Week #6 – MBA 6101 – Guerrilla Marketing, Chapter 6: Selecting the Most Lethal Marketing Methods

In Selecting the Most Lethal Marketing Methods, the sixth chapter of Guerilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits From Your Small Business, Levinson introduces several effective tools and strategies to consider as part of the guerilla marketer’s arsenal.

According to Levinson, all marketing tools and strategies have the potential to be “lethal” when in the capable hands of a “pro.”  Mediums like newspapers, magazines, and

television (include cable and satellite TV) offer broad dissemination but at a premium. Mail, including e-mail and post/ direct mail, provide selective dissemination but are most effective with follow-up mailings and telemarketing.  While time-consuming, Levinson regards canvassing as especially effective because it includes personal contact.  Like mail, canvassing is most effective when it includes supplementary marketing like “mass-marketing methods.”

While not necessarily effective as standalone marketing tools, outdoor signs and billboards are suitable as supplements to reinforce other marketing efforts.  Likewise, advertising specialties (less formally known as swag) like t-shirts, baseball caps, pens, and notepads can be used to “remind people of your [organization’s] existence.” 

Levinson suggests trade shows as a “terrific shot in the sales curve.” Trade shows are a unique opportunity for marketers to connect with customers that already have a purchasing mindset geared towards the subject of the show or exhibition. Like trade shows, managing strong public or community relations provides opportunities for direct contact with potential customers and indirectly through publicity. 

While there are many different types of marketing methods, guerrilla marketers must be mindful of their audience.  It’s critical to tailor your methods to be “read, seen, or heard by your target audience.” As for duration, Levinson recommends campaign activities to range from one to five weeks, mixing short, medium, and long events. 

For the guerrilla marketer, the more tactics and strategies that are employed, the more adept and proficient the user, the more ample the war chest. Levinson provides three simple guidelines to consider when executing a marketing strategy:

1. Be aware of all the marketing weapons available

2. Use as many or as few of the marketing weapons available, but keep track of which weapons are working and which are not

3. Stop using the weapons that are not working and redouble your efforts with the weapons that are working.

According to Levinson, a successful marketing campaign relies on fusing the “the right marketing message with the right marketing media.”