Guerrilla Marketing Techniques

[D Tailor]

I use this site`s information (or think about how I can use current or previous briefings and trends) at least once per week.



trendwatching.com`s February 2009 Trend Briefing covering GENERATION G (http://www.trendwatching.com/briefing/)



Some things I`ve started doing this month are:



1. Eco-Generous: Looking into Buying carbon 0ff-sets for details.



2. Perkonomics: Giving perks to one time customers and service contract clients





Other things I`ve tried (ambient marketing):



One time I parked a Aston Martin in the city in front of a heavily traffic (foot and car) area, totally trashed with dirts, grime, and filth. I left it there all day. In the dirt I wrote: Wash Me. Then I picked it up at night and took it home and detailed it to a high gloss. Parked it there again. This time I wrote on the winshield with glass paint: Thank you! and then taped a bunch of postcards on it`s glass.



Ok, so I haven`t done it. But I plan on doing this in the late spring of this year.

[todd@bsaw]

One thing I`ve been spending a lot of time on is the social network craze and brainstorming viral marketing ideas. Eventually I`m going to come up with something brilliant ... i hope... :)

[Driven Auto Detail]

Speaking of social stuff Todd, I`ve found it helpful to join our local Chamber of Commerce. There are a lot of town leaders that attend the luncheons along with many new and/or established small business owners. Personally, I want to be involved in our community and by doing so, more and more people will know me and know what I do. The better people know me around here, the more they will trust in what I say and do.



I`ve also tested the networking type groups, but I`ve found their rules or the pressure of the events makes it no fun. That`s one of the reasons why I like the Chamber.

[todd@bsaw]

I`ve been looking to get involved in my Chamber this year as I didn`t really get going much last year. I attended the GM seminar that was put on by them, but kinda had to hurry out afterwords because of an appointment. I really would have liked to stick around and chat with some of the other people there.



Thanks to you, I`ve picked up my GM book by Levinson again. I started making a personal mailing list of a neighborhood near me with homes over $800k by using the white pages.com and google street view. I`m going to start a small mail campaign with the list of 200 to see how effective it is and if it would be worth the time I`m putting into it. The mailings are more personal than most direct mail campaigns and I will be printing it on good stationary with my letterhead signed and postscripted personally. Levinson stresses a handwritten PS on personal mail campaigns.



I`m also preparing a press release offering a free seminar and consulting for any non-profit organizations that want to do a public car wash fund raiser more efficiently and effectively, then offer training and basic supplies.



That`s what I`ve been up to in guerrilla marketing.



Mike, I`ve been waiting patiently for months for the new web site!

[Driven Auto Detail]

I`ve been looking to get involved in my Chamber this year as I didn`t really get going much last year. I attended the GM seminar that was put on by them, but kinda had to hurry out afterwords because of an appointment. I really would have liked to stick around and chat with some of the other people there.



Thanks to you, I`ve picked up my GM book by Levinson again. I started making a personal mailing list of a neighborhood near me with homes over $800k by using the white pages.com and google street view. I`m going to start a small mail campaign with the list of 200 to see how effective it is and if it would be worth the time I`m putting into it. The mailings are more personal than most direct mail campaigns and I will be printing it on good stationary with my letterhead signed and postscripted personally. Levinson stresses a handwritten PS on personal mail campaigns.



I`m also preparing a press release offering a free seminar and consulting for any non-profit organizations that want to do a public car wash fund raiser more efficiently and effectively, then offer training and basic supplies.



That`s what I`ve been up to in guerrilla marketing.



Mike, I`ve been waiting patiently for months for the new web site!



Keep us posted on the mailing. I`m very interested to know how that turns out.



I really like the press release idea. My wife has already told me that a PR is something we need to do at some point. She works with a couple gals that could put something together for me so we could submit it to our local media outlets.



As far as hand-writing stuff, I always leave a hand-written thank you card in the person`s vehicle, along with a littler bag with our logo, a few business cards, any some random business cards/brochures of other local automotive businesses I like to support. I also started doing a few follow-up calls last year. I think all those things let the person know you really care and that isn`t something you`re going to find at most places, especially detail shops.



I appreciate that you`re keeping an eye on our site. I didn`t know anyone was looking at it. We decided to take the old site down a while back for a few reasons. 1 - I moved into what I thought was going to be a long-term shop, but the guy that was going to buy the building backed out at the last minute so I had to move out. 2 - I sold my detailing trailer after moving in so I no longer had my trailer. 3 - The same week that the shop fell through, my dad passed away (Sept.). 4 - I was fighting a herniated disc in my back. With all that going on, I basically decided to take a break for a while. I did a few jobs between then and now, but not a whole lot. I had surgery on Jan. 6th so I`m still recovering. The good news is that I did find a shop about 2 minutes from my house that I am going to move into after I`m all healed up (tentatively March 1). Once we get things back up and running again and funds increase, we`ll throw a new website up there that reflects our new operation (fixed location and not mobile). Unfortunately, I just don`t know when that`s going to be. Obviously, the sooner the better for the business.



Again, thanks for letting me know you`re paying attention to our site!



The wifey & I are going to hit the library tomorrow so I can get the GM book and finish it this time. Like I said before, I got through about 3 chapters so I`ve still got a good chunk to read. Although, I`m reading the shortened version (can`t remember the term for that at the moment...).



Hopefully, we can all keep this thread going for a while. I think GM provides a lot of different advertising/marketing ideas that could help all of us tremendously.

[todd@bsaw]

Wow, that`s a lot to have to handle in a couple months, but I`m sure you`ll be back at it!



Your web site has always been one that I would refer to when I was designing my own. (If I recall, your wife did a lot of the work or maybe it was just the design work). When I had my friend design my site I told him "I want it to look like this site". To which he replied, "Um.. the site is down for maintenance..." Drat!

[Driven Auto Detail]

Todd - Again, thanks for the kind words. The last 4 months of my life have been the hardest, by a long-shot. But, as the saying goes, "What doesn`t kill you makes you stronger!" I should be pretty damn strong by now...hehe! :)



Anyway, you are right about my wife. She came up with the design and I came up with the reading material. We had our web guy custom build the site to look like her design. Honestly, I did what you are doing now. I spent a lot of time looking at other people`s websites to come up with ideas.



While we liked our site, it wasn`t very functional from a back-door standpoint and I feel like there was too much text and not enough pictures. This next time around we`ll have a site that we change more easily so that we can keep the latest information on there. Plus, I want to mix in a lot more pictures throughout the site. I want the main focus of our site to be the pictures, specifically the photo gallery. After all, the pictures are the portfolio of my work. I think most people can relate to a picture of a properly detailed vehicle better than reading text about what my process is, etc. I also have an idea of how I want the site to look as a whole next time around. Hopefully, we can get something thrown together soon after getting into the shop.



Speaking of websites, I was looking at yours after you started this thread. Looks very nice. With it partly being under construction, what are your plans for it. The concierge service sounds pretty interesting. Any chance you can elaborate on that service here?

[todd@bsaw]

I have most of the site set up now how I want it with a few changes that I will be making within the next week or so. I just wanted to get something up that I can point people to, and I have already started getting a few calls per week with potential clients asking questions. Pretty good for not really having any marketing plan set up yet. When I do start any marketing or promotion I plan to have my site how I want it with any changes completed.



As for the concierge service, I mentioned it once before but didn`t really get very much interest: Thread - Concierge Services (http://www.autopia.org/forum/detailing-business-management-marketing/110867-concierge-services.html)

[imported_Detailing Technology]

Three words for you all on the best marketing on the planet.





WORD OF MOUTH

[Driven Auto Detail]

I think it`s an interesting idea. How long have you been offering the service? Have you had anyone inquire about the service?



I guess I`m getting this a little off-topic. So, back to the original discussion:






First discussion topic:

Are you always thinking about marketing? When you are taking appointment calls? When you are grocery shopping? When you are filling up at the gas station?



What are you doing, in addition to those mentioned in the list, to actively pursue marketing your business? Keep it simple. Many of these things take little time and effort.





Personally, it seems as though I`m always thinking of ways to market or advertise my business. I think the big reason is my wife. She`s got a lot of knowledge about it so we talk about it quite a bit. Right now it`s just a waiting game since I`m not actually operating at the moment. I`m really looking forward to getting back to it and putting some of our thoughts to work.



Gas stations are a place that I will talk to strangers with nice vehicles. I typically introduce myself, compliment their vehicle, and then tell them what I do and hand them my card. I`ve not done it a lot, but the times that I have done it, people are friendly.

[todd@bsaw]

Three words for you all on the best marketing on the planet.





WORD OF MOUTH



Thank you Master of Redundancy. I think pretty much everyone that is a pro here already knows that word of mouth is the best form of promotion.



So what do you personally do to help your word of mouth?

This is a discussion topic about proactive marketing techniques that I and others have spent a lot of our own time on. Please add more to the discussion.

[imported_Detailing Technology]

HOW TO BUILD "WORD OF MOUTH"



1. Give customers an experience to speak about.



The golden rule of customer service -Live by it.



If you experience something great, tell a friend.

If you experience something bad, tell everyone.



Make sure when people meet you, even if they choose not to do business with you, they are telling a friend about you after. Everything they hear, see, and touch represents you. Make it all perfect, or don`t do it.





2. You can`t force a relationship



I remember being at a sales networking seminar in NYC about 15 years ago. There was some woman walking up to EVERY person in the room introducing herself, handing out a business card, and walking away. One of the speakers asked her why she did that. Her answer was, "to meet as many people as possible through networking". He pointed at some guy in the middle of the room and asked her, "whats his name and what does he do"? The woman couldn`t answer. He then asked the guy he was pointing at, "Whats her name and what does she do"? They guy said, "I have no idea, I threw her card away because I thought she was crazy".

I ended up meeting one person at that seminar that I still talk to today. He and I have exchanged over $1mm in business in those 15 years.







3. It takes time and effort



You have a great relationship with your friends and family. History is what makes those relationships great. You need to build the same history with your customers. Be it the owner of the donut store you see every day, or the customer that you send a reminder e-mail to once a year. They will all eventually know someone that will need your service. It`s going to take time, you cant rush it with 10000 fliers or Flash website.





4. You either have it or you don`t.



Hard fact. Some are better off working. Others are better off selling.

Know your limitations. Customers will respect you for it.





A word of mouth business cant be built quickly.

Its a way of life.

[D Tailor]

4. You either have it or you don`t.



Hard fact. Some are better off working. Others are better off selling.

Know your limitations. Customers will respect you for it.







Such a well-stated fact and so under-stated by many new business owners. Heck, even by many established businesses. It`s why the Sham-wow guy sells eveything from choppers to towels and not the actual creators (although I wouldn`t actually buy those things b/c I know the product quality versus the selling quality);)

[Jmiller07]

This is a great thread, I plan on reading this daily and contributing as much as I can. In the current state we are in marketing is more important than anything. I think more members need to contribute to this in order to be successful.

[Bostonsfavson]

Three words for you all on the best marketing on the planet.





WORD OF MOUTH





Agreed. I don`t have the money to run TV or radio commercials--my advertising consists of flyers, signs, promotional events, Google AdWords, etc. However, I have found that the best "bang for my buck" marketing tool is a happy customer. I would guess that I get about five times as many clients from referrals than I do from all of my advertising combined.