The Secret to Off-the-Charts Marketing Success

When most people talk to us about their marketing, they focus on advertising. While advertising is a part of the marketing mix, that's all it is. A part. Marketing is much bigger.

We want to help you think about your marketing in a whole new way and will start by sharing a key marketing concept we learned from Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of Guerrilla Marketing:

"MARKETING IS EVERYTHING you do to promote your business, from the moment you conceive of it, to the point at which customers buy your product or service and begin to patronize your business on a regular basis. The key words to remember are everything and regular basis."

Whether it's sending an invoice, answering the telephone, handling a complaint, running a radio ad, sending an e-mail or launching big buzz ideas, you are marketing your business every time you touch a customer, prospect or potential partner.

Be creative! We brainstormed a few big buzz ideas around contests that would snag attention, boost sales and get your business in the limelight. Spin your own ideas off the following:

* If you're a hotel, host a "fastest employee contest" to feature your housekeeping staff competing to see who can make a bed the fastest.

* If you're a restaurant, sponsor a "waiters contest" to see which waiter can carry a glass of wine on a tray, or an entire tray of dishes, from one end of a big room to the other without spilling anything.

* If you're a medical office or hospital, sponsor a "walking contest" with nurses, doctors and staff to see who tops the charts in weekly or monthly steps.

* If you're a grocery store, follow the lead of the National Grocery Association. Each year they sponsor a "Best Bagger Contest," designed to find the bagger who can get the job done the fastest. The contest is in its 21st year and created a huge buzz for the annual convention.

What kind of fun "fastest" contest can your business sponsor? These contests are perfect for TV because they offer people, color and motion--the three elements of a story that TV news producers want. Plus you'll be able to leverage your efforts through print, radio and web media as well. Fun stuff to create a big buzz.

Guerrilla Marketing is all about stepping out of the box and launching unusual tactics that capture attention and sales.

The big buzz ideas above are the tip of the iceburg for a low cost, high impact, off-the-charts fun approach to skyrocketing business success. Read on to discover why the Guerrilla Marketing approach is ideal for small business owners like you.

Guerrilla Marketing Pros:

1. A proven program that has benefited more than 1 million people since 1984

2. Low cost, high impact

3. Bottom line focus on profits

4. Unconventional tactics emphasized to stand out from the competition

5. Focus on marketing goals, marketing calendar and tracking

6. Collaboration emphasized to maximize and leverage every marketing effort

7. Clear focus on target audience and benefits offered to them

8. Publicity opportunities abound

9. Step-by-step sales process increases conversion rate of prospects into customers and raving fans

10. Accountability and success

Guerrilla Marketing Cons:

1. Requires time, energy and imagination

2. Requires planning, follow through and tracking

3. Requires development of fusion marketing partners and collaborations

See, learning more about Guerrilla Marketing is a no brainer! Learn how to take advantage of all the "pros" so you can skyrocket business success.