As a very basic rule of thumb at the lower-income end of the market, companies are competing on price. At the upper-income end of the market, companies are competing on value, which, in practical terms, often boils down to convenience. Given that TPP has made a decision only to cover the affluent London market, our customers are automatically targeting, this desirable, value-driven consumer base. It is therefore crucial that leaflets are designed in such a way as to make the most of the opportunity this offers.
Be Bold but Never Brash
One of the great advantages of leaflets is that they are visible without being intrusive. Anyone who has surfed the internet recently without using an ad blocker will probably have noticed how many sites are pushing adverts and surveys onto people so that they have to at least glance at them before they get to the content they need and some content is now being deliberately hidden from people using ad blockers. While it’s understandable that sites do this, since good content comes at a price, the fact is that it’s a bad approach, which frustrates people. People will pay attention to adverts which are presented to them in the right way, at best they will ignore adverts which annoy them. At worst they will make a mental note to avoid doing business with the advertiser. A leaflet is quickly and easily picked up off the floor when a person is in that area anyway. The immediate impression given by a good leaflet is eye-catching without being eye-watering.
Keep Content Short and Sweet
Affluent customers tend to be well-educated people, but there’s a big difference between being able to read extensive content and feeling inclined to commit the time to do so. Short and sweet is the way to go. It can be very helpful to use formatting so that particularly important points stand out, for example by using bold text, again, however, keep this to a minimum. Special effects of any sort lose their ability to attract people’s attention if they are overused and, frankly, can become simply annoying. This holds just as true for text formatting as it does for digital effects.
Emphasize Value rather than Price
At this end of the market, people generally appreciate both high quality and high convenience and understand that both of these come at a price. Hence coming across as “too cheap” may well do your prospects far more harm than good. Higher prices are generally perfectly acceptable in this market – as long as they are justified. This is where companies have to walk a fine line with their advertising. On the one hand, it is very important to reassure customers that you are a “best in breed” company. On the other hand, it is crucial to avoid using exaggerated language or making any sort of claim, which you are unable to support on the leaflet itself. It may be tempting to make a powerful claim on a leaflet and invite the reader to visit your internet site to learn more, but sadly affluent customers tend to be familiar with the concept of click bait and have generally learned to exercise some caution about the sites they visit, so this strategy carries a high risk of backfiring.
Make Sure You’re Easy to Reach
Admittedly this holds true for all parts of the market, but arguably more so for affluent customers, who are often cash rich and time poor. In short, make sure your contact details are clearly visible on your leaflet. Make sure that customers can reach you in some way at any time (e.g. have a voicemail for out of hours calls and make sure people are called back) and make sure that a high level of customer service is shown at all times.
