Unearth your Marketing Creativity

Eric Herskowitz asked:




Top Tips for a Tough Economy When times are tough, often the first place to cut corners is in your marketing budget. But don’t forget, without adequate publicity and lively marketing strategies, your small business won’t attract the support it needs–when it needs it most! As sales dwindle and consumers strive to save their hard-earned pennies, now is the perfect time to reintroduce the concept of guerrilla marketing. Guerrilla marketing was pioneered by Jay Conrad Levinson in a 1983 book titled, you guessed it, Guerrilla Marketing.

In this classic tome, Levinson discusses cheap and even free tactics that any small business can use to drive interest in their products or services. So, what are the main tenants of guerrilla marketing? First and foremost, Levinson stresses creativity over price tag. For instance, rather than pay heavily for conventional TV, radio, or newspaper advertisements, brainstorm new venues that are specific to your product and won’t break the bank. Let’s take a look at a specific example. A small book publisher with a large marketing budget might consider hiring voice actors for a prime time radio spot lauding their newest book. But making a mainstream commercial means paying radio and advertising professionals, and even a prime time spot is no guarantee that they will reach their target audience. In this example, the small book publisher should instead consider approaching a book review editor of a journal or magazine devoted to a similar topic as the new book. The publisher can compose a sincere yet enthusiastic letter that explains to the editor why his readers would benefit from hearing about the new book. The publisher should close the letter by politely asking that the editor review the book in his journal, and should include a complimentary copy of the new book for him to do so. This simple tactic works on many levels. First, by making contact with a book review editor, the publisher has established a new and valuable connection. People really do like to help out where they can, and by acknowledging the editor as a respected “expert” in the field, the publisher has established the basis for a relationship that will help spread the word about current projects, as well as future ones.

Secondly, because the publisher has done his research, he knows that getting his book in the editor’s journal means getting his product in front of his target audience. The publisher is not wasting your resources by advertising to anyone who happens to turn on the radio–he is focused on those with a demonstrated interest in the topic of his book. And finally, the publisher’s pocketbook can rest easy knowing that the cost for reaching this focused audience is that of simply mailing a letter and a book. Rather than throw money at conventional marketing methods, small businesses would do well to take a step back, re-evaluate their needs, and catch up on their guerrilla marketing. With some creativity, enthusiasm, and elbow grease, any business can identify a more focused audience and find clever or unexpected ways to entice them.