Chapter 19

Ten Ways to Launch Guerilla Marketing Attacks

In This Chapter

Finding creative ways to market for (almost) free

Staying close to home with effective guerilla marketing

Boosting your visibility in small and local markets

The term guerilla marketing is sometimes used for the most inexpensive, small-scale, and short-term marketing techniques. I define it as marketing that uses creativity and effort to increase impact and cut costs. This chapter reviews ten of the best techniques for so-called guerilla marketing, in which the goal is to boost visibility or sales in a small, highly focused area or group without engaging traditional marketing media. Such low-cost to no-cost techniques can’t make up your entire marketing program, because they lack the sustained impact needed to build your business, but they can and should be used when the opportunity arises.

Spot Where You Can Put Free Material

Walk (yes, walk; don’t drive!) around your town (or around a conference or convention center, or wherever your target customers are) and identify all the places where you can place your marketing materials for free. Evaluate what forms these materials are in and how they’re presented. They can come in the form of trifold brochures in small boxes or racks, miniposters on bulletin boards, fliers propped on tables or windowsills, notices with tear-off phone numbers and Web sites, and so on.

In small-scale local marketing, you can always find free placement opportunities. Make a point of using them routinely. It doesn’t take many new customers to profit from printing a small run of fliers, brochures, or posters — especially when the placement is free.

Participate Actively Online

If you think a Facebook identity or other free online presence is worthless for building business, think again. Sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn, are great avenues to talk about your business and network with others. Thirty minutes every other evening is enough to maintain a lively online social network that can do a lot to build your brand and increase your visibility.

If you’re a consultant, accountant, designer, or someone else who provides professional services, be yourself on social networking sites because you want to boost your own visibility and make your name better known. If you’re selling a brand, then establish a page for the brand (for example, a resort hotel can maintain a Facebook identity and announce current events). On sites where you have to be an individual to post an identity, have staff set up identities in their professional roles (for example, the head of customer service can write a blog on maintenance).

Give Your Product or Service Away

Let your product find you more customers by seeking ways to hand out free products or services as often as possible. Sure, I like to make money as much as the next guy, but if you visit my company’s Web site, you find a surprising amount of free material on it. You can even download whole copies of some of my publications. Why give this content away when my competitors don’t? Because I believe in the quality of my products and services and know that they can make the sale for me after people have a chance to experience them. Often when I give someone one of my products or some free time on the phone, I win a happy new customer who may buy more and tell others about me and my company. Or at least I obtain a new lead I can try to upgrade to a customer later on.

Take Advantage of Your Own Ad Space

Don’t overlook possible advertising space in your own mailings and on your own buildings and vehicles. For instance, the vast majority of company-owned vehicles don’t have any signs on them, yet these same companies pay good money to buy expensive advertising space elsewhere. Use any vehicles, buildings, windows, packaging, envelopes, or mailers to spread the good word about your brand or company.

Get Yourself Published

Getting published is a great (and free) way to boost your visibility and build your business. Numerous ways of getting published exist, so strive to get your business in print at least once every few months. You don’t have to be a writing pro (although I do suggest having someone review your text to catch any potential typos); nearly anyone can get something published.

Keep your eyes open for newspapers, magazines, Web sites, and blogs where you can contribute an editorial or a short article (about 250 words or less) on something you know all about because of your work. Then get ready to reap the benefits of your published prose!

Reward Customers with Gifts They Can Share

Do you have loyal customers? Then why not reward them in a way that encourages them to share that reward — and their enthusiasm about your product or service — with others? Rewarding good customers is one of the most immediate ways to create word-of-mouth marketing. Along with a thank-you note, give your customers a tin of home-baked cookies, a tray of brownies, a “coffee break” consisting of a big box of hot coffee and a tray of pastries, or some other treat that lends itself to being given away or passed along. Note: Customers who feel you’ve treated them well always send new customers your way.

Give Out Decals, Stickers, and More

Cars are everywhere. Harness them for your marketing program by creating window decals, small stickers printed on clear material that are designed to adhere temporarily to car windows (although sometimes people put them on other windows too). You can have your design printed for between 25 and 50 cents, depending on how many you purchase (search the Web for “promotional auto window decals” to find sources; a minimum order is usually around 250). If you take the time to create an attractive design, people may place your marketing message on their cars, making it visible to a wide range of prospective customers.

You can also pass out bumper-sticker versions of your logo and company name (with your Web address). Not to mention giving out premium items (pens, mugs, caps, shirts, notepads, whatever — just make sure you’ve made them nice enough that people will actually use them). This way, your customers and the people in their extended networks can all begin to promote your business for you.

Do Good Works

If you can budget even 1 percent of your time and marketing money into charitable activities, you may find them well worth your while in terms of goodwill and visibility. Supporting charities is a natural way to integrate your business — and your enthusiasm and goodwill — into your community. The more you give, the more respect and interest you attract for your brand.

Throw a Party

Events attract people, and a party is an event whose purpose is largely pleasure. Hold an open house or benefit event and distribute e-mail and printed invitations (I recommend postcard-sized invites for their low printing cost). Offer homemade food and good cheer — or if your business image and budget suggest a more sophisticated approach, hire a caterer. Even if you don’t have the time or money to create a major marketing event, throwing a simple party can attract interest and generate enthusiasm for your business.

Join and Participate

Embrace the J and P strategy, short for “joining and participating,” by joining community and professional groups, sponsoring or coaching youth sports teams, volunteering at a local community service agency, helping raise funds for a local museum, or going to educational and cultural events (especially those events at which you can mingle with other professionals, like art gallery openings and ribbon-cutting ceremonies). Get out there and participate in these many fun and rewarding activities, and you’ll find that your network grows quite naturally.