BUSINESS | PPC101 DECEMBER 2020

We asked Andrew Pearce, from our print partner Synergy, to assess how he thinks print can promote your pest control company.

Whether you’re reading this article in its print or online format will depend on your preference for accessing PPC. There are some powerful arguments to support print as method of delivery.

Synergy has worked with BPCA and its members for years and provides BPCA Registered card packs and the BPCA PrintShop. We are, therefore, uniquely placed to offer valuable insight.

Just one letterbox

A minute on the internet looks like this:

156 million emails sent, 29 million messages fired, 1.5 million Spotify songs played, 4 million Google searches made, 2 million minutes of Skype calls made, 350,000 tweets sent, 243,000 photos posted on Facebook, 87,000 hours of Netflix watched, 65,000 pictures put on Instagram, 25,000 posts made on Tumblr, 18,000 matches on Tinder, and 400 hours of video uploaded to YouTube...

I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted!

In this noisy, competitive digital world, there is still only one letterbox and the power of putting a flyer through that letterbox after a job shouldn’t be underestimated.

The effectiveness of direct mail during the Covid crisis

During lockdown our media habits were forced to change, with much coverage given to the changes across the digital and broadcast channels. But what about the channel that is always present in the home?

The latest data from the Joint Industry Committee for Mail (JICMail), shows that with more time at home, consumers have increased exposure to their direct mail and door drops and their ability to drive engagement and sales.

Door drops also achieved record levels of consumer engagement, with the average item interacted with 3.19 times, which represents 15% growth year-on-year.

Business mail (essentially addressed mail that contains some form of bill or statement) also reported higher interaction figures, up 7% to 4.87 times.

Looking to increase your client base?

If so, why not try the medium of door drops?

Door drops are leaflets or flyers that are not personally addressed to the householder. They are cost-effective and can be targeted locally or nationally. They are now more relevant than ever as this physical channel can reach potential new customers at home.

As a channel, door drops have unique benefits:

• They can be precisely targeted to the type of customers you want to reach
• They can give you a one-to-one moment with potential clients in their home
• Their physical presence helps to cut through the noise of the digital channels
• On average they stay in the home for nearly seven days and are revisited three times.

It’s benefits like these that make them such an effective channel when it comes to client acquisition - whether you need to do that locally or on a national scale.
They’re also cost-effective because you can target them so precisely. For instance, you can choose to deliver to households by specific postcodes or by particular demographic selections. The majority of the country is covered, meaning there is the option to target up to 30 million homes.

Is print bad for the environment?

When it comes to the sustainability of print and paper, it’s essential to separate the facts from the myths.

The European paper industry is a world leader when it comes to sustainably sourced raw materials, renewable energy and recycling rates.

Yet the myths around paper are still prevalent amongst consumers. A 2019 survey by Two Sides revealed 59% of European consumers believe European forests are shrinking, when in fact they have been growing by an area equivalent to 1,500 football pitches every day. A third of consumers believe paper is a wasteful product and a quarter believe paper is bad for the environment.

Sustainably farmed wood for paper is renewable and actually improves air quality. Younger, actively growing trees absorb more carbon dioxide and produce more oxygen than overly mature trees.
Paper has been the preferred communications medium for 2,000 years. Even in today’s digital world, it continues to be highly effective and, produced, used and disposed of responsibly, is inherently sustainable.

We live in an increasingly digital world where electronic and paper-based communications coexist and are often complementary.

Print and paper in a digital world

An international survey of over 10,700 consumers, commissioned by Two Sides found:

• Consumers worldwide prefer to read the printed version of books (72%), magazines (72%) and newspapers/news (55%) over digital options.
• More consumers believe they gain a deeper understanding of news stories when reading from print media (65%) over online news sources (49%).
• Consumers also trust the stories they read in printed newspapers (51%) more than stories found on social media (24%).
• 89% of consumers believe that they should have the right to choose how they receive communications (printed or electronically), at no extra charge, from financial organisations and service providers.
• 46% would be more likely to take action after seeing an advertisement in a printed newspaper or magazine than they would if they saw the same ad online.
• Many consumers (68%) ignore online advertisements, and 57% do their best to avoid them.

BPCA PrintShop

When you’re planning your next sales and marketing campaign, it is worth including print in the mix, and there is no better place to start than the BPCA PrintShop.
Templates include:

• Pest advice leaflets
• Drop off postcards
• ‘Be protected’ posters
• And much more.
• All templates can be customised and either downloaded for free or ordered as prints.

Take a look!
bpca.org.uk/printshop

Source: PPC101