Week 3 - MBA 6601 - Monumental Secrets

Ninety percent of being a successful guerrilla marketer is learning and living by the sixteen secrets of guerrilla marketing. Unless you are able to put these sixteen secrets into practice you are not truly a guerrilla marketer. These sixteen practices can take a small business and build it into a large one, but it is essential that all sixteen are implemented. So what are they?

Commitment. You must be committed to your marketing program. Once you establish a solid marketing plan you must launch it and then stick to it. In order to realize its success, you can not abort the plan, you must stay committed to it and give it time. Having commitment to a mediocre plan is much better than having the most brilliant plan without any commitment. It could take a little time, or a long time, but it will work if you stay committed. Some of the best companies were grown over time because of commitment to their marketing plan. 

Investment. Marketing and advertising should be acknowledged as conservative investments. If they are not, it will be difficult to commit to the marketing plan. There will be slow but steady increases; it is not magic and won't double or triple sales overnight. Continuing to make conservative investments year over year and knowing that they will pay off in the long run is the important part. 

Consistent. After launching the original marketing plan, do not change your identity. Instead keep your identity consistent by utilizing the same graphic format, images, media, and messages. If you feel the need to change something, change prices or offers. Stay visible. Get your marketing material out regularly and over a long period of time. Make sure that whatever you choose to do is not so costly that you can only do it a couple of times, but rather reduce the cost so you can continue to do it on a consistent basis. IF you are consistent then your product will become familiar and then people will develop confidence in what you have to offer. Having confidence in your product will turn into them purchasing that product, you just have to stay consistent. 

Confident. You have to make your potential customers confident in what you have to offer. this can be done with consistency and commitment. By knowing how to use a medium effectively for advertising. Know what you can afford and then use it to the best of your ability to build confidence in your product. Put confidence above quality, selection, price, and service, because it is far more valuable.

Patient. Patience goes along with consistency. You must be patient to stick to the marketing plan. Patience is also an integral part of staying committed to the plan as well. Know what weapons you have in your arsenal, what works well, and stay patient as those marketing tools produce results. 

Assortment. Having an assortment of different weapons can make you successful in many areas. Those many weapons will produce more results, gain new customers, and increase profits overall. Knowing how to stay committed to customers and that following up with existing customers is an essential part of the marketing plan. Following up will generate far more profits and retain business. Utilizing a different weapon in a follow-up can generate a new sale.

Subsequent. Remain knowledgeable about the subsequent marketing and follow-ups. The profits are made in subsequent sales to already existing customers. It is four times more costly to convert a new customer than it is an existing customer. Utilize the marketing budget effectively to continue reaching out to those existing customers. It will be money well spent. 

Convenient. Make it convenient for your customers to access your product. Put it in a standard location and point them straight to it. Build a store front that is in a convenient location with great parking. There is nothing worse than insufficient or inaccessible parking. But that does come down to knowing your customer base and what draws them to you, what they are willing to overcome to get to your product. Make the product easy to purchase and readily available. Short shipping times are convenient. 

Amazement. Go for a wow factor. The marketing should catch someones eye. It should make them remember the product and entice them to want to buy it. Offer them something that gives them a signature experience at an affordable price. 

Measurement. How would you know if your marketing was effective if you didn't measure it? Keeping detailed information about what is working and what is not will do a lot for increasing marketing effectiveness. Knowing what works and what doesn't helps you take a more targeted approach with your most effective weapons and get rid of the rest.

Involvement. Involvement is an action. It is something that needs to be proven. You prove that you are involved int eh lives of your customers by offering them a great product that meets their needs A product that they want to put in their home and make a part of their life. You also send them follow-ups and utilize their feedback to improve your product and your business. They prove their involvement by coming back, referring their friends, and giving you feedback. 

Dependent. You are part of a bigger production. Your business is dependent on those around you. Whether it is suppliers, manufacturers, media, or competitors, you are dependent on all of them in some way. Use your dependence to your benefit by increasing teamwork and making your dependence a strength that can give you an advantage. 

Armament. Armament is the equipment needed to win a battle. In marketing, technology is the equipment that you must have in order to win the battle. As a society, we are dependent on technology in all aspects of our lives. From computers to cell phones that are also known as smart devices, televisions, internet, voicemail, hotspots, and social media, it is all technology and we are highly dependent on it. Funny that the book mentions pagers, which is an outdated technology to most, but as I sit here typing at work, I am currently wearing one. Technology keeps us connected. 

Consent. You want people to consent for you to have access to them. Everything is a ploy to gain consent and convert that consent to a sale. Learning how to use your marketing to obtain consent will lead to less frustration with the marketing process. 

Content. What is your product really made up of? What are the components? How will someone benefit from buying your product over the closest competitors? People will see through smoke screens and discern what your actual product offerings are, so it is important that when they take a closer look they know that they are really getting something of value by purchasing your product. Content should tell them exactly what it is they are getting. 

Augment. Augment is an ongoing process. When you think you are finished, you never truly are. You should constantly be augmenting some part of the plan. New or different weapons can be used to strengthen your marketing plan or product. Study your profits and see what is coming from the marketing you are already doing and find ways to improve it.