Benefits of Using Guerrilla Marketing for Small Businesses

In the world of marketing, there are dozens of approaches to promoting products, advertising services, and enhancing brand awareness. During my undergrad senior project, I worked with a group of other marketing majors to create a marketing campaign to transform a small chain of mock coffee shops. A big part of our strategy was guerrilla marketing. Here are some great reasons why guerrilla marketing tactics will work for your small business.

What is Guerrilla Marketing?

Guerrilla Marketing is a modern alternative to traditional marketing practices. An easy way to describe guerrilla marketing is to compare it to the method of warfare by the same name. In a war zone, guerrilla tactics are typically used by the underdog who has limited resources and relies on aggressive unconventional attacks and ambushes. Similar to guerrilla warfare, the focus for guerrilla marketing is to use unconventional approaches to "ambush" consumers in unconventional situations.

Increase Brand Awareness and Consumer Recall

The reason that guerrilla marketing is so effective is that it bombards consumers with the company's message while they are vulnerable and least expect it. The goal is to be super creative and create an interaction that the customer will not forget. For example, a hair salon might hire college students to dye their hair bright colors and hand out flyers at a local shopping mall. Think about it. Would you forget the name of a hair salon after being handed a flyer by a guy with a purple mohawk?

Tip - Having trouble thinking of good campaign ideas? Hire some marketing majors at your local college to help you come up with some ideas.

Interaction with Consumers

Guerrilla marketing tactics primarily focus on "hitting the streets" to bring the brand and product to the customer. This approach allows companies to work directly with consumers without hiding behind a television screen or other medium. This interaction makes the company seem more personal and allows company representative the opportunity to get direct feedback on how customers feel about the products and services being offered.

Low Cost

Traditional marketing approaches can be very costly. Each year, companies spend billions of dollars on commercials, print ads, internet campaigns, billboards, and radio broadcasts. For small businesses, money is a precious resource. A huge benefit to guerrilla marketing is that it has a low cost. Typically, you will only need to pay for the workers who run the campaign and basic marketing materials such as flyers. This gives small businesses to opportunity to easily reach thousands of customers for a few hundred dollars.

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