Backchecking

We have a responsibility to provide evidence to substantiate that the distributions we undertake are completed thoroughly and to the required standards, Industry governing bodies recommend that this should be in the form of back-checking.

Back-checking is conducted retrospectively once the distribution has been completed and is a measurement of recollection of a delivery.


Coloured Maps

Following your distribution run, you will receive a map of the postal sector where your leaflets were delivered to.

This is a map which the deliverer will take with them on their run and highlight as they proceed through the streets of the Postal Sector. This map is presented to our office staff when the deliverers report back at the end of their run.

Our office staff can then correspond the coloured map to the quantity of leaflets that have been delivered and confirm that there is exactly that many houses within each of the coloured streets.

You can also use this to check that the quantity of leaflets you have ordered to be delivered there, matches the streets covered. Also, you can check with family or friends that may live on the coloured streets to see if they have received a leaflet.


Missed Properties

Working alongside the coloured maps, comes the list of missed properties.

The staff will often come across houses in which they are unable to deliver to. Therefore, they keep track using a list of properties to ensure we and you are aware of houses that will not have received a leaflet.

If a family member or friend on one of the coloured streets happens to say they have not received a leaflet, then you may check on this list to see if their address is among the ones listed.

The list will show the house number, the street name and the reason for the staff member not delivering a leaflet there. Reasons for staff not posting your leaflet to a property can include:

  • Dog loose or free in the garden – The deliverers are warned never to enter a garden with a dog in, even if the dog seems friendly. Some dogs can get territorial, and we would not want our deliverers being put at risk.
  • Dog other side of letterbox – The deliverers will not risk having their fingers bit by a dog as they push the leaflet through. If the leaflet was pushed through, the dog would usually chew it up anyway.
  • No Junk Mail – Residents who do not wish for any advertising material to come through their letterbox, may choose to put a “no junk mail” sign on the outside of their door. We respect the residents wishes and do not post to these houses.
  • Construction ongoing – If there are any construction workers operating on a property, the deliverers will not enter the garden or approach the front to deliver the leaflet. They may get in the way of the workers and even get hurt.
  • No Access – Sometimes when the delivery teams approach a house, there is simply no access to the door or the letterbox for some reason.

GPS Tracking

Each delivery team member is required to take with them on their distribution run, a GPS tracking device, supplied to them by us. They are unable to access this without the use of our software and passwords, so there is no way of tampering. The GPS tracking devices track the movements of the staff member in real time whilst in motion and store all the data on the device.

As with the coloured maps and missed property lists, the staff members will pass these to the office staff at the end of their run each day where the data will be downloaded and saved to the computer. This data can then be checked to see if it corresponds with the coloured map given by the delivery staff member.

This information can be processed so that it can be read by our customers and then can be provided as further evidence and proof of delivery. Once the .gpx files are processed, our clients are able to drag and drop the files we send over onto the following website to view themselves.

https://www.mygpsfiles.com/app/

Examples of factors that can affect Recall


Item Size – larger sized items can be more memorable than smaller ones

Brand Strength – recognisable brands or items delivered regularly are usually more memorable than one-off deliveries

Perceived Value – Items with a perceived value (e.g. Council publications, money off coupons) can be more memorable

Creative Design – an items creative design can impact positively or negatively on recollection

Attitude towards Unsolicited Deliveries – unfortunately some people dispose of leaflets immediately on receipt

Volume of other material delivered daily / weekly – leaflet delivery is a popular form of advertising but the more that people receive the more difficult it can become to recall individual items