© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.

Guerrilla Marketing, a Cost-effective way to

Promote Business

“Done poorly, guerrilla marketing can

make your company look like a nightmare. Donecorrectly, it is one of the single most powerful

marketing tools.” – Experiential MarketingForum

Guerrilla Marketing, which is an alternative form of marketing, was a term coined by Jay

ConradLevison in the early 1980s. This form of marketing depends mainly on time, energy

andcreativity than on hefty marketing budgets and flashy advertisements. Guerrilla Marketing

is different from the conventional marketing process because it interacts with the consumers at

a personal level.

Why is Guerrilla Marketing suitable for Small/Medium businesses?

GuerrillaMarketing was mainly developed for the small/medium business owners. This form of

marketing mix would help the SMB owners who run the show on shoestringbudget to compete

with the big corporates.

Statistics show that GuerrillaMarketing works better with smaller groups. Another principle of

GuerrillaMarketing isthat it focuses on gaining the consent of the targeted individual or a group

to give themmore information on the product/service than on trying to close a sale.

In GuerrillaMarketing, you invest your imagination/creativity, energy and time rather than

money. This is one of the main driving principles of GuerrillaMarketing. For instance,if you

© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.

own a bike repair shop, you can build a good relationship with your customersby offering them

tips on weekend trips. You can also give road maps free of cost.

Small/medium business owners should keep in constant touch with their clients and customers

to know whether they were satisfied with their products/services. This is oneof the reasons why

SMB owners should seriously contemplate on taking up Guerrilla Marketing as their marketing

tool.

Is Guerrilla Marketing right for you?

Remember that though GuerrillaMarketing was meant for small business owners, it is up to you

as a small/medium owner to decide whether this marketing campaign is the right marketingtype

for your business. Your willingness to take risk apart from showing creativity andflexibility

plays a vital role in using this approach.

GuerrillaMarketing is not right for you if your business renders financial and insurance

services. You should also understand that it is possible to touch the wrongnerve of someof your

consumers through GuerrillaMarketing. Therefore, if you are not ready to take therisk or if you

have a second thought about this marketing approach, then this is not a goodfit for your

business.

A point worth mentioning is that GuerrillaMarketing can use unconventional techniques to grab

the attention of the consumers. However, it is essential that you provide qualityproduct/service

as mentioned in your advertisements. The reason is Guerrilla Marketing reaches out to the

consumers very quickly, and if you do not keep your promises,the negative feedback can

spread even faster. This is considered to be one of thedrawbacks of GuerrillaMarketing.

© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.

You should be aware that GuerrillaMarketing campaign can be tailored to suit the natureof any

small business. It is just a question of stepping out of the comfort zone of yourregular and

conventional marketing campaigns.

It goes without saying that your business needs a good website, which is simple and easy to

read. A good website acts as an effective marketing platform. Remember that customers are not

interested in knowing about yourhumble beginnings and roaring success. Only thing that they

need to know is about youand what your company offers. Therefore keep the content of your

website precise andupdated from time to time.

Levison opines that GuerrillaMarketing is all about how efficiently you handle your marketing.

Most of the companies allocate up to four percent of sales on GuerrillaMarketing andthe ones

who have ample fund spend as high as eight percent. Now the question is, as a SMB owner,are

you tolerant to risk taking?