Guerilla Marketing

It's a jungle out there, but guerilla marketing tactics will help you get the most out of your advertising dollars.

Guerilla marketing is to advertising what guerilla warfare is to war. It's a series of unconventional ways to promote your business without spending a fortune on advertising. Get in there, hit the market, and make a clean profit. If you're willing to put in your own time and energy to make the public aware of your business, these marketing techniques can help save some of the money you'd be paying professionals while still increasing your business sales bottom line.

Conventional marketing methods are certainly proven to work, but do you have the advertising budget necessary to cover all your bases? Many small businesses fail within just two years of start up because they had inadequate funds to play the advertising game. Let's consider the potential costs, pros, and cons of conventional marketing methods, and then contrast some guerilla marketing techniques that can help cut your costs.

A professionally produced television commercial can cost thousands of dollar to create, and you'll still have to pay for your air times. The better the air time, the more people that will see your product or service, but you'll pay a higher price for your time slot. Sure you can save some bucks by taking less expensive air times, but is your target audience really watching at 3:00 AM?

Alternative: Why not try to get yourself invited as a guest on local television community talk shows? This increases your exposure and puts your name in front of the public as a leader in your field. Example: If you own a landscaping business, try to land a guest spot on the local television station's AM talk show. Be sure to have an angle in mind for your interview that is relevant and interesting in order to capture the program director's interest.

The local phone book ad is a must have for any business that wants their potential customers to be able to find them 24/7. When people have a need, they often turn to the yellow pages, and if you're not prominently listed, you're not going to get much play. The drawback? Expect the cost of your ad to increase every year. Once the phone company has you, they know you can't afford to do without them.

Enhancements:

• Put your company name, logo and phone number on your vehicle(s). This is a one-time advertising cost that keeps on adding to your revenue.

Radio ads are slightly less expensive than television ads, but if you're paying for advertising, it's still coming out of your budget.

Alternatives:

• Call in to talk radio shows and raise questions about topics that affect your industry or niche market. If you can speak knowledgeably about your topic, you may just wind up promoting your business for free.
• Offer your services for speaking engagements at local clubs, business organizations and community centers. This is a great way to meet and form initial relationships with potential customers.

Billboard ads may help with your name recognition but will your customer remember your contact info once they are home? Most customers reach for the phone book when they have an immediate need.

Enhancement: Team up with someone in a complementary business, combine your billboard ads and split the cost. For example, if your small business installs replacement windows, why not approach a roofing company about teaming up for advertisement purposes? You are both in the home improvement industry, so it's a good fit. Just check out your potential partner with the Better Business Bureau to protect your own business from any negative attention.

This is a good way to really target the community you hope to serve and potentially result in a decent investment of your advertising dollars. However, Guerilla marketing can show you a less expensive way to approach this type of promotion.

Alternatives:

• Print your own fliers from your own PC, drop them off door to door, and leave them on automobile windshields.
• Advertise in church bulletins. These costs are nominal for a yearly contract, creates good will with the parishioners, and still helps target the areas you want to reach.
• Leave your business cards on community bulletin boards.

Never underestimate the power of entertainment in advertising to help draw in new business.

• Contests draw attention, but think even further outside of the box. Own a local watering hole or restaurant? Hold a crab race with some inexpensive hermit crabs from the local pet shop. Offer race winners a T-shirt with your establishment's logo for some extra free advertising.
• Offer a reasonable donation to the local high school band, if they will come and perform outside of your business location.
• Senior citizens hold a lot of marketing potential. Post fliers at community centers inviting them to a special event during the afternoon, when most of your regular customers would be working. Offer food, beverages, and senior discounts for future purchases.

Although there is a wealth of guerilla marketing material available, Jay Conrad Levinson is considered the father of this style of doing business marketing. Since the publication of his first book in 1984, Levinson has been published in over forty-one languages, increased his catalog to thirty-five books, and launched a profitable website, just to mention a few of his successes. His marketing techniques have withstood the test of time and continue to help businesses, both small and large, get the most bang out of their advertising dollars.

• The Guerilla Marketing Handbook
• Guerilla Advertising
• Guerilla Marketing in 30 Days

• Demotivators In the Workplace
• Memo Layout
• 10 Best Home Based Businesses
• The Myths Of Entrepreneurship
• Unethical Business Practices

• Sample Resume Objective
• Memo Examples
• Resume Objective Examples
• Resume Objective Statements
• Sample of Letter of Request

• Web Site Management and Marketing
• Marketing Tips
• Promotional Business Gifts
• Developing a Public Relations Plan
• Global and Domestic Marketing