Six P Motto Aligns Perfectly With Guerrilla Marketing
On Monday, Client A planned an introductory lecture for the following Tuesday. He rushed a flyer through the creative process foregoing a proper logo because the artist could not be reached in time and ordered 500 copies from a quick printer for pick up Wednesday. He made a list of 20 places where his flyer would reach potential customers. His wife assured him that she could deliver 25 copies to each of the 20 locations. Unfortunately, nothing happened Wednesday and she didn’t feel well Thursday; then, an out-of-town trip doomed Friday’s deliveries…
This scenario reflects what passes for guerrilla marketing in many small businesses. Contrary to popular opinion, guerrilla marketing doesn’t mean “marketing for free.” Time and energy go into successful events. I revisited this concept as I reviewed The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook. As Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the successful Guerrilla Marketing series notes, “The guerrilla is a cheapskate. She knows that every dollar allocated to marketing is essential, and she doesn’t plan to waste a penny. But she’s not foolish. When necessary, she hires the best designers, media planners, and experts in the business – she realizes that the best is often the cheapest in the end.[1]”
My advice to the client with the introductory lecture:
- Plan further out – three weeks, minimum
- Pay a graphic designer for a flyer template that can then be used for future events
- If there’s no budget for advertising, talk with the employees about getting the word out. Enlist their support in bringing the flyer to the attention of every customer
- Continue to list locations for flyers; divide them up between employees or, pay a delivery service to get them out quickly
- Build an e-list and get permission to mail contacts with news of upcoming events
- Get the event listed on community calendars in local papers and on bulletin boards
- Offer a reward for the most creative idea from employees
Time Management expert and motivational author Brian Tracy offers a Six P Motto which is perfectly applicable in this situation: “Proper prior planning prevents poor performance. “
Other ideas? This is the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Let me know what low cost methods have worked well for you.
[1] The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook, Jay Levinson & Seth Godin
Labels: collateral, community communication, Guerrilla marketing
posted by the profitmeister at
5:35 PM
1 Comments:
Mary Ellen,
On target, as usual. The biggest challenge I have in working with small businesses is getting them to actually follow through. "Have you mailed those post cards to your top customers yet? What's been the response?" Reply: " Bob's mother was in town the whole week." So? She prevented you from driving to the post office?
Other tips I give:
1. Think of networking as a marketing expense and act accordingly. Don't just wander around, hoping you'll bump into some business. Don't sit with the same people. Have a goal in mind and then follow through.
2. Talk to/meet with people for coffee before you want something from them (business, referrals, etc.) Build relationships. Don't wait until you're in "I've got to save my business" panic mode. Good relationships take time (and should be reciprocal.)
3. Don't leap in and do a web site before you have a marketing plan and know what results you want from it. You can set up a blog that will give you a presence on the Web and enable you to learn web marketing. (Wordpress is great for this. You can set up a site for free that looks like a "real" web site.) When you do decide you want a web site, make sure you get real pros - work with people that understand both the business and technical aspects of Web business. (There are a lot of self-anointed experts out there who will cost you a ton of money for an awful web site.)
And - of course - think about blogging. It's worked wonders for me. However, like anything else, you have to have a strategy, be systematic and follow through.
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