Week 2- MBA 6101- 16 Secrets of Guerrilla Marketing

 16 Secrets of Guerrilla Marketing

The term guerrilla marketing is not so much a particular type of marketing, rather it is a mindset. It is an effective, creative and strategic way of promoting a product and growing a customer base. While it is a marketing mindset, there are sixteen secrets that need to be put into practice to be successful at guerrilla marketing. Jay Conrad Levinson mentioned in his book, Guerrilla Marketing, that these are sixteen secrets to be mindful of when approaching guerrilla marketing. 

While all of these are vital and important, there are a few that stand out to me. 

Consistency- see to it that your program is consistent

Humans have a habit of not being patient for outcomes, we are creatures that are wanting instant gratification in many ways. However, things of importance take time. This could be changing your lifestyle to lose weight, trying to climb the corporate ladder at work or even going to graduate school to get a degree. It is important to be consistent and to stick to a plan to see success. The same can be said for marketing. Instant success only happens to a few when it comes to marketing. Maybe an innovative ad was launched that drove customers to a website to purchase or a celebrity endorsed a brand and a certain product sold out within hours. While this is considered successful, it is not necessarily sustainable, nor is it common. Keeping a consistent strategy not only helps create a better customer experience, but it also helps build a strong reputation and credibility. 

   Dependent- Learn to become dependent on other businesses and they on you

Often times when watching the news or scrolling through social media, businesses that handle situations poorly or get an awful review receive scrutiny that can carry over to the profitability of the organization. For a marketing strategy to be successful, it has to be dependable on other channels and businesses. A single marketing firm cannot do it all on their own, they have to work with businesses within media or design to assist with the overall strategy. If a firm starts ruining these relationships, they will have to find new partners, otherwise they might have to do it themselves which takes time and money. To make it easier for the firm and the customer, it is best to have a loyal and dependable reputation. 

Measurement- Use measurement to judge the effectiveness of your weapons

Measurements are often forgot about in marketing; however, they are the benchmark for success. By monitoring different aspects of a marketing strategy, it shows what adjustments need to be made to move forward. For example, a company can monitor e-commerce traffic, bounce rate, duration of time spent on a page and average number of pages seen after they launch a marketing campaign to gauge the effectiveness of the campaign. By monitoring these metrics over time, firms can see what works best for the company, customer base and industry.