Secret Shopper: Flyer Performance & Value Perception

The Challenge

Despite Peachjar’s wide reach, many organizations struggled to see meaningful results from their flyer campaigns. Even with tens of thousands of flyer deliveries, action rates were often low (e.g., 24,000 deliveries yielding only 57 actions). Organizations questioned the value of Peachjar, creating a risk of dissatisfaction and churn.

Context + Goals

Organizations varied in how they perceived flyer performance, regardless of actual metrics.

  • Many flyers underperformed due to weak design, ineffective calls-to-action (CTAs), and poor targeting.

  • ROI often felt misaligned: high deliveries didn’t translate into meaningful sign-ups or conversions.

Goals:

  • Understand the factors driving (or limiting) flyer success.

  • Provide actionable recommendations to improve campaign performance.

  • Increase perceived and actual value of Peachjar for partner organizations.

Methods

Secret Shopper Review

Myself, a member of our Customer Success team, and a member of our Customer Support team audited real flyer campaigns for performance, design quality, and CTA effectiveness.

Quantitative Analysis

Using Quicksite and other internal data tools, we compared reported action rates with outcomes across multiple districts to see if there was a correlation between district with higher engagement and flyer performance in those districts.

Qualitative Review

By picking out individual examples of flyers with high and low action rates, we identified design pitfalls, targeting mistakes, and user behavior patterns.

Key Insights

Performance vs. Perception Gap – Orgs often felt campaigns were unsuccessful despite comparable metrics.

Design Matters – Flyers lacking strong visuals or CTAs underperformed; “call/email” CTAs worked poorly, while QR codes and lightweight actions worked better (though sometimes untracked).

Targeting Challenges – Flyers sent to placeholder/low-enrollment schools or mismatched audiences wasted delivery volume.

Timing Effects – 1 or 2 day scheduled distributions by schools flooded emails, reducing engagement.

Low Iteration – Many orgs repeated the same flyer without learning from performance data.

Outcomes

  • Created a set of recommendations to optimize flyer performance (distribution scheduling, flyer ordering, CTA coaching).

  • Provided actionable evidence that design and targeting directly affect ROI.

  • Suggested monthly flyer review sessions to monitor trends and coach organizations.

Suggestions

  • Space out scheduled distributions to limit flyer overload.

  • Rework flyer ordering (e.g., prioritize by past engagement or alternate school/community content).

  • Add in-line submission tips to guide orgs on strong titles, visuals, and CTAs.

  • Require at least one CTA per flyer; lower barriers (e.g., save to contacts vs call now).

  • Adjust pricing models for smaller/newer districts.

  • Increase parent education around Peachjar’s parent app to encourage ongoing engagement.