Guerrilla Marketing, over 90 field-tested tactics to get your
business into the frontlines
By: Jay Conrad Levinson.
46. NEED A GOOD EXCUSE TO MAKE A SALES CALL?
Guerrilla Diana Ratliff consults Chaseʼs Calendar of Events (buy the book by email:
Bookserve@aol.com) to discover all sorts of holidays and “awareness weeks” that apply to
almost any business. She uses the events as reasons to contact customers and prospects.
One prospect was unaware of a holiday for “National Reminiscence Week” and used it to get
local radio coverage. Of course, the grateful prospect became Dianaʼs customer.
47. DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING UNIQUE TO SELL?
When Guerrilla Dennis Buchner of Bucʼs Aqua Farms had trouble selling his minnows because
there were too many on the market, he made a new fish! Dennis bought hybrid minnows
from more than a thousand miles away and then mixed them with others to create his own
fish. Now he has a product that no one else has and everyone has to have his minnows.
48. WHEN THINGS GO WRONG,
IT’S WHAT YOU DO NEXT THAT COUNTS.
Stuff happens, but Guerrilla Arthur Mickel-son knows how to get the sale even when youʼre all
wet. Arthurʼs customer wanted to see a sample before ordering some promotional umbrellas
but when the sample arrived, it was rusty! Arthur rushed over to see the problem. He got the
sale by acknowledging the problem, promising to fix it and keeping his sense of humor.
49. LOOKING FOR WAYS TO STRETCH YOUR AD BUDGET?
Guerrilla Jack Livingston found a way to get free radio time from his outdoor signs! Jack had
already arranged for outdoor ads to promote his antique mall when he heard about a new
oldies format radio station. He offered the station space on his signs in exchange for radio
promotion. The fit is great for the two companies and they are even now working on a radio
show about antiques. Fusion marketing!
McDonaldʼs and Disney do it all the time and you can too, for a lot less money. Itʼs called
fusion marketing and it means joining forces with another company that reaches the same
target market that you do. Guerrilla Jane Thompson found a way to promote her CD store at
local grocers with very little budget.
Jane created a cute coupon resembling a dollar bill and a counter-top box to hold them. Then
she approached local independent grocers and stores in the area and asked them to help by
putting them on their checkout counters. In return, she promised to take out an ad on her
first year anniversary and promote them all with a “thank you” message.
Every grocer she approached agreed to place the coupon box and they began to show up at
the CD store about a week later. One year later she ran that thank you ad and two years later
her business is expanding to a larger space.
50. DID YOU EVER NOTICE HOW MANY BUSINESSES
POST SIGNS ON WHAT THEY WON’T DO?
No change for parking meters. No change for the pay phone. No checks accepted. The list
goes on.
Guerrilla Shawn Bishop suggests that merchants start providing change and other services
and even advertise the fact. Shawn also suggests strategic placement of impulse items and
staffing with friendly and helpful people.
51. ASK NOT AND YE SHALL RECEIVE!
Guerrilla Dave Sunde was hoping for a celebrity endorsement on his companyʼs line of Tshirts
so he searched for someone who could reach his target: Evander Holyfield. He gave the
friend some free samples to pass along to Evander but without any request for endorsement.
The friend passed them along and almost immediately Mr. Holyfield was photographed with
one on. So, Dave sent some more along to Evander, but still without any request for endorse
paid endorsement shirt for another company!
The secret? Well the T-shirts were themed after something Mr. Holyfield cared about, his
religious beliefs, and they were given freely and without obligation. The results and impact to
sales were very strong.
If you have a product people care about, why not send out some samples today? Just remember
not to ask for anything in return!
52 TIMING YOUR PROMOTIONS
If timing is so important to marketing then why are we usually thinking about our timing and
not the customers? Guerrilla David Murphy has some classic ways to tap into your customers
timing with promotion.
Every event in the customerʼs life and relationship has a promotion at Davidʼs company. For
5 years of business they get an extra 5% off for the whole month. A birth brings an offer of
3 for the price of 2. Graduation gets a free upgrade or similar increase. Davidʼs examples are
many but you will have to adapt them to your own business. Davidʼs result from this approach?
Lifetime relationships with customers.
53 WONDERING WHY YOU MIGHT WANT A WEBSITE?
Guerrilla Michael Turco didnʼt need a website to get new customers because his prospects
arenʼt online. Still, Michael found some very compelling reason to have one for his business.
Retention, Service and Referral!
As a computer consultant, Michael helps local business with their computer installations.
Along the way he also gets them wired to the net and introduces them to the online world.
Heʼs created a website for his customers to use as a starting point and filled it with information
and helpful resources.
His new customers start their online journey at his home page. They really appreciate the
extra training and service he provides with the website and it becomes a reason and vehicle
for referral business.
54 TWO WORDS TO INCREASE SALES!?
Guerrilla Brian Morris waits until just before money is exchanged and then, with an expectant,
upward inflection says “Something else?” Keep doing this until the customer says “No.”
You are just helping the customer to think “Was there something else?” Test it. It will work
almost every time.
55 BUY SOMEONE A TASTY BEVERAGE
AND THEY’LL LEND YOU AN EAR.
Buy drinks for a whole group and youʼve got yourself a great Guerrilla tactic!
When Guerrilla Dave Forman noticed that a fundraising event had a no-host bar, he offered to
pick up the tab. Dave took care of the bar service in return for kind mentions in the program
and a chance to put his marketing materials on the bar.
He got five orders from the event and the group asked him back for their next event!
56. REPEAT TRAFFIC
Most of us know that the key to online marketing success is getting people to keep coming
back to your website but itʼs not easy to get repeat traffic. Guerrilla David Murphy figured
that the best way to generate return visits to his site would be to ask his readers for advice
and then use it! David ran an online contest asking for suggestions on ways to improve his
site and offered a nifty coffee mug for any idea they use.
He got a flood of suggestions in the first few hours and many will be getting their prize in
the mail soon. Of course, the handsome coffee mug prizes carry his logo, phone, website and
address information!
57. WORD-OF-MOUTH ADVERTISING
Every business we can think of needs good word-of-mouth advertising but so very few attack
this task head. Mostly we hope for the best. Guerrilla Gary Brody hunts down his wordof-
mouth advertising with an online marketing tactic.
Gary runs an independent record label and uses online music lovers to hype his new releases.
He visits online discussions, newsgroups, and forums, choosing people randomly to receive
copies of new releases for review.
Respondents supply their real world address and get free copies of new music. The music
comes with a request that if they like the music, to please post comments online and/or share
them with friends. If the music is not to their liking, then they are under no obligation.
58. ONLINE MARKETING
Junk email is surely the scourge of the net but an email list can be a powerful weapon for
online marketing. Guerrilla David Scherer uses mass email simply and appropriately with
great results.
David used to use a FAX to get out urgent bulletins but it took loads of time and cost plenty.
He switched to email and quickly built a list to replace his faxes. The reason that it worked
so well is that everyone on the list wanted the information and elected to be on the list and
David never misused his subscribers. Now they get the word out to hundreds in minutes, for
pennies!
Everyone knows that follow-up is essential to marketing and selling but the time and expense
usually get in the way of our best intentions.
Guerrilla Nancy Prince has a way to follow-up online that takes very little time or money. She
sends a note and a “virtual” gift after meeting someone new. Nancy sends different gifts to
different people; a virtual Porsche to a car dealer, a virtual bouquet to women, or a virtual
bottle of wine to a man. Along with each gift she sends a personal note.
Holidays, anniversaries, and other special events can all be acknowledged with a virtual gift
and everyone seems to enjoy them. Itʼs the thought (and very little more) that counts in a
virtual world.
59. NEED REFERENCES?
If your business requires a little trust from your customers then you need great references!
Guerrilla Ronald Smith develops new references with every new job using a customer satisfaction
survey.
Ronaldʼs company sells and installs a skylight product for home remodeling. He knows that
whenever people start work on their homes they are afraid of what might go wrong, so he
lets his current customers put those fears to rest.
They send out a customer satisfaction survey after they finish a job and ask for permission to
use comments in their marketing. They also offer a free dinner to anyone who refers a new
customer to the company.
Nearly 70% of the surveys are returned and about 90% of those agree to use of their comments
in marketing efforts.
60. WEB PUBLICITY
Marketing online can be like winking at people in the dark—youʼll never catch their attention
unless you turn the lights on.
Guerrilla Wendy McClelland turned the lights on for her website publicity by putting URLs (a
web address) on everything that left her office. T-shirts, fax cover sheets, stationery, press
releases, and even her car were plastered with the website address.
Wendy logged over 4,000 registrations on her web guest book in the first 2 months and got a
lot of local press coverage.
Guerrilla Diana Ratliff consults Chaseʼs Calendar of Events (buy the book by email:
Bookserve@aol.com) to discover all sorts of holidays and “awareness weeks” that apply to
almost any business. She uses the events as reasons to contact customers and prospects.
One prospect was unaware of a holiday for “National Reminiscence Week” and used it to get
local radio coverage. Of course, the grateful prospect became Dianaʼs customer.
47. DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING UNIQUE TO SELL?
When Guerrilla Dennis Buchner of Bucʼs Aqua Farms had trouble selling his minnows because
there were too many on the market, he made a new fish! Dennis bought hybrid minnows
from more than a thousand miles away and then mixed them with others to create his own
fish. Now he has a product that no one else has and everyone has to have his minnows.
48. WHEN THINGS GO WRONG,
IT’S WHAT YOU DO NEXT THAT COUNTS.
Stuff happens, but Guerrilla Arthur Mickel-son knows how to get the sale even when youʼre all
wet. Arthurʼs customer wanted to see a sample before ordering some promotional umbrellas
but when the sample arrived, it was rusty! Arthur rushed over to see the problem. He got the
sale by acknowledging the problem, promising to fix it and keeping his sense of humor.
49. LOOKING FOR WAYS TO STRETCH YOUR AD BUDGET?
Guerrilla Jack Livingston found a way to get free radio time from his outdoor signs! Jack had
already arranged for outdoor ads to promote his antique mall when he heard about a new
oldies format radio station. He offered the station space on his signs in exchange for radio
promotion. The fit is great for the two companies and they are even now working on a radio
show about antiques. Fusion marketing!
McDonaldʼs and Disney do it all the time and you can too, for a lot less money. Itʼs called
fusion marketing and it means joining forces with another company that reaches the same
target market that you do. Guerrilla Jane Thompson found a way to promote her CD store at
local grocers with very little budget.
Jane created a cute coupon resembling a dollar bill and a counter-top box to hold them. Then
she approached local independent grocers and stores in the area and asked them to help by
putting them on their checkout counters. In return, she promised to take out an ad on her
first year anniversary and promote them all with a “thank you” message.
Every grocer she approached agreed to place the coupon box and they began to show up at
the CD store about a week later. One year later she ran that thank you ad and two years later
her business is expanding to a larger space.
50. DID YOU EVER NOTICE HOW MANY BUSINESSES
POST SIGNS ON WHAT THEY WON’T DO?
No change for parking meters. No change for the pay phone. No checks accepted. The list
goes on.
Guerrilla Shawn Bishop suggests that merchants start providing change and other services
and even advertise the fact. Shawn also suggests strategic placement of impulse items and
staffing with friendly and helpful people.
51. ASK NOT AND YE SHALL RECEIVE!
Guerrilla Dave Sunde was hoping for a celebrity endorsement on his companyʼs line of Tshirts
so he searched for someone who could reach his target: Evander Holyfield. He gave the
friend some free samples to pass along to Evander but without any request for endorsement.
The friend passed them along and almost immediately Mr. Holyfield was photographed with
one on. So, Dave sent some more along to Evander, but still without any request for endorse
paid endorsement shirt for another company!
The secret? Well the T-shirts were themed after something Mr. Holyfield cared about, his
religious beliefs, and they were given freely and without obligation. The results and impact to
sales were very strong.
If you have a product people care about, why not send out some samples today? Just remember
not to ask for anything in return!
52 TIMING YOUR PROMOTIONS
If timing is so important to marketing then why are we usually thinking about our timing and
not the customers? Guerrilla David Murphy has some classic ways to tap into your customers
timing with promotion.
Every event in the customerʼs life and relationship has a promotion at Davidʼs company. For
5 years of business they get an extra 5% off for the whole month. A birth brings an offer of
3 for the price of 2. Graduation gets a free upgrade or similar increase. Davidʼs examples are
many but you will have to adapt them to your own business. Davidʼs result from this approach?
Lifetime relationships with customers.
53 WONDERING WHY YOU MIGHT WANT A WEBSITE?
Guerrilla Michael Turco didnʼt need a website to get new customers because his prospects
arenʼt online. Still, Michael found some very compelling reason to have one for his business.
Retention, Service and Referral!
As a computer consultant, Michael helps local business with their computer installations.
Along the way he also gets them wired to the net and introduces them to the online world.
Heʼs created a website for his customers to use as a starting point and filled it with information
and helpful resources.
His new customers start their online journey at his home page. They really appreciate the
extra training and service he provides with the website and it becomes a reason and vehicle
for referral business.
54 TWO WORDS TO INCREASE SALES!?
Guerrilla Brian Morris waits until just before money is exchanged and then, with an expectant,
upward inflection says “Something else?” Keep doing this until the customer says “No.”
You are just helping the customer to think “Was there something else?” Test it. It will work
almost every time.
55 BUY SOMEONE A TASTY BEVERAGE
AND THEY’LL LEND YOU AN EAR.
Buy drinks for a whole group and youʼve got yourself a great Guerrilla tactic!
When Guerrilla Dave Forman noticed that a fundraising event had a no-host bar, he offered to
pick up the tab. Dave took care of the bar service in return for kind mentions in the program
and a chance to put his marketing materials on the bar.
He got five orders from the event and the group asked him back for their next event!
56. REPEAT TRAFFIC
Most of us know that the key to online marketing success is getting people to keep coming
back to your website but itʼs not easy to get repeat traffic. Guerrilla David Murphy figured
that the best way to generate return visits to his site would be to ask his readers for advice
and then use it! David ran an online contest asking for suggestions on ways to improve his
site and offered a nifty coffee mug for any idea they use.
He got a flood of suggestions in the first few hours and many will be getting their prize in
the mail soon. Of course, the handsome coffee mug prizes carry his logo, phone, website and
address information!
57. WORD-OF-MOUTH ADVERTISING
Every business we can think of needs good word-of-mouth advertising but so very few attack
this task head. Mostly we hope for the best. Guerrilla Gary Brody hunts down his wordof-
mouth advertising with an online marketing tactic.
Gary runs an independent record label and uses online music lovers to hype his new releases.
He visits online discussions, newsgroups, and forums, choosing people randomly to receive
copies of new releases for review.
Respondents supply their real world address and get free copies of new music. The music
comes with a request that if they like the music, to please post comments online and/or share
them with friends. If the music is not to their liking, then they are under no obligation.
58. ONLINE MARKETING
Junk email is surely the scourge of the net but an email list can be a powerful weapon for
online marketing. Guerrilla David Scherer uses mass email simply and appropriately with
great results.
David used to use a FAX to get out urgent bulletins but it took loads of time and cost plenty.
He switched to email and quickly built a list to replace his faxes. The reason that it worked
so well is that everyone on the list wanted the information and elected to be on the list and
David never misused his subscribers. Now they get the word out to hundreds in minutes, for
pennies!
Everyone knows that follow-up is essential to marketing and selling but the time and expense
usually get in the way of our best intentions.
Guerrilla Nancy Prince has a way to follow-up online that takes very little time or money. She
sends a note and a “virtual” gift after meeting someone new. Nancy sends different gifts to
different people; a virtual Porsche to a car dealer, a virtual bouquet to women, or a virtual
bottle of wine to a man. Along with each gift she sends a personal note.
Holidays, anniversaries, and other special events can all be acknowledged with a virtual gift
and everyone seems to enjoy them. Itʼs the thought (and very little more) that counts in a
virtual world.
59. NEED REFERENCES?
If your business requires a little trust from your customers then you need great references!
Guerrilla Ronald Smith develops new references with every new job using a customer satisfaction
survey.
Ronaldʼs company sells and installs a skylight product for home remodeling. He knows that
whenever people start work on their homes they are afraid of what might go wrong, so he
lets his current customers put those fears to rest.
They send out a customer satisfaction survey after they finish a job and ask for permission to
use comments in their marketing. They also offer a free dinner to anyone who refers a new
customer to the company.
Nearly 70% of the surveys are returned and about 90% of those agree to use of their comments
in marketing efforts.
60. WEB PUBLICITY
Marketing online can be like winking at people in the dark—youʼll never catch their attention
unless you turn the lights on.
Guerrilla Wendy McClelland turned the lights on for her website publicity by putting URLs (a
web address) on everything that left her office. T-shirts, fax cover sheets, stationery, press
releases, and even her car were plastered with the website address.
Wendy logged over 4,000 registrations on her web guest book in the first 2 months and got a
lot of local press coverage.
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