Low-Cost Ways to Boost Cash Flow

Feeling the pinch? Looking for ways to keep your brand alive and healthy during a sick economy?

To fight the blight of a tight market, it’s time to pull out guerrilla marketing strategies. With guerrilla marketing, instead of the big-budget, splashy ad campaigns you might use when cash is flowing, use stealth marketing to motivate consumers without looking like advertising as usual.

Quite simply, guerrilla techniques are the unconventional, innovative and imaginative approach for reaching customers in ways and places that are unexpected – with memorable experiences and minimal resources.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking outside the box.

Do something fun and exciting. Start by thinking like an entertainer, comedian, musician, actor or performer. You need to make people forget their troubles, if even for a short time. What can you do to entertain customers? Hold events.

One of the trends in getting consumers engaged is “tryvertising.” This allows customers to get familiar with your products or services without being pressured to buy. Of course you’ll have opportunities to buy for those who are interested. Tryvertising can be done through sampling days, free classes and demonstrations, redemption certificates not tied to a purchase, treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, games, and contests.

One success story I’ll share is a project done several years ago for a national chain retail store. This store’s average purchase was considerably lower than others in the chain in other markets. After two marketing and development sessions with 50 key employees we launched a variety of guerrilla marketing tactics. The most successful was the themed treasure hunt. We hid items throughout the store. For example, in the spring it was an Easter egg hunt and we hid plastic eggs with prizes tucked inside.

As customers participated in the hunt, by walking through the entire store they would notice things they needed which resulted in purchases. After just a few treasure hunts average purchases climbed. Within two months the average purchase had nearly doubled. Make buying fun for your customers!

On a larger scale, consider that the Tour de France began as a publicity event to get people to purchase bicycles.

Take to the streets. Instead of trying to get customers to you, go to them. Take your message to the streets. Hand out a fun item, such as a plastic bottle of bubbles, that is tied to a message about your business. “We’re bubbling over with …” (fill in what works for your type of business.) Include a call to action to get people to respond. This is not only fun, it’s memorable and creates buzz.

Or, hire some college students by offering a free pizza party for them in exchange for a few hours of “street work”. Dress them in bright, neon colored tee shirts with a question or slogan about you, funny hats, or other attention-getting attire and send them out to connect with consumers. They can hand out coupons, do surveys, conduct man-on-the-street contests or carry placards. The ways to use them are as vast as your imagination.

Create new partnerships that are mutually rewarding. Look for other businesses that complement yours or have the same type of customer you do. Do endorsement swap marketing.

For example, every day millions of workers stop at their favorite coffee shop to get their first jolt of java. If those are people you want to reach, offer to provide the coffee shop in your neighborhood with free take-out cups that promote you. They save on supplies; you get your message in the marketplace for pennies a person.

Another way to barter is to provide your expertise or products to another company in exchange for exposure to their customers. An appliance store could partner with an area grocery store to showcase a new small food appliance. The result, consumers could see the appliance being used in a setting where they shop for food, which would result in appliance sales and food sales! A win-win for both.

Achieve the unexpected. The reason the unexpected gets results is that it generates buzz. Little unexpected actions stir emotional reactions from customers. If you sell mattresses, how do you distinguish yourself from all the competition? Try leaving a small box of fine chocolates (4 pieces is enough) on the new mattress when you set it up for the customer. What customers normally expect to receive at a fine hotel now becomes an unexpected treat. When positive unexpected things happen, customers tell their friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives. Word of mouth is a sweet way to grow.

Connect with a cause. For most companies connecting with a cause means writing a check in return for getting their logo put on a brochure, or getting a free mention or signage at a fundraiser. If there is a cause you are committed to, don’t be reactive – be proactive. Come up with an event for your cause and make it happen. Have the proceeds benefit the cause. Your cause organization will help you promote your event, you get free media coverage and you’ll be the ONLY company featured.

In addition you’ll build community good will and get to showcase your business in an exclusive way to potential new customers. Hold the event at your business location and collect names and leads to use for future marketing.

Use Social Networks. There are many ways to build your brand online by posting it on social networks. Sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace and Facebook welcome small businesses. With social media being used by all demographic groups, this is an easy way to tell your story and connect with consumers. You can even get customers to recommend you online, giving you a virtual word-of-mouth referral.

In earlier seasons of the TV show The Apprentice, groups were often assigned marketing tasks on limited budgets with limited amounts of time to achieve results. More often than not, it was guerrilla tactics that created the wins. Strategies such as events, company swaps and connecting with a cause were often used to get quick results in a short amount of time.

As you look at stretching your marketing dollars, think about the many ways you can break away from the usual. What elements of surprise will you use?

You might want to follow the example of psychic Uri Geller: “I don’t take myself seriously all the time; I do quirky things. I like sensationalism.” With the country in a gloomy mood, a little sensationalism can be just the ticket to get consumers coming to you!

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