So you've spent an enormous amount on advertising in the
media and got very little response -- or maybe you were
scared enough by the prices that you never put the ads
there to begin with. You're annoyed at how expensive it
is to get even the simplest and smallest ad in front of
anyone, and how useless the whole thing seems to be.
That's because media advertising, in the main, isn't
designed to cater to home businesses. No, if you want to
get ahead as a home business, you're going to have to do
the advertising yourself.
What is Guerrilla Marketing?
Guerrilla marketing is a way of advertising when you
have an almost non-existent budget. Instead of thinking
of your business as a smaller version of a big one, you
have to realise the situation you're in, and behave
accordingly to maximise your profits while minimising
your marketing costs. Essentially, you're going to try
to do anything to get publicity.
Telemarketing.
Don't worry, I'm not talking about telemarketing of the
nasty call centre variety here. It's B2B (business to
business) telemarketing you want to be doing --
basically, phoning up local businesses and making
yourself known. You'll be surprised at just how effective
this can be, since businesses tend to appreciate the
effort you've made to contact them and offer your
services far more than a customer does if a business
phones them at home.
Direct Mail.
It shouldn't be too difficult to get hold of a mailing
list that covers your whole area -- ask your local post
office if you're unsure, as they'll often be able to help
with bulk mail campaigns. Alternatively, if you don't
even want to pay for delivery, you could hire a few local
teenagers to go round putting your letters in people's
mailboxes. This will work best if you keep your message
to one small page or even just a business card, so that
people will keep it if they're interested and call you
in their own time.
Outdoor Leafleting.
Another effective guerrilla marketing technique, at least
for some kinds of business, is to hang around outside
giving out leaflets to passers-by. This gives you an
opportunity to 'meet and greet' people, and lets you do
some free targeted advertising by choosing your location
carefully. If you do odd jobs in people's houses, for
example, you could stand outside the DIY store, handing
out leaflets that say 'Why Do It Yourself? I'll assemble
and install everything you buy today for only $50!' If
you custom build and sell your own computers, you could
stand outside a big-box computer store with this leaflet:
'Get your computer tailor-made, for half the price of
[big store]'. You get the idea.
Free Gifts.
You'd be surprised just how effective it can be to stand
around handing out free gifts. If you do something that
relates to children, then hand out balloons to them in
the mall. You'll make some kids' days, and your name and
perhaps website address will be written there on the
balloon for all to see. Free pens are a very effective
thing to give away if you provide a more serious business
service -- people are always short of pens, so they'll
keep your pen in their bag and be reminded of your business
each time they use it. Even better, the cost of getting
thousands of balloons or pens printed with whatever you
want is almost nil.
Attack the Competitor.
Nasty as it might sound, hardcore guerrilla marketers
regard their competitor as their sworn enemy, and will
do anything to bring them down so that they can replace
them in the marketplace. A little disturbingly, this can
be quite simple to do -- fake a few letters complaining
about a business to a local newspaper, and you might find
that they follow through and do a feature on it without
even checking the story out.
In the end, with guerrilla marketing, there are endless
ideas -- it's all about being inventive, and having the
guts (and the patience) to try them out. When you get your
first customer without buying a single media ad, it'll all
be worth it.
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About the author:
Karen Walker specializes in helping individuals, entrepreneurs, network marketers,
and independent professionals generate substantial incomes with their own
Work at Home or Home Based Business on the Internet.
Visit her informational web sites:
Cash Flow Quest |
Work At Home Directory
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