Research Methodology
Literature Review

Guerrilla Marketing

Magdalena Andovska ID: 9764 15.01.2013

In the 21st century people are surrounded by different technology every day. Marketing in general has a lot of influence on the development and progress of modern life. This kind of service is growing on daily basis. Guerrilla marketing represents a marketing strategy. It uses the most specific and unusual methods to advertise.
Even though it exists from earlier, it became popular in the 1900s. Jay Conrad Levinson is considered the “father” of guerrilla marketing because he introduced this term in his book “Guerrilla Marketing.” This book is considered to be the milestone for this marketing strategy. In this book Levinson has defined guerrilla marketing according to what it represents from his point of view. Since then there are a lot of changes made because of the development of advertising in general. Guerrilla marketing actually represents an advertising strategy which means using low-cost and unconventional means for advertising. Guerrilla marketing focuses on low budget, imagination and atypical ways to achieve goals. At first guerrilla marketing aimed at small business. This kind of marketing was supposed to help small companies that don't have budget big enough to pay for expansive advertising campaigns. The idea of guerrilla marketing was to help small business advertise on this specific way using specific methods without spending a lot of money. After some time big companies started to gain interest in this strategy as well. Big companies implemented guerrilla marketing because it looked like a great idea to gain attention and new customers. Using guerrilla marketing showed big companies that it can be a specifically complicated task for them to use this kind of marketing because it can cost a lot of money and there is a big risk of losing customers. Guerrilla marketing is not a typical way of advertising. It is something that is unusual and should surprise customers and draw special attention. The theory is that if the marketing fails it would not be a big loss for a small company which does not have a built reputation. On the other side if a big company makes a mistake with the guerrilla marketing idea it might cost it a lot, not only money, but losing current customers as well. The specific nature of this kind of advertising is what makes it interesting and intriguing. Guerrilla marketing is focused on imagination and innovation. According to Levinson this marketing strategy should not use money and finance; instead it should use time and energy. Facing reality is considered to play an important role when a company wants to stand out. Guerrilla marketing is about realizing that there are a lot of other competitors and their ides can be better. Personal hopes and wishes can often get into the way of viewing objectively on the world. Taking into consideration that there is a constant progress in technology in everyday life is a good way to start. Secondly, accepting that fact that people's opinion can change frequently helps in understanding how important is always to be up-to-date. Moving on, customers should be considered as individuals and their choice should be respected. Guerrilla marketing focuses on individual wishes and not on groups. People have a lot of things that need to worry about in their lives and marketing is not the most important. Levinson points out the difference between motivating marketing message and a clever marketing message. These terms should be distinguished so that a marketing campaign comes out as a successful one. The distinction can be made if marketers focus on customers as individuals and the influences that they have in their life that are coming from the way of life, the news, other marketing campaign etc. Reality is also a commitment. Creating a plan and following it is essential for reaching the required goals. Using time, energy and patience to get the best results is a realistic approach to any kind of work, especially marketing. Since a plan is required to establish goals, marketing is considered a process and it should be treated as one. It is not an event, since it needs to be upgraded continuously so it can be successful. Continuing to other aspect it goes without saying that the customers are the most important part in marketing. Guerrilla marketing cares about customer's benefits, not just being a feature. Customers want honesty and loyalty. Making false promises is always a big mistake. Whenever starting a new marketing campaign it is important to ask yourself what would you expect or wish to see from a product or service. There are a lot of aspects that interest different customers. Guerrilla does not only offer an unusual advertisement, it is also important that the company remains loyal and honest all the way through. As the “father” of guerrilla marketing defines it, this strategy is about keeping customers, not making new ones. It is important that customers have a good opinion so that they can spread the rumor and that will help the growth of success. What makes guerrilla marketing different from other strategies is that guerrilla marketers know how important is to upgrade their knowledge every day. Information, especially nowadays, are available everyday and anytime someone heeds it. And it can be reached with such simplicity. Besides being used to learn new things every day, guerrilla marketers are also able to filter what is important and what is not. As I mentioned earlier marketing is a process and it involves constant learning and progress. Any guerrilla marketer knows how important is learning and teaching also. Improving your knowledge, not only about your customer’s opinion, but for every new thing that comes on the market or on the news should be priority to anyone who wants to achieve good results in advertising. Presenting new and fresh information and ideas to customers or potential customers will bring them closer to the company. On the other side it is normal for problems to occur. Guerrillas have a special way of acting when facing problems. They are considered as problem-solvers. Instead of pointing out positive benefits of the product they try to sell a solution for a problem. Guerrilla marketers are used to spotting problems using different ways. Most importantly they ask questions, listen carefully and keep any information that can help solving problems. It is important the marketing to offer a solution to a problem or a need the customer has. A good guerrilla marketer would be persistent to find out and learn about all of the problems that the customer might come across. After gathering all of the necessary information it is important the marketing to be presented as a solution and not as a benefit the product or service has. This is a very important feature of guerrilla marketing. Considering the negative sides there is the obstacle of attracting customers which is not an easy task. Advertising something you are interested in makes it easier to commit to achieving your goals. Since there are a lot of different interests and opinions there are greater chances to create a product that someone will want to pay for. Guerrilla marketing establishes confidence by investigating all aspects of customers’ needs. First impressions are important if we care about the opinion of others, especially customers from which the reputation of a company depends on. It is not always the one we hope for. Of course people might judge too fast and sometimes do not consider all aspects, but that is the way it works. It is our choice to present ourselves in a good way, a positive way. Guerrilla marketing advises working hard can be a start to create a good image of the company that customers will be interested in. It is important to guerrilla marketers to create a good position and to keep it continuously to succeed in most importantly keeping their customers and of course making new ones. Last but not least, as it was mentioned above guerrilla marketing appreciates above all imagination. It is a crucial point in this process. Creativity is a gift to nurture and develop. It is not something that everyone is born with. According to Levinson awakening the child within you is a very helpful way to be creative. Activities such as reading books, traveling, visiting museums and theaters are also helpful when someone needs to “train” their creativity. The most important feature of guerrilla marketing is to use your imagination to create something innovative and eye-catching.
As a conclusion I will point out that this strategy has played a significant role in marketing in general. Being so different made it popular and interesting throughout the world. Even though it went through a lot of changes it still has its specific characteristics such as unusual, original, provoking, dynamic etc. These qualities made it successful and that is why people relate to guerrilla marketing a lot. To this day it has remained a revolutionizing way of advertising because it is simple to understand, easy to implement and most importantly inexpensive.

References

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Jay Conrad Levinson. (2012). Guerrilla Problem-Solving. Available from: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/52-guerrilla-problem-solving [Accessed date: 15.01.2013]
Jay Conrad Levinson. (2012). Guerrilla Learning. Available from: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/157-guerrilla-learning. [Accessed date: 15.01.2013]
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