The following guerrilla marketing tactics can help you to wage an inexpensive, yet highly effective, marketing campaign for your consulting firm or freelance business.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 1: Webzines
Start a webzine related to your industry that will bring potential clients to your site. Advertise your services there.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 2: E-zines / Email Newsletters
Send e-mail newsletters to current, past, or potential customers on a regular basis.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 3: Cards
Send cards or e-cards to clients on special dates: their birthday, the day of your first meeting, a thank-you card after you give a pitch, etc.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 4: Forums / Newsgroups
Regularly participate in online newsgroups and forums. Include your business name and contact information in a signature file at the bottom of every post you make. Don’t use them strictly for advertising. Provide solutions for real problems, and help build your reputation.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 5: Speeches / Seminars
Offer to give speeches to companies, schools or organizations about your field of expertise. You can hand out business cards or brochures at most events.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 6: Business Card Referrals
Get referrals using your business cards. Trade sets of business cards with other businesses in your field, but not directly competing with yours, or give them to clients who have good things to say about you and a good contact list. Tell them to write “referred by:” or something similar on the back of your cards and have them pass them out to potential clients. You can give them discounts or some other form of reward for bringing in a certain number of referrals.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 7: Make Yourself Newsworthy
If you do, you can get free exposure in your local, and sometimes even national, media. Give a free speech. Do something environmentally conscious. Donate your services to a charity that could use your help. Just try doing something that no one else has done before.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 8: Serve as an Expert in Your Field
Offer to serve as a resource to your local media. Sometimes reporters need help when researching a story that could be in your field, and sometimes they like to run interviews with professionals about hot news topics. Let them know you’re available and willing to help them out.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 9: Free Consultations
Give free samples, trials, consultations, etc. Everyone loves getting something for free. If you’re a freelance business writer, write a company’s first press release for free. If you’re a legal consultant, give a free first consultation. Tailor your freebie to what your clients want, and to what might convince them to buy.
Guerrilla Marketing Tactic 10: Set Yourself Apart
Do whatever your competition isn’t doing. You have to keep your finger on the pulse of the market at all times. If they’re charging for consultations, offer a free one. If their message is dry and boring, add a touch of humor. If they’re advertising in big media, advertise in all of your area’s small media outlets. If they’re offering a discount, offer a bigger one. No matter what your competition is doing, they’re missing out on clients somewhere. It’s your job to find who those lost prospects are and scoop them up for yourself.
Remember, money doesn’t always beget more money. But success often leads to more success. Make one client happy and it can lead to 20 more. Keep it simple. Keep it cheap. Keep it unique. Those are the keys to a successful guerrilla marketing campaign.
