Measuring Door Drop Results
Measuring door drop results properly: every LDM campaign can be measured against homes that did not get your leaflet, so you see the real uplift, not a guess.
Plan a measured campaign
Plan a measured campaign
Why measuring a door drop is different
A door drop has no click to count. People keep the leaflet, look at it again later, mention it to someone else, then visit your shop or search for you online. JICMAIL’s figures for the first quarter of 2026 show the average door drop is looked at 3.0 times, kept for 5.6 days and seen by more than one person in the home.
That is why counting coupons or asking “where did you hear about us?” misses most of the effect. The reliable way to measure a door drop is to compare the homes that got it with similar homes that did not.
- 3.0times the average door drop is interacted with
- 5.6days the average door drop is kept in the home
- 57 secaverage attention given to a door drop
- 1.06people in the home who see each door drop
Source: JICMAIL, door drops, Q1 2026.
How we measure
- Control groupsWe hold back postcode sectors that match your leafleted areas on audience, size and distance from your store, and leave them without a leaflet. The difference in sales or enquiries between the two is the uplift your door drop delivered.
- Match backWe compare your customer or sales postcodes from the campaign period against the sectors we delivered to, so you can see where new customers came from, even if they never mentioned the leaflet.
- Response trackingQR codes, offer codes, unique web addresses and call tracking numbers give you fast, direct signals while the campaign is still running.
- Test and learnWe split areas to test one thing at a time, such as offer, design, leaflet size or how often you drop, and keep what works for the next wave.
A worked example
Here is how the maths works, using simple illustrative numbers rather than a real client’s results.
- Leafleted sectors50,000 homes, 600 new customers
- Matched control sectors50,000 homes, 450 new customers
- Uplift from the door drop150 extra customers (+33%)
Without the control group, you might credit the door drop with all 600 customers, or none of them. With it, you know 150 came from the leaflet, so you can work out the real cost per new customer and decide whether to roll it out.
Measured campaigns we run
- Retail test with control groupsTapi649,607 homes around more than 80 stores, with matched control areas built in to prove the uplift.Read the case study
- Roadshow eventsWeBuyVintageMore than 300 roadshows in November 2026 alone, with control areas used to keep improving the plan.Read the case study
- Store openingsB&MTwelve door drops around new and refitted stores in four months, reaching more than 285,000 homes.Read the case study
Measuring door drop FAQs
How do you measure the success of a door drop?
The most reliable way is a control group: matched areas that do not receive the leaflet. Comparing sales or enquiries between leafleted and control areas shows the uplift the door drop caused. QR codes, offer codes and match back add detail.
What is a control group in leaflet marketing?
A set of postcode sectors that look like your leafleted areas, with similar households, size and distance from your business, that are deliberately left out of the drop. They show what would have happened without the leaflet.
What response rate should I expect from a door drop?
It varies a lot by offer, audience and sector, which is why we measure uplift rather than quote a single response rate. JICMAIL data shows the average door drop is interacted with 3.0 times and kept for 5.6 days.
Do QR codes work on leaflets?
Yes, they give you a quick, trackable response. But many people act without scanning, by visiting your shop or searching for you, so QR scans undercount the real effect. Use them alongside a control group.
How big does a test need to be?
Big enough that the difference between leafleted and control areas is clear. We size each test around your expected response, which usually means several matched sectors on each side.
Plan a measured door drop
Tell us what you want to prove. We will design the test, choose matched control areas and agree how we will read the results before anything is printed.
Get in touch
Looking for more information? Simply get in touch with one of our friendly office staff who are always on hand to help.
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