Chapter 3 of Guerrilla Marketing reveals the 16 monumental secrets of guerrilla marketing. Touted as the massive advantage that small companies can gain in hopes of becoming large companies, these are the principles that guerrilla marketers should live by. Levinson even claims that by simply knowing and applying these secrets, you are 90% of the way towards achieving success with your marketing.
The Secrets:
1. You must have commitment to your marketing program.
2. Think of that program as an investment.
3. See to it that your program is consistent.
4. Make your prospects confident in your firm.
5. You must be patient in order to keep a commitment.
6. You must see that marketing is an assortment of weapons.
7. You must know that profits come subsequent to the sale.
8. You must aim to run your firm in a way that makes it convenient for your customers.
9. Put an element of amazement in your marketing.
10. Use measurement to judge the effectiveness of your weapons.
11. Prove your involvement with customers and prospects by your regular follow-up with them.
12. Learn to become dependent on other businesses and they on you.
13. You must be skilled with the armament of guerrillas, which means technology.
14. Use marketing to gain consent from prospects, and then broaden that consent so that it leads to the sale.
15. Sell the content of your offering rather than the style; sell the steak and the sizzle, because people are too sophisticated to merely buy that sizzle.
16. After you have a full-fledged marketing program, work to augment it rather than rest on your laurels.
While all of these concepts are the key to successful marketing, there were a few concepts that really stood out to me. First, the importance of commitment and patience. Successful marketing takes time. Levinson lists several examples of how important this really is. Those who are patient in seeing the fruits of their marketing labors pay off, see big payoffs. Those who do not possess the ability to be patient may prematurely pull the plug on what could have been a successful campaign. It is crucial to create a campaign that is creative and well thought out. Take the time to create a thoughtful and impactful plan. Once you have that, and believe in it, you'll be better positioned to stick to it and fully commit even when there are not immediate financial gains.
Another concept that resonated with me is that profits come subsequent to the sale. Levinson points out that it is six times more costly to sell to new customers than to existing customers. Maybe your ad convinces someone to buy your product but that's not going to lead you to the big profits. Building and retaining client relationships is the key. Be good to your customers, follow up with them, offer special discounts, and treat them as the valued customer they are. After all, returning customers can become loyal customers, and loyal customers will continue to supply you with profits and spread your reputation to their family and friends through highly valued personal referrals.
Lastly, the combination of consistency and confidence. Levinson gives a great example of a previous client that was not having success because she was running her ads twice per week on the highest ranked TV network. This didn't provide consistency for her campaign. Instead, her success was found by holding a small section of the Sunday paper to display her ad. The ad was seen every Sunday and provided her consistent visibility. The result was a successful campaign. The ad was seen by people using the Sunday paper every single week; same place, same time. Not only did it give more frequent presentation to her potential clients, it gave them the impression that the business was consistent and reliable; providing her viewers with confidence that her company would be there, week after week. By changing from twice per week on the highest rated network to every week in a small newspaper, the campaign became hugely successful. Truly an excellent demonstration that unless you're able to use an advertising medium effectively and consistently, its better to not use it at all!
Until next time,
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