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In this series we’re taking a look at the ways you, as a small business,
might use guerilla marketing tactics to work in your favor. In the final part of
this series, we’ll take a look at more specific examples that might be
appropriate for your business. You might want to:
Consider website co-branding. Identifying your professional
and personal network of other businesses is the first part of figuring out who
you might partner with on your website. For example, if you are in the sporting
goods industry and you work continuously with special events firms or equipment
manufacturers, then their websites would be excellent links for your website.
You can identify a group of businesses to link together in a way that would
focus on providing value, not just advertisements. This could be in the form of
suggestions, tips or customer success stories that reflect the value of your
business, industry or field of expertise.
Organize lunch and learns. No matter what kind of business
you have, you offer some type of value that others could benefit from. On top of
that, it’s hard to find a business with employees that don’t love to eat. So
combine the two, and you have a lunch and learn. It’s a simple, effective way to
share your area of expertise with a captive audience.
You will need to
approach this from an educational perspective, and not as a chance to sell
something - save that for follow-up conversations. Your best contact at your
targeted business is the office manager. Many times the office will actually
provide the lunch if you provide the presentation. You can work in some signage
during the event, have take-home packets at hand, and collect business cards at
the end of the session from anyone with further questions. Guarantee a personal
callback or follow-up of information, and hopefully walk away with good leads
and potential business.
Volunteer for dirty jobs. Consider participating in local
meetings, trade groups and community events by doing what no one else wants to
do. Volunteer on committees, and dedicate yourself to digging in, even if you’re
stuck on the clean-up committee. You’ll gain a reputation as being reliable and
dedicated, and you will increase your visibility. Once you get your foot in the
door with the right group of people, you will develop relationships and find
opportunities to work with these professionals in other capacities. This can all
lead to better business for you.
Guerilla marketing techniques are sometimes simple, and they usually just
take some creative time and energy on your part. If done well, these techniques
can help solidify your professional image and lead to bigger things for your
business and yourself.
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