What's the first thought that comes to your mind whenever you hear the word 'Guerrilla Marketing'?

Out-of-the-box marketing strategy, right?

Well, it's needless to say that guerrilla marketing is one of the best way of promotion.

The main objective behind using this type of advertising strategy is to promote something which could be anything from a product/service or concept through an unique and thought provoking way.

For those who don't know the term 'Guerrilla Marketing' was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book 'Guerrilla Advertising'. This term as most people guess is inspired by the term 'guerrilla warfare'. Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which a group of armed civilians use military tactics like ambushes, sabotage, raids etc.

Also remember, generating profit not sales is the primary motive here.

In case you're a small business owner, guerrilla marketing is the best way for you to promote your business.

Reach maximum people without shedding much bucks.

Here are 4 effective guerrilla marketing strategies that you ought to try for your small business:

1. Place your company logo here and there

For all brands, big or small, who have tried their hand at guerrilla marketing end-up becoming popular among the consumers. There are so many obvious reasons to support this fact but one that most people agree to is that they create huge brand visibility for themselves.

Imagine you're crossing the road and you see a brand's logo painted on the street, you ignore it for being a symbol or some punk graffiti thing. The moment you step back on the sidewalk you notice the same symbol again painted on the sidewalk, then again on the bumper of a car. I bet you'll go home curious and Google it out. The same happens with the consumers, half of the brands they buy, they discover them accidentally, through window decals, bumper-stickers, murals, etc.

You can even make cards with your logo, tagline, website address and containing enough information so that the people are left wanting to know more about your brand. You can place these cards in random places like libraries, cafes, public toilets, etc.

For a small business this trick is the best!

Here's one example -

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Have you ever wondered why are different brands giving free samples? Yes, whenever you get a free sample.

Well, free sample is also a form of guerrilla marketing.

The reason that different brands do this is to attract new customers. It also helps in promoting one's brand for free.

Imagine you're offering a free trial of your service for say a month to new customers. A customer who is looking for a similar service like yours accidentally lands on your website. He uses your service free for sometime, ends up enjoying it and converts into a loyal customer and also promotes your brand within his network. And you end up getting one, two or many new customers and free word-of-mouth promotion. Yay!

3. Support a cause

This is one of the best form of guerrilla marketing. The deal here is to get attention, that's it!

What you need to do is to choose a cause that people are emotionally interested-in like domestic violence, drink and drive or deforestation and support it, wholeheartedly.

Note - You are not doing this to earn profits or increase sales but are actually doing it to spread awareness about the particular cause.

Support a cause that you can actually support and feel about. Organize flash mobs or parades and spread awareness about it.

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When your business has a close competitor and you pick a fight with it, trust me people are going to love it.

In case you're still in doubt about this strategy then here's a piece of information for you - there have been some interesting brand wars in the past between big brands like Audi vs. BMW, Apple vs. IBM and Pepsi vs. Coke. If they can do it, so can you!

Who doesn't loves mudslinging the other and especially in the corporate world.

Start a social media war, ask people who is more better. Ask them to tweet about it and show their support.

Note - We mean a friendly war here, don't make things brutal.

Here's one known example -

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If you have some more guerrilla marketing tips then do share them in the comment section below.

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