The Hindu Business Line : Guerrilla marketing

As is the case with many “new” techniques, the rules of guerrilla marketing are not very different from those of any other sound branding and marketing conceptual model. Nonetheless, the guru in this field — Jay Levinson, deserves credit for thinking through the principles so clearly and for articulating them in a highly structured fashion.

The name derives from the term guerrilla warfare, but I should be honest and admit that I am unable to relate the principles expounded here to what I know of the great guerrilla warfare generals (with Chatrapathi Shivaji being perhaps the most famous Indian example). Needless to say, I speak only for myself here and as I have already said, this does not reduce my admiration for these principles to any extent.

Jay Levinson talks about 50 golden rules to practice guerrilla marketing with excellence. Some of these are the foundations of building a brand for the long-term without being lured by the gains or being disheartened by the failures that accrue in the short-term. The very first principle is one such — the stonecutter knows that the stone breaks on the fifth or sixth blow, but that all the preceding blows also contributes to weakening the stone. Instant gratification should not be the goal of marketing efforts.

Some of the principles are to do with more effective selling techniques. For instance, “It is far easier to sell a solution to a problem than to sell a positive benefit”. In other words, as any sales trainer will tell us, the best pitches are those that identify the prospect’s pain area, help to magnify it in the prospect’s mind, then position our product as THE solution to that pain area.

Some principles deal with the tricky issue of targeted marketing, best verbalised by “your own customer list is the best in the world, but only if it bulges with information about each customer”. This is undoubtedly true, as it indeed is far easier to sell a new product or service to an existing customer than to a new customer. Nonetheless, it is also a tricky issue as customers are getting less and less co-operative when it comes to sharing information about themselves. Getting to know customers is easier said than done, and is especially tough in a mass market situation. Other principles deal with the importance of customer service and about making life easier for the customer; not much needs to be said as this is one of those things no one contests. One of the more interesting concepts is that marketing communication and selling are more effective when they are direct and focus on the benefits to the customer. As a service industry professional whose clients are marketing folks, I love rule # 20: “the key to marketing economically is not in saving money, but in making every investment pay off handsomely”.

(Contributed by Ashok R. Sankethi, CEO, Kaybase, a business consulting firm. Mail: ashok@kaybase.com)

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