Why Are You Not Using Guerrilla Marketing?
Ok, let’s talk about the term “Guerrilla” marketing. Don't think bananas, the term is not spelled Gorilla marketing. The term "guerrilla marketing" is traced to guerrilla warfare, which employs atypical tactics to achieve an objective (source: Wikipedia.org article).
What exactly is guerrilla marketing? Guerrilla Marketing is using unconventional methods or ideas to promote a product or service. This type of marketing approach, focuses on personal interaction, is cheaper than traditional marketing and often is just as effective as the alternative marketing methods.
Is guerrilla marketing effective? Absolutely! Guerrilla marketing was invented in 1984. Many companies including McDonald’s, Oscar Meyer’s Wiener-Mobile, and Snapple have used guerrilla marketing over the years.
Small business owners are concerned with primarily two things when planning a marketing campaign.
- Budget
- Effectiveness of the marketing campaign
Let’s start with the budget. In this article, we will provide you with a few easy marketing strategies that we use. These techniques are proven to work. Many companies use guerrilla marketing to off-set the cost of traditional marketing e.g. newspaper ads, radio and Cable commercials. Many small business owners have asked me “how can I build a website that works”? We have a simple strategy and it works!
If you can master your marketing locally, you can market globally. We believe to do this effectively you must use all available methods, besides just building a website or using the traditional marketing methods like taking out an ad in the local newspaper. When creating a marketing plan ask yourself is my marketing simple, effective, and does it provide value to my company?
Here’s an important thing to remember. There are no rules in guerrilla marketing. There are laws, but no rules. You can do whatever you want to do. Be creative. The effectiveness of your marketing campaign is yet to be determined. We’re here to help you think outside the box. We’re here to help you make a plan to be successful online.
Below are a few examples of guerrilla marketing strategies.
- Pay it forward. You get coffee at Starbucks. Pay for the person behind you. Leave a business card. That’s it! Keep it short and simple. If the person you pay for tells one person it was worth it.
- Cash in on viral trends. Trending topics. So the fidget spinner thing. Don’t look at what worked yesterday. It may not work next year but it works now. Use trending topics in your marketing plan. Buy some fidget spinners and give them away to your customer’s kids. Easy enough and it could be a big hit. Just watch out and don’t buy 500 or more without proving it will work for your business.
- Partner with Local Businesses. 9 times out of 10 if a customer receives a gift from the business next door the customer is excited about the gift. This is a win, win for you because they associate your business with the gift. They remember.
- Flyer marketing. Yes, it still works. Come up with an easy flyer design. Don’t make it too busy. Print 500 and hang them up all over town. Again, this is an affordable and easy way to get your business out there using guerrilla style marketing strategies.
- Free Stuff. Like water bottles. Attend an event that is held outside. Provide free, cold water with your logo and you are almost guaranteed a new customer from the experience.
- Give to Your Local Charity. Partner with a local business team, club or organization. Giving works. I always get a satisfaction from giving back to my community.
- Free T-shirts are awesome. Give away a free t shirt with your brand, logo or message and you’ll always get free marketing as long as they have that shirt. Or, print a shirt that says… “ASK ME ABOUT…” and see how many people strike up a conversation to find out more.
- Vinyl graphics. Wrap your car with your logo, brand or message. $1500.00 is a BIG investment, but it also has a big payoff. Wrapping your vehicle allows you to market 24/7/365. As you drive around town you’re making an impression on everyone that sees your vehicle.
- Social Media image update. Change your profile pic. Change your image every week. You’ll be surprised how many people you’ll reach by doing this very easy task. Also, keeping it fresh doesn’t hurt a thing!
Finally, we’d like to convey the message that websites and social media do work. But, hopefully now you may be wondering how you can use guerrilla marketing to get customers to your website or Facebook page.
That’s it. Keep it simple. Be creative and don’t worry about making a mistake. Just try new things until you find the right marketing strategy for your business.
