Guerrilla Marketing for Small Businesses

When starting a business, aside from focusing on product development, you must define who would want to purchase it. Identifying the target market is critical for business growth.

The next step is bringing your offer in front of the right audience. One such method is guerilla marketing, and here’s why and how small businesses employ this for greater success.

What Is Guerrilla Marketing?

Guerrilla marketing presents a collection of out-of-the-box marketing tactics that companies use to draw prospects’ attention in a creative and cost-effective manner. In the words of the term’s creator, Jay Conrad Levinson, “The soul and essence of guerrilla marketing [is] achieving conventional goals […] with unconventional methods.”

Guerrilla marketing is ideal for early-stage small businesses working on a limited budget or big brands that want to experiment with different approaches. As Levinson says, brands are required to ”invest energy instead of money.” to bring these ideas into reality.

Make the Most Out of Social Media

Given the time people spend on social media, building an online presence is of the utmost importance for increasing brand awareness, growing a customer base, and driving business growth.

The first step is establishing what platforms your target audience is mostly active on and the type of content it consumes. Whether you create photos, videos or share memes, you must ensure the content is aligned with the message you want to spread and resonates with your ICP (ideal customer profile).

Consider Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has undergone many changes in recent years. What once was an indicator of an influencer worth partnering with — a huge following, it’s not as relevant now. We see the rise of so-called nano-influencers with less than 10,000 followers but who have been recognized as subject-matter experts, enabling them to gain their followers’ trust.

An influencer’s credibility and experience in creating engaging content can help you reach a broader audience. The only thing to keep in mind when searching for a partner is follower structure—you want to work with those whose audience matches your target market.

Leverage User-Generated Content

Word-of-mouth remains one of the most effective marketing tools. The advances in technology and the internet have brought this tactic into the digital space. Social media has made each of us content creators, which is good news for small businesses seeking brand ambassadors.

However, to turn customers into brand advocates, you must create an exceptional experience they want to share with their community.

Aside from the high-quality service or products, offering different incentives could be a significant growth driver. For instance, giveaways have proven to be effective in encouraging customers to engage in brand promotion.

Finally, remember to ask permission from customers to use their content on your official channels, like posting them on your social media accounts or using them as testimonials on your website. Content repurposing, in general, is a great way to achieve more with one piece of content.

Revive a Tried-and-True Tactic

An account on LinkedIn is the only thing you need to grow your network. But is it? People crave in-person interaction in the post-pandemic world, so it is no surprise that the number of live events is on the rise.

You would want to be well-prepared for such an occasion, not to mention creative. Handing out your business cards to prospective partners is a simple and fairly inexpensive way of sharing information about your business.

Although many think business cards are part of the past, they are still highly valued among specific demographics, such as seasoned professionals, as they exude professionalism and show your willingness to meet different preferences.

Experiment with Street Art

Another unconventional and affordable marketing tactic involves partnering with street artists who can create murals or write graffiti that conveys your brand message. However, such an approach requires additional research.

So, prior to engaging in such an endeavour, see what permits you need to get, as the last thing you need when working on a budget is paying fines—not to mention the damage such thoughtlessness could do to your reputation.

Build Bonds With Customers With Experiential Marketing

More and more customers say they don’t want to work with/purchase from faceless organizations. Instead, they want to get to know the people behind the business and see them as active community members.

Experiential marketing allows you to build relationships with customers through initiatives that ask for their participation. For instance, if you run a dance school, you can organize a public class where attendees can learn a short choreography and hear more about your programs.

You can also partner with non-profit organizations and participate in fundraising events or do some volunteering. It’s a great way of showing appreciation and giving back to the community that supports you.

Final Piece of Advice

Evaluate the outcomes. Rely on data, analyze social media metrics, track website traffic, and ask for customer feedback. Remember, insights enable you to make changes where and when necessary and allow for setting yourself up for long-term success.