A flyer can arrive on a day when someone is busy, interested but not ready, or looking for help right now. Timing affects what the message needs to do. Early on, it may introduce the business. Later, it may remind someone to make a booking.
This guide shows how to work backwards from that buying period, prepare your team for the response and learn from the campaign afterwards.
What we observed with two accounting clients
We worked with two accounting firms operating close to one another. One received responses to its campaign; the other received none. The responding firm had built activity through the months leading into tax time, combining Google and other digital advertising with repeated flyer distribution.
Reactivation was part of that approach too. Existing customers and previous enquiries received short, nurturing reminders that the firm was available to help. The printed pieces arrived as part of that wider lead-up.
The comparison remains an owner observation awaiting verification. Timing, the offer, familiarity with the firms and response handling may all have contributed.
The practical lesson is to plan the sequence. Before ordering another print run, decide what has already introduced the business, what the flyer should add and who will handle the enquiry.
Start with the buying window
A buying window is the period when a customer is most likely to recognise a need and act on it. Tax time gives accountants a clear planning reference. HVAC businesses may plan around seasonal demand, while manufacturers may work around customers' purchasing or maintenance cycles.
Use your own enquiries and conversations to work out:
- when customers first start asking questions;
- how much time they need to choose a provider;
- what information helps them decide;
- when your team has capacity to respond and deliver; and
- when a reminder would be useful.
The ATO's Tax Time 2026 update of 3 November reported more than 5.9 million individual returns by 23 August 2026 and more than 10.5 million by 29 October. Those milestones describe activity across a season, which is why the calendar should allow for people becoming ready at different times.
Choose your dates from the buying cycle and your capacity. The illustrated timetable is a planning example to adapt.
- Introduce the serviceMake the business and its offer familiar.
- Give a useful reasonExplain the problem, the service and relevant proof.
- Remind at the right timeHelp people act when the need becomes relevant.
Give each part of the campaign a useful job
Keep the same recognisable offer across the campaign and change the detail to suit the moment.
On a small screen, swipe across to see all columns. Keyboard users can focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Stage | What the customer needs | Useful campaign content |
|---|---|---|
| First introduction | A reason to remember the business | The service, local relevance and problem you help solve |
| Considering the service | Help deciding whether it fits | Answers to common questions, practical information and relevant proof |
| Ready to act | A clear next step | A booking route, phone number or simple enquiry form |
| After the enquiry | A helpful response | An answer, agreed next step and follow-up owner |
For an accounting firm, an early message might explain who it helps and what to prepare. A later reminder can explain how to get in touch. An existing customer may only need a short, personal note.
That gives each print round or digital message a reason to exist. Choose the frequency from the customer need and what the earlier responses tell you.
What Australian research adds
Australia Post's 2019 annual report describes a Christmas campaign for Maggie Beer's Food Club. Addressed mail went to members who had not bought for more than six months. A campaign code tracked a 20 per cent hamper offer, and the mail component recorded 1,200 sales over five weeks.
Australian campaign evidence · Australia Post
Maggie Beer: a seasonal reason to reconnect- Known audience
- Food Club members who had not purchased for more than six months.
- Relevant timing
- A Christmas hamper offer delivered through addressed mail.
- Recorded response
- A campaign code connected purchases to the offer.
The transferable idea is straightforward: match a relevant offer to an existing need, make the next step easy and give the response a way to be recognised.
How Gibson applies the timing method
Our print and distribution work helps put the local campaign into the chosen areas. A supervisor emails when distribution starts and finishes, which gives the business a useful reference for its follow-up and enquiry review. Delivery reports and inspection photos are available on request.
The accounting experience brings the wider lesson into focus. Print dates belong alongside digital activity, customer reminders and the team's preparation to answer. When those dates are kept together, the business can look at the whole campaign when reviewing the response.
Make reminders helpful
Busy customers may appreciate a reminder when there is something relevant to act on. For regular customers, keep it brief, personal and low-pressure. Recognise the relationship and make the next step clear.
Before using email or SMS, check consent and the contact's current preferences. ACMA's guidance covers consent, sender identification and an easy unsubscribe route. Keep opted-out and do-not-contact records out of the activity.
An existing customer, a previous enquiry and a new prospect need different treatment. The B2B campaign guide explains how to organise those groups.
Prepare the response before distribution
Walk through the campaign as a customer would. Call the number on the flyer, scan the QR code and submit a test form. Then check what the team receives and whether it identifies the campaign.
Before the first drop:
- brief the team on the offer and delivery dates;
- agree who answers calls, forms and replies;
- define the kinds of enquiries the business wants;
- give missed calls and unanswered forms a follow-up owner; and
- decide where quotes, bookings and later paid work will be recorded.
This preparation makes the campaign easier to evaluate. It also gives someone who responds a clearer path to getting help.
- Reconnect appropriatelyUse gentle, relevant reminders where contact is permitted.
- Be ready to answerAssign someone to calls, forms and replies.
- Keep the contextRecord the source, area, need and next step.
Review a quiet campaign before buying another round
Put the campaign dates beside the enquiries and work through the likely explanations.
- Area: did responses come from places you can serve?
- Message: did people understand the offer and ask for the intended service?
- Timing: were customers ready, or did they ask you to come back later?
- Response: were calls answered and forms followed up?
- Outcome: which enquiries reached a quote, booking or paid job?
Use the answers to change the next campaign calendar: move an activity, clarify a message or allow more time for follow-up. The measurement guide shows how to review the enquiries and later outcomes.
- Timing
- Was the need relevant when the campaign arrived?
- Message
- Could the reader quickly understand the offer?
- Channels
- Did ads and print support the same message?
- Response
- Could people reach someone ready to help?
- Outcome
- What happened after the enquiry?
Takeaway: your campaign calendar
Write down the buying period, each channel's job, the planned dates, the response route and the person responsible for follow-up. Add a review date that allows time for the customer to decide.
You now have a calendar your printer, advertising team and customer-facing staff can work from together.