “Thank you for the opportunity, but, this is not our area of expertise and I will recommend that you find a company that specializes in flyer delivery.”
Why would I turn down this piece of business? After all, it is money in the bank with very little effort on my part. Because I know that putting flyers or door hangers on people’s front doors, driveways, or windshields is not an effective way to market their business. It is no more effective than a mass mailing (with an average response rate of 1 – 2% – that’s response, not closure). In fact, it is more often less effective because people are irritated by these pieces of paper left for them to pick up and dispose of. In all good conscience as a marketing consultant, I cannot advise or assist a client with a marketing program that I know is not effective. If I were to take this business, I would turn Lev Promotions into a commodities provider, rather than a solutions source.
That’s not to say that it couldn’t be made effective, but that was not to be my role in this particular instance. If it had, their promotional piece would probably look different (I didn’t actually see it) and their distribution method would certainly play out differently. The ultimate results should be a greater response rate with a higher sales closure rate. That’s what my clients pay me for!
