What is Guerilla Marketing?Also known as Gorilla Marketing or
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What is Guerilla Marketing?
Why is it Important, and Relevant, to Small Business Owners?
Today's definition of guerilla tactics are to strike the market hard, strike fast, get in, and get out. And do not let your competition see you coming.
The original term came from marketing author, Jay Conrad Levinson. It was the title and subject of a book he wrote in 1984. To summarize his concepts, this approach or marketing tactic focuses on low cost, and fast-to-market, promotions. These marketing campaigns are often highly successful when very specifically targeted.
These marketing mix promotions require marketers with creativity and energy to break down the fairly large and comprehensive task of marketing, and building the right marketing mix, into smaller, more do-able pieces.
Some Call It, Mistakenly, Gorilla Marketing.
And while marketing of any type or style can seem and feel like a monkey on your back (particularly to non-marketers), guerrilla tactics are really a creative and fast marketing style that is well suited to small businesses - if the organization can mobilize and stay focused on one (rather than many) objectives for the campaign (the very nature of fast, in/out approaches requires a narrow focus for success).
The agility of small business and the ability of small business owners to use decision making tips and problem solving techniques to take quick action, allow this marketing tactic to work well.
Additionally, small businesses are typically much closer to their customers and therefore are more likely to be able to read and translate customer needs into a fast-action, high impact marketing plan.
The very nature of marketing from a tactical guerrilla approach has resulted in a good fit with small business marketing plans.
Small business owners can not afford the big marketing and advertising budgets of big business, but the very entrepreneurial nature of small business owners lends itself very well to guerrilla marketing techniques.
Some Key Marketing Tactics that are 'Guerilla' in Approach:
- To build a marketing plan and marketing mix program using psychographics;
- To be low cost and/or low budget in the marketing application;
- To focus not only on sales, but primarily on increasing profit;
- To focus the majority of attention on existing customers first – grow sales with them;
- Once existing customers are grown to the maximum, to find new customers through referrals;
- Do not focus on your competitors – focus on building alliances, business networks and partnerships with businesses that can help you grow and profit;
- Tactically, to use a variety of marketing tools; such as a direct marketing campaign; public relations program, website content developments, social media campaigns (which are often low-cost and quick implementations), and more;
- and finally, to be both unconventional and creative in creating your marketing plan.
Guerilla Marketing is one approach to small business marketing; there are many approaches. It is a marketing strategy that can be very effective, low cost and focus your efforts on quick, creative tactics that help you build a strong marketing mix promotional campaign.
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