Marketing requires a great deal of creative skills and innovative ideas to develop activities and programs that would capture the interest of the buying public. Because of the competitive nature of marketing among many businesses, marketers in many companies try non-traditional and exceptional forms and means of marketing approaches. These unconventional marketing strategies is otherwise called guerrilla marketing. Guerrilla marketing refers to exceptional and unusual techniques in performing marketing activities with a goal of attaining maximized outputs from minimal resources and expenses.
Because these are unconventional forms of marketing, it is all about making good use of creativity and innovative breakthroughs in providing public awareness about the products and services. Small businesses benefit a lot from guerrilla marketing especially that resources are not readily available. Let us find out the different unconventional marketing techniques that can become useful alternatives of the common types of marketing.
Various Types of Guerrilla Marketing
Several unconventional marketing techniques are effective and creative marketing and advertising options for many marketers. All of these types of guerrilla marketing rely on time, energy, and creativity instead of huge marketing budget. These techniques are interactive and conducted at unusual places.
Undercover marketing, as the term implies, involves promotional approach that is subtle where customers are not aware that they are being marketed upon. Sometimes, it is called buzz marketing or stealth marketing.
Buzz marketing is simply word-of-mouth marketing where product users interact with potential customers and emphasize the product value and benefits. Buzz creates anticipation and excitement among customers about a product or service. Consumers often refer to it as marketing hype.
Another type of unconventional marketing is experiential marketing which appeals to the emotions. The customer develops an emotional attachment to a brand, product, person, or idea.
Viral marketing, which is closely associated with buzz and stealth marketing, makes use of social networks with a goal of generating brand awareness and other marketing goals such as sales generation. It is done through the creation of self-replicating viral approaches either by word-of-mouth or the use of internet. Viral advertisement can be video clips, e-books, interactive Flash games, and even text messages.
Ambient media marketing may be conducted along with traditional means of advertising and is effective for brand name recall. Examples of this are messages or captions on the handles of supermarket carts, slogans on grocery bags, huge images on the sides of buildings, and similar conceptual ambient techniques.
Other unconventional marketing techniques are grassroots marketing, wild posting campaigns, astroturfing, and presence marketing.
Principles of Unconventional Marketing
The following principles of unconventional marketing form the basis of such concept.
Guerrilla marketing is beneficial for small businesses but has been adopted lately by large business entrepreneurs. It is minimal on the use of resources but maximizes creativity and psychology. Marketing expense is not the basic investment but time, energy, and marketing creativity or imagination. The main basis for the measure of business success is not the sales but the profit generated.
In expanding the network, target on referrals, create more interaction with existing customers, and larger transactions instead of focusing in acquiring new prospects. Competition is not a big thing but cooperation with other businesses. Being creative and imaginative in nature, it should employ a combination of marketing techniques in the promotion of a product or service. In order to empower the business, the use of latest technology such as online approach is an effective tool.
Pros and Cons of Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla or unconventional marketing offers a lot of benefits to the marketers and the users as well. For one, it is a cost-effective form of advertisement. It is focused on profits, too. Collaboration and coordination are highlighted in order to maximize marketing efforts. And because of this, profit generation is the main focus as it is concentrated on the target market. Its uniqueness and rare means of promoting a product attracts the customers more than traditional means since anything new and creative arouses interest.
For the most part, guerrilla marketing is beneficial for small-sized to medium scale businesses. So, probably the cons are more of challenges and the use of skills and abilities. Marketers should have a deep sense of time and maximized energy with unique imaginations, not to mention the fact that it works best when collaborated with other marketing activities.
