 When times get tough, cutting down on your marketing budget may seem like a good idea, and possibly it is. But that doesn't mean that you must stop any promoting effort. In fact, experts say that in a recession, you should advertise more, not less. An impossible conundrum? Not necessarily: introducing Guerilla Marketing, or how a little bit of creativity can generate more revenues than any expensive ad ever does.
 In 2002, a Boston dentist was struggling. Her $2,000 (US) a month Yellow Pages campaign was not generating any results. She decided to scrap it and took some time to write a free little guide entitled Healthy Mouth, Healthy Sex. Covering every aspects of oral hygiene that related to intimate activities, the guide was such a hit that it went 'viral' within weeks. Our dentist followed her efforts with homemade videos for you-tube and an e-newsletter providing advice and tips for good oral hygiene. In less than 4 years, her yearly revenues had tripled to over a million dollars US.
This is a perfect example of cheap, creative and efficient marketing. Sure, selling through sex does not apply to all businesses (we've thought long and hard about it and have come to the conclusion that it probably won't work for accountancy). However there were a few other very valuable attributes to her campaign.
For anyone in the service or contracting business, your expertise is what makes you money. Giving out some of it for free is what will make you popular. For a plumber, posting videos or 'how-to guides' of how to clear a blocked sink DIY is not going to rob you from business. People are likely to want to try to sort it out themselves – especially in the present economic climate. If they find your advice on the internet and it is useful to them, you can be certain that they will be thinking of you next time they need help.
 There's nothing better that what comes for free and we all have experienced it. Giving out stuff is a sure way to make people love you. However there is a golden rule to effective giveaways: give something that people will keep. Flyers, we all know, go straight to the bin. Pocket tissues, however, are kept in handbags and glove compartments where they will be handled and looked at many times. Forget about pens and notepads, though. If you want to make a lasting impression, try something new. The rule of thumb in choosing the perfect freebie is: if you've never seen it before and people will keep it, it's a good idea.
 Like our dentist, try and find an idea that will either provoke or make your audience smile (better yet – both). Challenging your target is a great way to make them learn your name and remember it. You know you've succeeded when your promoting efforts go viral - that is, when people start sharing them with their friends, through social media in particular.
Advertising dinosaurs (thanks goodness almost extinct now) used to put big expensive ads in the paper or stick more or less eye-catching billboards on the side of the road. These methods were (still are) incredibly expensive – and we're not even talking about radio or TV ads... Modern technology has opened new marketing avenues, which can be even more beneficial to small businesses than they are to the larger ones.
A website is where you start with and whether you believe it or not, you need one. If you don't, you are automatically perceived by potential customers as being a bit more 'obscure' than the competition who's got a nice cyber-window for their company. But having a website, even one that's well rated by search engines, is just the start. How do you draw attention to it?
This is where guerilla marketing and technology come together to deliver really powerful results. Let's say you launch a campaign that's got everything: it's cheap, it's witty and attracts a lot of attention. How is it ever going to go viral if you don't give people the opportunity to share it with their contacts? People can't share a link on Facebook if there's no link to share. They won't associate that brilliant youtube video with your brand if you don't link with your web page, etc.
Looking at it from a different angle, you will see that people are not likely to share something that sounds too commercial. If your webpage or campaign is aimed at selling only, people may see it, it may even work for them but it won't go any further than the expensive advertisement you've got to pay for to reach them. A better strategy is to back off the sell and amp up the entertainment.
In marketing as in life, relationship is key to happiness. Relying on a community is the best way to create momentum for any campaign. A website or company page of some sort will enable you to create and maintain a relationship with your customers, who will then take care of the advertising for you. The idea is that whatever you do to grab their attention will be interesting enough that they will want to share it with their friends, and so on.
- And they'll like you for it!
Let's say that you decide to offer 'rainy days' discounts (which could really work quite well in Hawkes Bay). Although it's a great idea, it may not ever generate any results if people don't know about it. You can put a sign in your window shop: 'Weatherman forecasts 30% chance of sales tomorrow' and it may very well work for passerby's. The chance of them taking a picture of the sign and sending it to their friends is slim. If they see it on their Facebook page however, the sharing is just one click away...
A final reminder for demanding entrepreneurs: marketing strategies, no matter how innovative, take time to gain traction. Most people look for instant results, but no matter how good the campaign is, it's not going to start working overnight. So keep at it and have fun doing it.
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