Guerilla Marketing: Are You Armed - and Effective?

Guerilla Marketing: Are You Armed - and Effective?

As many of you may know, I am a proponent of Guerilla Marketing, a concept that Jay Conrad Levinson introduced to the world in 1984 with his book, Guerilla Marketing. If you haven't read his book, I highly recommend you do because it contains many time-tested, cost-effective marketing strategies that still apply today, more than 20 years after it was first published.
In this issue of Under the Oak Tree, I want to focus on one important Guerilla Marketing lesson - weapons. A weapon represents each way you promote your business, such as business cards, logos, signs, advertising, etc. I think weapon is an appropriate term because it shows the power of marketing. When used correctly, your company could stand to win big. When not used correctly or not used at all, your company could lose out.

Of course, weapons can't just fire at random. There has to be strategy and in Guerilla Marketing, your marketing strategy is outlined in what's called a marketing calendar. A marketing calendar outlines which weapons you use and when. Over time, your marketing calendar will show the interaction and synergy between the weapons. You'll be able to rank them in order of their effectiveness and determine when each one should be used and in what combination.

I've merely scratched the surface on this concept, but I hope I have at least made you think about a few points. Take a moment and think about what weapons your company is using as well as what weapons you are not using.

With the year coming to a close, this is a good time to revisit - or start! - a marketing calendar for next year. For more information on Guerilla Marketing, please contact me, Tom Long, SolidOakConsulting.com.