Guerrilla Marketing

by Charles Rubin

Last week's Weekly Guerrilla focused on promoting your online presence with off-line weapons. This week, we'll turn the tables. The Internet reaches around the globe, but in today's mobile society, many of your online correspondents or Web site visitors may also be in your local geographical area. Given the choice, it's always better to meet customers in person than through a computer screen, so do what you can to encourage in-person contacts. Here are some ideas:

• Include your physical address in your e-mail signature. If your mail correspondents know where you're located, they may well stop by when they're in the area.
• Use an establishment date on your online storefront. Customers are leery of Net businesses because they could easily have been established yesterday. If you've been in business a long time, let customers know that. (If you've been on the Net more than a year, that makes you an old-timer there, so mention that, too.)
• Invite calls. A lot of people online don't want phone calls and don't include phone numbers in their e-mail signatures. Don't deny a potential customer the opportnity to talk to you in person. If you're discussing a complex topic in a discussion group or an e-mail message, invite your correspondents to phone you for further conversation about it.
• Suggest informal gatherings at conferences. When you attend a conference or trade show, mention it in discussion group messages and suggest a get-together at the conference. Many of the people following a discussion group may also be attending a related conference, so it's a good place to gather in person.
• Include information about your store when you ship orders. If you have a printed catalog or other information about your physical location, include it with any orders you ship to online customers. It could promote a whole side of your business that online customers probably don't know about.
• Participate in a local BBS. Check your local computer user group or computer dealer for information about local bulletin board systems, and start participating in discussions there. You'll already be connecting with a local audience that may visit you in person, and you'll also have a chance to announce your online storefront or other services to cybernauts who may not be aware of them.

Letting cybernauts know that you have a physical location increases your credibility and makes them more confident about doing business with you.