subject: Guerilla Marketing: How To Lead The Stampede! [print this page] Guerilla marketing is the buzz for e-commerceGuerilla marketing is the buzz for e-commerce. The term is tossed about with abandon and is not well defined in usage. As the name implies, its effect is powerful. You can't go to your desktop dictionary to obtain a clear definition. It is too new for that. You must refer to business sources. What guerilla marketing means is an unconventional promotion technique that builds with continuous application of time, energy and creativity. The whole concept is the antithesis of traditional paid ad campaigns.
Quite frequently, the approach is one-on-one and interactive. Contacts are made with targets in unexpected places. The concept is to build the buzz about what you are offering as quickly as possible so that targets of interest will clamor for more information. Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term in his reputable source book entitled Guerilla Marketing. Mr. Levinson is well respected for this approach and it is the basis of evolving marketing techniques now in play in e-commerce.
Levinson advises giving away free products , free 'tastings' of beneficial services and anything that will get positive attention. Levinson's ideas are applied by many of the top online coaches today. For example, relational marketing is Levinson-derived. The focus is creating unique content and building a personal connection with the targeted consumer. This means conversing or chatting if engaged on the web.
This type of approach is very user friendly. Anyone can do it. In fact, large corporations are only recently taking note of how powerful it is and joining the game a bit late considering how their advertising programs are nothing new. The playing field is becoming level--the newcomer can now compete with big business.
The smaller enterprise develops a more personal relationship with their audience more than than corporate big wigs. This status can develop into a competitive advantage.
Delivering quality services or goods is the glue that will make the relationship "stick" or sustain. Poor follow through or subpar products will break the connection. That would be a shame given the efforts extended to build that connection in the first place.
Levinson explains that approach as " In order to sell a product or service, a company must establish a relationship with the customer. It must build trust and support. It must understand the customer's needs...and (sic) deliver the promised benefits." Performance statistics are part of the process and must be regularly reviewed by every business. While the results are based upon building the psychological connections, the measurable factor is profitability.
Targeting or 'niching' your receptive audience is one of Levinson's most stressed point. It is difficult to build lasting connections when your net is cast too far and too wide. Understand that your best referral sources are those with whom you are already connected. Make sure that your contact is interested in learning about what you offer before your proceed. Otherwise you will be wasting your time and possibly breaking an otherwise good connection that just may not have yet been "ripe" for your promotion. It is too easy to be clicked away. Keep motivation and interest high.
'Viral marketing' refers to the application of these basic premises on the web. These skills are part of the e-business owner's daily routine. It can be free! For the creative e-business owner, guerilla marketing can be constantly reinvented and re-applied. That is half the fun.
Human ingenuity makes this can help you stay on board and surf the internet wave all the way to the shore!
