“Guerilla Marketing” In The Bronx
Guerrilla Marketing is defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz, and consequently turn viral. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary and marketing books.
Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such as encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, PR stunts, any unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. Evidenced by my recent blog post on one of the things Blossom Flower is doing to increase profits.
Travis Bowens owner of a tax franchise, Instant Tax Service, located at 646D Neried Avenue (Bronx, NY) wowed the neighborhood with his grand opening stunt. Travis worked with AARROWADS.COM to create a buzz in the town. For 8 or 10 blocks from Travis’ office we could see men wearing bright red shirts and twirling signs with the name and logo of Instant Tax Service.
Take a look at the posted video featuring Erwin Pacheco (1-888-5-AARROW) and tell me what you’ve done in your neighborhood to earn the name “Guerrilla Marketer” or share what others are doing to maximize profits.
What One Business Owner Did To Increase Sales?
The key to promoting any business in hard times isn’t to reduce your marketing but to switch to low-budget or no cost marketing activities.
While driving in my neighborhood last weekend a sign caught my eye. Although small, and seemingly inexpensive, it was a fantastic marketing idea:
“If your name is Frederick?
Come in to receive your FREE GIFT”
I was excited because my brother-in-law’s name is Frederick. I told the kids we should tell Fred to stop by for his free gift. This little inexpensive sign made me stop the car and enter the shop to see what was going on inside. The shop was full of holiday cheer, beautiful flower arrangements and best of all helpful store associates. I made a note to myself that this shop is a must stop next time I am on the block.
A young lady at the register greeted me with a smile and I asked her for the manager. I then met Christine Price (order coordinator and graphic designer at large). I asked Christine about the sign and this is what she said. “We have been using it for a few years. This was thought up by the owner to get “window shoppers” into the store. They might not buy anything at the time they come in to get their free prize. Our hope is that they remember what they got and also what they saw while waiting. We have a lot more to offer in the store that they can’t see from the street. So when people come in they can browse around while they anxiously await their prize. Also it’s nice to meet people in the neighborhood. People like to win things; it is a small price to pay for a new customer!”
Are your marketing and promotional ideas stopping customers in their tracks? Share your ideas by leaving a comment below.
Photo and marketing idea was posted with permission from
Blossom Flower: The Kegan family established its floral business in the Fordham area of the Bronx, NY, in 1925. Now in our fourth generation of continuous family service, we have grown in orderly manner to a central distribution facility in Yonkers, NY (just 15 minutes north of Manhattan) and 1 additional shop in White Plains, NY. Visit our Blog: www.blossomflowerblog.com and Website: www.blossomflower.com.
Good Promotion or Tired Trick?
I saw this on AOL Shopping. 10 weeks of sweepstakes to help you with all your holiday shopping! They are giving away the hottest holiday gifts of the year! There will be a new sweepstakes every Monday from now through January 4, 2010. Readers are urged to come back every week for a chance to win a new prize!
Good ploy to drive sales or unnecessary giveaways to people that shop anyway? Does this type of giveaway have an impact on consumers who are used to ridiculous black Friday deals?
What does your small business do in terms of freebies and giveaways?
When Should You Use Door Hangers?
When beginning any marketing campaign, it is wise to stop and assess which marketing tools are right for your purpose, message, and target market. If door hangers are on your list of possible advertisements, the following list should help you decide if they should be a part of your campaign or not.
You should use door hangers when…
- Reaching a Specific Target
Door hangers are great when you to target geographic locations such as your local neighborhoods. Plus, they allow you to reach your target audience directly – in their homes – without the mailing costs associated with direct mail advertisements. - Advertising Locally
One of the best ways to make a personal connection with local customers is through door hangers because you can personally deliver the advertisement. Further create that local vibe by including an image of your store location or a local landmark. - Promoting Your Website
Sometimes it can be difficult letting customers know that you now have a website, or have revamped your website to be more user friendly. Door hangers are a great way to steer customers to your webpage by including a discount that customers can use when they visit you online. - Needing Accurate Results
Door hangers are one of the easiest marketing tools to use for tracking results, especially when you include a perforated discount card that consumers can remove and bring into your store. - Wanting Face-to-Face Communication
Of course, not everyone will be home at the time that you drop off your door hanger, but there’s always the possibility, much more so than with other marketing efforts. Just make sure that if your distributors are qualified to talk to prospects. - Advertising Prices
Placing your prices on door hangers are becoming an expected part of door hanger design. The greatest benefit of including your prices is that all of your calls from interested consumers are pre-qualified. - Wanting an Advertisement that Will be Read
Door hangers have the added benefit of almost always being read. Consumers have to take them off of their doorknobs, and almost no one can resist at least glancing at your offer while walking back inside the house. - Including a Double Discount
Because you know your door hangers will get read, you can take advantage of this benefit and “one-up” your competition by including a double discount. Not only offer to clean your customers’ air duct systems but also include spraying an air freshener in the system for free. Plus…offers such as this really get the attention of consumers and make your services that much more desirable.
Contributor: Anna Cruz
Online Ads: Do They Annoy You?
I conducted a mini survey of my clients and colleagues to see where advertising dollars are going. Well, more funds are being allocated to social media and online advertising in the coming months. After reading the August issue of American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Marketing News magazine, I must caution everyone on the online ad methods they use. Based on a survey done by a LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll survey, many viewers are not so happy with the online advertising techniques used today. Responders answered the question: “How frustrating are the following characteristics of Internet advertising?”
When creating your online ads for this fall, use the bells and whistles with caution.
