Guerrilla Marketing

The term Guerilla marketing is easily traced to guerilla warfare which utilizes unusual tactics to achieve a goal in a competitive and callous environment. The term, “Guerilla marketing” was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson (1983) in his book, “Guerilla Marketing”,. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary and marketing textbooks.

The business environment is highly competition and in recent times marketers have evolved several approaches and strategies to stay above board. Guerilla marketing is one of such strategies. The aim of guerrilla marketing is to reach more people with a limited budget and a more effective message. This unit introduces you to the concept of Guerilla marketing, some of the key elements of guerilla marketing, the principles of guerilla marketing, the risks involved and the associated marketing trends.

Levinson (1983)
identified the following principles as the foundation of guerilla marketing and
these are:

i.                 
The first principle is that guerilla marketing
is specifically geared for the small business and entrepreneur- who need to
make an impression in the industry as there are already existing players in the
industry.

ii.               
It should be based on human psychology rather
than experience, judgment and guess work

iii.             
The primary statistic to measure your business
is the amount of profit, not sales

iv.             
The marketer should also concentrate on how many
new relationships are made each month

v.               
Create standard of excellence with an acute
focus instead of trying to diversify by offering too many diverse products and
services.

vi.             
Instead of concentrating on getting new
customers, aim for more referrals, more transactions with existing customers
and larger transactions

vii.     
Use current technology as a tool to build your
business

viii.     
Messages are aimed at individuals or small groups, the smaller the

better.

Risk involved in Guerilla Marketing

i.         There
is the risk of misrepresentation of the brand image intended to

be
promoted as word of mouth does not always present the brand image decided.

In
many situations, Guerilla marketing is not very definitive if it tries to
promote brand image thoroughly and creates false rumours about the brand.

iii. There are also times that the
devices used might be misunderstood, for example, in a particular case of
guerilla marketing around Boston, USA, several magnetic boxes used to promote
animated series of teen Aqua Hunger Force were mistaken for possible explosives
and this led to the closure of bridges, several subway station as the police
examined, removed and destroyed the devices.

Associated Marketing Trends

The
term Guerilla Marketing is now often used more loosely as a description for
non-traditional media such as :

1.     
Live-in Marketing- This involves real life
product placement

2.     
Undercover Marketing- This involves subtle
product placement

3.     
Experiential
Marketing- This occurs when a customer meets with a product

and uses it. They play a vital role
while making the purchase decision. They provide greater interaction between
firm and consumer

4.     
Tissue-pack Marketing- This involves hand to
hand marketing.

5.     
Reverse Graffiti:  This refers to clean pavement
adverts

6.     
Undercover Marketing: This involves subtle
product placement

7.     
Viral Marketing: This is done through social
networks

8.     
Grassroots Marketing:  This involves tapping into
the collective efforts of brand enthusiasts

9.     
Buzz Marketing:  This is word of mouth marketing 

Conclusion

Guerilla Marketing is an inexpensive but non conventional way of promoting goods and services. It is highly visible, spontaneous and highly successful for attracting a lot of attention. It is highly recommended for small businesses or new entrants into any industry as a way getting attention from people or customers.