Are you a Guerrilla!?

by Stuart Ayling of Marketing Nous

On numerous occasions I've heard clients describe their marketing by saying, "I do guerrilla marketing". What they often mean is - I'm not big so I don't need to plan, I'll just think of things as I need to.

In fact, the term 'Guerrilla Marketing' is the title of a book published in 1984 by Jay Conrad Levinson...and his concept was anything BUT reactive.

The book explained Jay's three secrets for great marketing results:

1) Be committed to your marketing program.

2) Think of the program as an investment.

3) Make sure your program is consistent.

"But where do I start?" I hear you ask.

To succeed, make sure you are on track with the right plan of attack. It doesn't matter how small (or large) your marketing budget is - you want to make the most of it.

Then be consistent and enthusiastic with implementing your chosen marketing activities. Customers will notice and you will benefit.

Remember, Guerrilla Marketing is more about investing your time and effort than investing your hard-earned money. So be prepared to do some legwork and watch the benefits unfold!

For more guerrilla tips see Jay Conrad Levinson's web site at http://www.gmarketing.com/.

Quick Biz Tips - Know Your Competition

Know your competition

Don't be in the dark about what the opposition is doing. I can assure you that your customer's will know!

Visit their business, read their brochures, check out their website, get on their mailing list and become familiar with their products. Why not even become a customer and make a purchase from them?

You need to know how you are different to them in order to tell your customers about it.

Knowing your business

During my searching the web recently I stumbled upon several small business sites. I was struck by the realisation that many of these businesses do not know what their business is.

A fine example of this was the 'bookkeeping specialist' offering secretarial services, web design and maintenance, resume writing, marketing advice, business analysis and yoga training! I'm serious.

While there is something to be said for offering a variety of services and having multiple income streams, tossing random services on a single webpage together is clearly not the way to convince prospects you are a 'specialist' in anything.

If you don't have a clear business niche, you risk standing for nothing. This makes you vulnerable to competitors. Give serious thought to what it is you want your business known for. Whatever that may be, be sure you KNOW IT and that you clearly COMMUNICATE IT.

The 100 Guerrilla Marketing Weapons

According to "Guerilla Marketing" principles there are at least 100 marketing weapons in the small business arsenal. So, what exactly are all 100 weapons?

I've compiled a full list below of those recognised by author Jay Levinson (the father of Guerilla Marketing) in his Guerilla Marketing Weapons: 100 affordable marketing methods for maximizing profits from your small business.

Clearly, some are more suitable for micro-business than others but they are all worth giving some consideration to. Best of all, more than half of them are free.

I'll be exploring some of these 100 weapons in more detail over the coming months. For now, here is the list:

1. Marketing plan
2. Marketing calendar
3. Niche/positioning
4. Name of company
5. Identity
6. Logo
7. Theme
8. Stationery
9. Business card
10. Signs inside
11. Signs outside
12. Hours of operation
13. Days of operation
14. Window display
15. Flexibility
16. Word-of-mouth
17. Community involvement
18. Barter
19. Club/Association memberships
20. Partial payment plans
21. Cause-related marketing
22. Telephone demeanor
23. Toll free phone number
24. Free consultations
25. Free seminars and clinics
26. Free demonstrations
27. Free samples
28. Giver vs taker stance
29. Fusion marketing
30. Marketing on telephone hold
31. Success stories
32. Employee attire
33. Service
34. Follow-up
35. Yourself and your employees
36. Gifts and ad specialities
37. Catalog
38. Yellow Pages ads
39. Column in a publication
40. Article in a publication
41. Speaker at any club
42. Newsletter
43. All your audiences
44. Benefits list
45. Computer
46. Selection
47. Contact time with customer
48. How you say hello/goodbye
49. Public relations
50. Media contacts
51. Neatness
52. Referral program
53. Sharing with peers
54. Guarantee
55. Telemarketing
56. Gift certificates
57. Brochures
58. Electronic brochures
59. Location
60. Advertising
61. Sales training
62. Networking
63. Quality
64. Reprints and blow-ups
65. Flipcharts
66. Opportunities to upgrade
67. Contests/sweepstakes
68. Online marketing
69. Classified advertising
70. Newspaper ads
71. Magazine ads
72. Radio spots
73. TV spots
74. Infomercials
75. Movie ads
76. Direct mail letters
77. Direct mail postcards
78. Postcard decks
79. Posters
80. Fax-on-demand
81. Special events
82. Show display
83. Audio-visual aids
84. Spare time
85. Prospect mailing lists
86. Research studies
87. Competitive advantages
88. Marketing insight
89. Speed
90. Testimonials
91. Reputation
92. Enthusiasm & passion
93. Credibility
94. Spying on yourself and others
95. Being easy to do business with
96. Brand name awareness
97. Designated guerrilla
98. Customer mailing list
99. Competitiveness
100. Satisfied customers

For more information visit www.gmarketing.com