If your job involves marketing, chances are you’re familiar with the concept of Guerrilla Marketing (GM). The term was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book “Guerrilla Marketing,” and defines an approach to marketing that relies on imagination, energy, and time. The foundation of GM is an arsenal of marketing tools that do not require massive budgets and resources, but a marketer who knows how to get his/her messages across in unconventional ways that usually produce impressive results and profits (Guerrillas aren’t as much concerned with sales as they are with profits!)

With the ever increasing number and variety of marketing tools available on the Internet today, Guerrilla Marketers are having a hay-day. What was impossible or very difficult to accomplish a decade ago is now as easy as a few clicks with the mouse, and most importantly, it’s free.

But this is not another article about all the great things you can do with your Twitter account or Facebook page. What we’d like to accomplish with this article is to draw your attention to some of the marketing tools you already have in your arsenal, and that may not be utilized to the extent they should.

So let’s start with your website. Does it talk a lot about your company, when it was founded, by whom, and how great your products are, or does it focus on your customers’ problems, needs, and how your products/services “solve” those? Does it allow visitors to opt in to receive promotions from your company? Your e-mail signature, does it bore your recipient with a lengthy legal disclaimer, or does it state your latest promotion?When people call your company, are they turned off with an impersonal automated voice system or a warm receptionist who makes them feel their calls are welcome? Again, if you insist on one of these systems, do people hear boring background music or alternating marketing messages that compliment what your e-mail signature just promoted?

By the same token, do people have to ring a bell to enter your office after being interrogated about what they want? Or are they greeted by a well-trained receptionist who offers them coffee while they wait and read through the latest issues of industry related magazines (which hopefully feature an article about/written by you)? You’re in business, so you issue invoices and statements of account. Are those boring standard documents, or are they branded, aesthetically pleasing, and include your latest promotions in the form of inserts that showcase additional products or services? When you place a classified ad, do you hide your business behind a generic GMail address, or do you take advantage of the expensive payment you’re making for the ad to promote your brand and values?

As you can see, all of the above are tools you already have and use. The difference between a Guerrilla and a regular marketer is how these are put into action and capitalized on. Either way, they won’t cost a JD more than what you’re already paying. But moving on to the more serious marketing arsenal now, how’s that referral program working for you?

Do you provide your customers with the tools they need so they can refer your business to their friends and family? Do you reward them for the efforts to promote you? Not in the form of cash of course, but perhaps an occasional voucher for a free service/ product or even something as simple as a personal and hand-written “thank you” note. Are you capitalizing on your existing customers and keeping track of their buying patterns, preferences, and expectations through a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution? Are you using the information your CRM system is compiling to cross or up-sell some of the other products/services you know are of interest to your customers?

The list goes on endlessly, and there’s an abundance of articles and websites about Guerrilla Marketing that you can read and research. In essence though, you are a Guerrilla when you see a marketing opportunity in every single aspect and process of what you do in the course of conducting your regular business.

About the Author

Pinnacle Business & Marketing Consulting is a results-driven boutique consulting firm that specializes in providing clients with practical and pragmatic solutions to their business and marketing challenges.

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