| Tip for February 1, 2005 |
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Be picky with vendors: Don't always go with the lowest quote. Get to know a printer, designer, or agency that understands your needs and will compete for your long-term business. For example, ask them to price the printing of your newsletter on a monthly-for-a-year basis.
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| Tip for February 2, 2005 |
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Two Inexpensive Ways to Back Up Presentation Visuals
Before you grab your laptop and head for the airport, convert your PowerPoint presentation into an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. Save it with a short filename, and upload it to your web site. This ensures a back-up copy of your presentation will be available, in the unlikely event your laptop is stolen or crashes. If something goes wrong with your laptop, simply use your host's web browser to download the PDF copy of your presentation from your web site. You can then run your presentation in Acrobat's Full Screen mode (which hides the menus). Use the arrow keys to navigate from page to page. If you don't want to go to the trouble of uploading your web site, make a CD copy of the Acrobat PDF version of your presentation. The advantage of a PDF version is that there is no chance that the fonts you created your presentation in won't be available on your computer. |
| Tip for February 3, 2005 |
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Encourage E-Mail Registrations by Showcasing Your Newsletter Online
Guerrillas know that seeing is believing. They don't make the mistake of expecting visitors to their web site to sign up for their e-mail newsletter sight unseen. (It takes more than a registration form to motivate a web site visitor to share their e-mail address!) Guerrilla Will Reed displays a Flash Paper version of his two newsletters on his web sites, www.b-smart.net/news.cfm and www.gmarketing-genius.com/news.cfm. Using FlashPaper, visitors can read and/or print the current issue of his newsletters, which provide convincing arguments to sign up to receive his two One-Page Newsletters each month. |
| Tip for February 4, 2005 |
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Guerrillas Start with a Plan
Guerrilla Marketing is based on message, audience, and competition. Rather than talk about what interests them, Guerrillas analyze their market's information needs and develop content that satisfies those needs. Then, they "package" it using colors, layouts, and typefaces that will simultaneously appeal to their market while setting their businesses apart from the competition. Design, like copy, is always intentional, rather than haphazard or subjective. |
| Tip for February 5, 2005 |
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Use Familiarity to Introduce New Ideas
Guerrilla Marketers know that one marketing contact is unlikely to result in a sale. Sales result from a consistent series of contacts. These build up the comfort and familiarity necessary to make a sale. For example, yesterday I purchased a copy of Puccinni's Madama Butterfly. There's no news in that, except for the fact that I've never before purchased an opera recording. Yet, every Saturday afternoon, after "Car Talk" and Michael Feldman's "What Do You Know" on the local NPR radio station, I find myself leaving the dial where it is as they broadcast the Saturday afternoon opera live from Lincoln Center. After becoming exposed to opera over the course of several pleasant Saturdays, I realized I was missing out on something--and decided to get involved. The lesson? What can you do to make it easy for your prospects to build up a level of comfort and familiarity with you? |
| Tip for February 6, 2005 |
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Guerrilla Marketers Make Reading Easy
Guerrilla Marketers understand that their message must compete with the 3,000+ other marketing messages that their prospects encounter every day. These prospects have come up with sophisticated "filtering" systems that protects them from the resulting information overload. One of the easiest ways to break through these protective barriers is to make your marketing message as easy to read as possible. Ways to do this include choosing appropriate typefaces and type sizes, controlling line spacing, and properly hyphenating line endings. Guerrillas also add frequent subheads within the body copy of their message to break it into bite-sized chunks. At a glance, prospects make read/don't read decisions. Guerrillas use design to project a "read me" image. |
| Tip for February 7, 2005 |
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Begin Promoting Your Next E-book Now!
Don't make the mistake of delaying promoting your e-book, subscription newsletter, or special report until you have dotted the last "i" and crossed the last "t." Start building for its success right now. As long as you're convinced your project will appear on time, begin to promote it by offering a table of contents and free sample chapter. Include a coupon good for Prepublication Savings. Why waste valuable sales opportunities? If you miss today's sales, you may never get another chance to sell the prospect. They may lose interest in your topic or buy from a competitor. Strike while the iron is hot, as long as you make it clear that you are trading a discounted price for your book in exchange for your buyer's patience. Just be certain that you can deliver it on publication day--and, perhaps--surprise them with a bonus! |
| Tip for February 8, 2005 |
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Guerrilla Marketers Often Appear Bigger than they Actually Are
Guerrilla Marketers are masters of disguise. They know how to project a large, professional image on a budget. One of the ways they do this is to place advertisements in the regional editions of national magazines. Prospects will view their businesses differently when their ads appear next to those of regional banks, resorts, or airlines. These ads can do double-duty when framed and hung as posters on the wall or reprints are handed out along with proposals or at the point of sale. Years after the ads have run, the reprints can still be used to impressed prospects. |
| Tip for February 9, 2005 |
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Eliminating Client Folder Clutter
Even if you divide your "Client" folders into A-M and N-Z, they are likely to get rapidly filled. The solution I have adapted is to add two additional subfolders to the A-M and N-Z folders. I title one subfolder: "Inactive." I title the other: "Proposals." Whenever I complete a project for a client, I remove their entire folder from the A-M or N-Z folder and place it in the "Inactive" folder. When another project comes along, I remove it from the Inactive folder. By eliminating inactive clients, I can quickly go directly to my current work for each client. And, likewise, I can easily locate outstanding proposals to new clients. |
| Tip for February 10, 2005 |
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Auctions add interest to web sites
In addition to the profits that they generate, auctions can add interest to email newsletters and web sites. There's a bit of a voyeur in everyone; people are always interested in what others who share their interests are doing. The PHoto-Eye bookstore and gallery, www.photoeye.com, in Santa Fe, NM, takes full advantage of this universal drive to find out "what's up?" Their weekly e-mail newsletter lists a variety of rare books and prints that are being auctioned. Even if you're not particularly in the market to buy, the "surprise" value of seeing what's being auctioned provides a strong motivation to open the e-mail newsletterr each week. |
| Tip for February 11, 2005 |
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Guerrillas Travel in Packs
Guerrilla Marketers know that partnership and teamwork, rather than splendid isolation, helps them thrive. Accordingly, Guerrillas engage in a process called fusion marketing, which is based on seeking out marketing partners who serve the same types of customers as they do. Fusion marketing can reduce marketing expenses while making it possible to communicate with huge new categories of customers. A restaurant in a New England ski area, for example, can join with a local performing arts group, and hotel, a hiking and horseback riding facility, and a photography school to offer a special summer event calendar and sponsor a "four season" web site describing the area's off-season activities. By joining together, they can promote themselves as a destination for spring, summer, and fall getaways. |
| Tip for February 12, 2005 |
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The Power of a Smile
Guerrilla Marketers don't have to be small. In many ways, SouthWest Airlines is an example of a highly successful, Guerrilla Marketing firm. Two weeks ago, I flew them from Manchester, NH, to Las Vegas, NV. My wife and I had to pick up new boarding passes at Kansas City. As the ticket agent was handing us our boarding passes, she distinctly mentioned my wife's first name and my first name as she handed us our boarding passes and told us to "have a nice flight." And she acted like she meant it. Wow! What a nice, personal touch! Her small gesture did more to build brand loyalty than all of the full page ads in USA Today put together. |
| Tip for February 13, 2005 |
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What Do You Know?
Guerrilla Roger C. Parker talks about education-based marketing. Although this concept isn't new, it is one that has been overshadowed by the old adage "It's not what you know, but who you know." For many years, I have worked with people, businesses, and organizations, helping them to understand that the key to a successful Marketing Plan really is "what" they know and how they communicate their knowledge to customers and prospects. For example, Magnolia Hi Fi, a Seattle-based consumer electronics company, spent many years "educating" their customers. This worked so well that they built up a huge repeat customer base. The reward? Two years ago, Best Buy purchased them for $87 Million Dollars! People want to be educated. They thrive on information. Yes, there will always be "shoppers" that are looking for the best price, but will those people be long-term, repeat customers? Possibly, but as a rule they are one-time buyers, looking for a deal. So, tell your clients what they need to know. Tell them how to use the information you have provided them with. Educate them, and they will turn to you as the "Expert" and a trusted resource for their needs. Educate them…and they will come to you! |
| Tip for February 14, 2005 |
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Machine readable forms do not necessarily see what our eyes see. Many registration forms on the Internet accept only ASCII characters. There is no problem if you enter the text directly into the form, but if you cut and paste from Word or other programs, while it may look fine in the form, when you submit it the form will be unable to read any 'Smart' Quotes, dashes, or other specially formatted characters. 'Smart' quotes are the tapered curved quotation marks that look much better than straight Shift-7 hashes, but carry a hidden danger. You may not even see it, but the machine will read it as random symbol marks or even as Chinese characters! You risk having your address, tag line, or company name garbled without even knowing it! Write in Word by all means, but copy it into a text editor first. Don't be outsmarted by 'Smart' Quotes.
William Reed Guerrilla Marketing Master Trainer www.gmarketing-genius.com |
| Tip for February 15, 2005 |
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Do everything in your power to employ marketing techniques and tactics that are honest beyond reproach.
There is widespread distrust of marketing. This is partly because the line between exaggeration and dishonesty is easily crossed. Once crossed, it is nearly impossible to regain your market's respect. Your market's "BS Detector" is constantly on the lookout for unbelievable or unprovable statements. Marketing that is 99 percent honest and 1 percent dishonest will have the dishonestly exposed and held up to the spotlight. As a result, always bend over backward to be believed. Techniques include admitting past failure and acknowledging present limitations. A willingness to share bad, as well as good, news adds credibility to your message. Better yet, prove-rather than claim--your expertise by distributing newsletters and presenting seminars. Let your market experience your expertise firsthand. And replace adjectives with specifics. Prospects discount adjectives and claims, but respect specific quantities, comparisons, and use names, dates, and places to document your claims. |
| Tip for February 16, 2005 |
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Repeating questions from the podium
What separates a Guerrilla from a non-Guerrilla is often the simple fact that Guerrillas profit from tips and techniques that may not be new, but are—nevertheless—extremely important. For example, when delivering a presentation or a speech, always repeat questions from the audience. Remember that you, looking directly at the questioner, are in a better position to hear what they see as well as “read their lips” as they speak. Those in the audience do not share this advantage. They are often behind, or to one side, of the individual asking a question. As a result, the questioner is not speaking directly to them and they cannot try to “read” the speaker’s lips. Taking the time to repeat the questions not only buys you time to formulate a response, it ensures that everyone in the audience can understand the question. In addition, you can often restate the question in a more concise and easily-understood format. |
| Tip for February 17, 2005 |
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Marketing is more effective if it is looked upon as selltime rather than showtime.
Guerrilla Marketers substitute “selltime” for the siren “showtime.” Showtime—the use of humor, visual pyrotechnics, and outrageous stunts—can be very seductive. However, attempts to entertain often result in expensive advertising which obscures the marketing message that the entertainment is supposed to support. As a result, the humor is remembered, but the advertiser’s name and message are forgotten. Guerillas realize that the number one purpose of marketing is to generate profits. They recognize that profits result from compelling and engaging headlines that attract prospects and promise benefits that only the advertiser can deliver. A headline that asks: “Are you suffering from one of these problems?” Or “Do you want to (increase sales, reduce turnover, etc” may not be as creative as a celebrity pratfall, but is far more likely to result in your prospect’s reading the message that follows. Guerrilla Marketers get their entertainment from reading positive profit and loss statements, not from laughing at their own advertisements. |
| Tip for February 18, 2005 |
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Firms that specialize generally offer superior customer treatment than commodity merchants. Specialization permits more in-depth product knowledge and more informed buying opportunities.
But, specialization--by itself--is not enough. Specialization must be accompanied by superior customer service at every point of contact. One of my favorite specialty merchants is a bookstore that specializes in photographic books. Each Friday, they send a wonderful HTML e-mail of the latest books to arrive, and they publish a beautifully produced catalog which is sent free to their customers. The problem? They rely so much on technology that they don't have an "questions or comments" e-mail address on their otherwise excellent web site. And, they do not respond to mail sent to their "webmaster" e-mail address. Customers are invited to download their catalog from their web site, but whenever I try to do it, I get a "corrupted file" notification. I have called this to their attention several times, but my e-mails have gone unacknowledged. Ignoring bad news from loyal customers is a serious breach of Guerrilla etiquette. Each time I'm ignored, I rethink my loyalty to the store and the hundreds of dollars I've spent there. All of my orders have been properly handled--but, if I'm ignored when I can't download their catalog, what will happen when I experience problems with an order? |
| Tip for February 19, 2005 |
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When attending a networking meeting, avoid the temptation to issue open-ended requests for referrals.
"I'm interested in anyone who wants to buy a new car," or "I'm interested in referrals to people who are going to sell their home." Instead, go back to your business and marketing plans and structure your referrals around specific clients you want to penetrate. "I'm interested in an introduction to the Marketing Manager of Heidelberg-Harris," or "the individual in charge of HR or employee training." You'll get a much higher response to your requests. Often, in fact, others in the room may already know the individual. In other cases, they know others at the firm, and will find out for you. In still other cases, they might not know the HR person at Heidelberg-Harris, but they DO know the HR person at another, similar, firm in the area. |
| Tip for February 20, 2005 |
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When introducing new offerings, enthusiastically announce that they’re new and clearly explain why they’re good. When introducing new products, there are three types of prospects:
Guerrillas market to “maybe to new” prospects with messages that not only stress that the offering is new, but also describe the reasons why the new product or service can better satisfy the prospect’s needs and desires than current offerings. It doesn’t pay to advertise to the “yes to new” prospects because they’ll buy anyway. It doesn’t pay to advertise to the “no to new” prospects because they’ll be unresponsive to your arguments. That leaves the “maybe to new prospects” who may switch, if you provide compelling arguments. |
| Tip for February 21, 2005 |
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Many confuse "creativity" with attempts to come up with attempts to attract attention, make your clients and prospects laugh, or summarize your product's benefits in a catchy slogans.
But, true creativity comes from answering the questions that much be answered before your market is ready to buy. Guerrillas prepare their marketing messages the same way reporters write their stories--answering a 5-question series. 1. Who is the market for this product? 2. What challenges, problems, or threats are they facing? 3. When do the become most obvious? 4. Where can people obtain more information? 5. How will they benefit from the products and services you offer? True creativity comes from asking the right questions, providing the right answers, and writing as clearly as possible, so your information comes through as easily-understood as possible. |
| Tip for February 22, 2005 |
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The guerrilla attacks when the competition retreats, and the attack is concentrated where the guerrilla offers specific product or service advantages. Retreating companies leave voids in the market, ideal niches for guerrilla companies.
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| Tip for February 23, 2005 |
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Moving beyond fusion marketing .
Roger C. Parker reminds us that guerrilla marketers are familiar with the concept of fusion marketing--where two or more, non-competing businesses work together to get the word out. Fusion marketing can take place when a resort and a restaurant distribute a joint promotion that benefits both parties. But, it's possible to do more. Roger elaborates: “Yesterday, I went to an eye doctor and was told I had to have minor eye surgery. (Minor in the eyes of the eye doctor, not mine!). He told me that he operates two days a month at a neighboring facility. “This makes perfect sense. Why should he invest in a dedicated surgery that would only be used two days a month? By sharing a joint facility, he is demonstrating his frugality that--hopefully--he passes on to his patients!” |
| Tip for February 24, 2005 |
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Technology helps with the job but doesn’t do the job. You get a dishwasher and you can shift the mess from the sink to the dishwasher. The dishes still have to be cleaned. The technology eases the labor and takes away some of the pain, but it doesn’t relieve the duty.
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| Tip for February 25, 2005 |
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Guerrilla Marketers Turn Opportunities into Exposure
By intentionally looking for ways to leverage everyday events into resources, Guerrilla can reduce the cost of marketing and promotion. Consider one Guerrilla Marketer who was speaking at a corporate event. The corporation wanted to videotape the event, which normally the speaker does not permit. In this case, he was willing to make an exception--provided the corporation gave him a master copy of the tape and permission to distribute copies. As a result, the Guerrilla/speaker was able to offer not only offer evidence of his speaking style to speakers bureaus and event planners, but he was able to add short video clips on his web site. |
| Tip for February 26, 2005 |
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Once a year, for as long as you're in business, ask your customers for the names of three, four or five people who might gain by becoming your customers. Because of your guerrilla follow-up, expect a healthy response.
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| Tip for February 27, 2005 |
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Getting Fence-Sitting Prospects to Commit
Do you have several prospects at the "almost ready" stage who you'd like to nudge into action? One of the best ways to do this is to offer a free teleconference call. Your out-of-pocket costs are extremely low, typically $25.00, or less. Invite your prospects to attend, as well as a few seasoned clients who can be on hand to provide comment and testimonials about the value of your offering. Focus your teleconference calls on one or two key aspects of your offering where there may be prospect confusion or misunderstanding. Don't "sell" your product or service, but do address the possible objection in an educational way. Often, clients are unwilling to commit until they get to know you better. And what better way for you and your prospects to get to know each other than on the telephone? An investment of an hour or so of your time, preparing and delivering an impromptu teleconference or question and answer session may pave the way for numerous, profitable long-lasting relationships. |
| Tip for February 28, 2005 |
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Guerrillas think in terms of getting down to the business of achieving and deserving credibility. All their marketing materials, whatever they say or show with their main message, also carry a “meta-message” -- an unstated, yet powerful communiquÈ to prospects.
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