Door Drop Standards

This article is written by the Door Drop Hub of the Print Council.

If you are planning working with a door drop company in the UK, we highly recommend working with one of the DMA Member companies where you can find a Member list here.

These companies follow the DMA code and have completed the DMA compliance requirements.

Whether you choose to work with a DMA Member or not, when considering which company to use for your door drop activity, here is some advice regarding things to look for and to clarify with your supplier in advance of booking the distribution.

Solus or shared?

You may first identify whether your item is going to be delivered alongside other material or on its own.

Solus – this means that your item will be delivered on its own and should not be confused with terms such as ‘solus by type’, which typically means that your item will be delivered alongside other items that are from non-competing businesses.

Shared – this means that your item will be delivered alongside other material. This may include other leaflets, addressed mail and newspapers or magazines.

Costs

There is no accepted minimum or maximum cost for door drop and practitioners are entitled to apply whatever charge they so choose.

However, here are some factors you may choose to consider:

- The National Living Wage for adults from April 2020 is £8.72 per hour.

- Feedback from DMA team companies suggest that an average distribution volume of leaflets for a single distributor, in one working day, would be between 800 – 1,200.

- The time it takes to deliver items is directly proportionate to the areas being covered i.e. it is quicker to deliver items to terraced houses with no front gardens than it would be to deliver them to large gated properties with long garden paths. This means that in some situations, the number of properties coverable in one day could reduce to volumes as low as 200-300 or increase to volumes as high as 2000 per day.

- In addition to the door drop itself, other costs associated with the distribution may include (but not limited to); management, transport, storage, tracking software and household targeting tools.

If you are buying solus distribution, then you can consider these points in relation to the areas and properties that you are seeking to reach.

In all cases, do not be afraid to ask your door drop supplier questions about the duration of distribution, number of distributors and, if buying shared distribution, how many items may be distributed alongside yours and of what nature.

Coverage

Technically, door drop distribution enables you to deliver unaddressed material to 100% of properties within the UK.

However, in some circumstances, it is not possible and/or permitted for an item to be delivered.

Reasons for this may include but are not exclusive to; access issues, residents opted out of receiving unaddressed communication through established schemes, such as the Royal Mail Opt Out process, and ‘no junk mail’ stickers (where it is relatively subjective and down to a business as to how they deal with these requests).

This should be discussed with door drop companies when planning distribution, relevant to the areas you are seeking to be covered.

Timing

Prior to distribution, you may agree a completion date with your door drop supplier.

It may be worth considering how adverse weather conditions, staff sickness or other unforeseen circumstances may affect that completion date and what would happen to your promotional activity in the event of a delay.

Backchecks

Backcheck policies will vary by distribution company and we would advise confirming what this is prior to your door drop booking being confirmed.

Door drop companies are under no obligation to provide backcheck information / proof of distribution.

Backcheck policies may include but are not exclusive to; systems such as GPS tracking, telephone backchecking, face to face backchecking and photographed distributors exist in the marketplace – each have pros and cons and should be discussed with your door drop supplier in advance of distribution.

Complaints and queries

Policies regarding complaints and queries regarding distribution are independent to each door drop company.

We highly recommend establishing the agreed policy and procedure prior to distribution.

We hope that your distribution plans run smoothly and without complaint, however if this is not the case and you are unable to resolve the matter with your DMA door drop supplier, you may contact the Data and Marketing Commission via dm@dmcommission.com to seek a resolution.