It’s not a big secret that consumers all around the world are fed up with pushy, traditional advertisements and commercials. It takes a lot of effort and creativity to engage customers and build loyalty. “If you don’t take care of your customer, your competitor will.” This quote by the famous sales strategist Bob Hooey perfectly sums up today’s demanding audiences, so if you want to be one step ahead of your competitors, you need to offer your customers something fresh, unusual, and compelling. Many companies have decided to employ guerrilla marketing that has been picking up steam lately. One of its many benefits is cost-effectiveness, which makes it suitable for startups and online stores with limited marketing budgets.
What is guerrilla marketing?
To put is in a nutshell, guerilla marketing stands for various low-cost, low-risk, unconventional approaches that strive to surprise and impress audiences and boost their engagement. In order to be effective, guerrilla marketing should meet the following requirements:
- It should be easy to participate in,
- It should be highly social, and
- It should be entertaining.
This kind of marketing tactic holds great potential, as many successful campaigns went viral and garnered lots of attention.
Use stickers and street art
Stickers are affordable and they can help you expand your reach and increase brand visibility. You can give them away during contests, together with other promotional items. Many people tend to put stickers of their favorite brands on their laptops or cars, while companies themselves can promote their business by putting them on bulletin boards or lamp posts. Just make sure that your stickers are well-designed, and use bright and striking colors that can easily stand out and grab your potential customers’ attention. When it comes to graffiti, paint them on the wall of your own or a borrowed building, but make sure to get permission first. Mr. Clean mascot painted on a single impeccably white bar of a dirty crosswalk is an excellent example of graffiti that conveys a powerful, clear message and hits the bull’s eye.
Free’s the word
People love freebies and although it seems that this tactic isn’t affordable, its ROI is pretty high. Free T-shirts, baseball caps, pens, totes, and various other merchandise with your logo printed on them will not only make your prospects feel a certain obligation to purchase something from you, but such items will also circulate around and promote your business. This way, you practically get walking advertisements for (almost) free. According to Baymard Institute, 62% of customers abandon shopping carts due to high shipping costs. Free shipping is another excellent method of encouraging customers to purchase from your online store. Sparesbox, one of Australia’s top online stores for car parts, goes the extra mile and sends a mobile mechanic that comes to a customer’s home and fixes their car on the spot.
Surprise your customers
The factor of surprise is essential in guerrilla marketing. T-mobile used a flash mob to create its effective and memorable commercials, and many other companies and movements followed their lead. Nivea, on the other hand, caused quite a stir with its seagull drone which squirted sunscreen on kids on the beach from the sky. Although this innovative marketing idea wasn’t well received, we all know that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Of course, there’s no need to resort to such drastic or controversial methods, but you can always send your customers a birthday card or gift, and thank them for their loyalty. Such a gesture, no matter how seemingly small it is, will definitely win them over and show them that you care.
Online stores can greatly benefit from this affordable and yet compelling marketing tactic. All it takes is a little imagination and a lot of persistence.
