Business Strategy Coach - Why Isn't My Marketing Working?

Small Business Strategy Tip - The Power of Buzz Marketing

Buzz Marketing is best defined as word of mouth. Much like Viral Marketing where the objective is to get people talking to other people about their experience you provided as a marketer, the big difference is the part where you get people talking is generally done off line. If you’re standing outside a movie theater and shouting about your product and maybe dressed up as your product guess what is going to happen? People are going to start talking to one another. Regardless if you tell another person there is some crazy man or woman outside shouting about something the goal has been met once one person tells another.

The best BM (Buzz Marketing) campaigns are those that do not come off as marketing campaigns. Ambient Marketing is loosely based on BM where you are simply there and making your presence known. Every Guerilla Marketing (GM) tactic contains elements of another GM tactic but each is different and used in a different way. If you’re thinking BM may not be the best approach to get traffic to your website or offline store then you are really underestimating the power of BM. By nature people are curious and gossipy. Why not let the most basic of human instincts do your marketing for you?

One of the draw backs to this particular GM tactic is that if you are a shy or quiet person then this may not be best for you as it generally involves making a mockery of yourself or at least being in a public place and doing something that will get people talking.

That is okay though. With the Internet you don’t have to be seen by anyone. You just have to do something to get people talking. Since VM (viral marketing) and BM are so close to each other on a principle level, you can start a VM campaign and reap the benefits of word of mouth. Refer to the VM section for a great way to get people talking about whatever it is you want them to.
Of course most BM campaigns don’t require you to make a mockery of yourself. A great BM tactic is to place fliers, business cards and or signs all around your town, city and or state. When one person sees the message you have 1% better chances of them telling another person.

When a hundred people see your message, grab your card or whatever you want them to do you have a 100% better chance of them telling just one other person which would be 100 people telling 100 people.

Are you starting to see how this could be great for your business? I thought so. Even if they don’t tell anyone, someone is still finding out about you. Buzz is best but just being is fine too.

Thus far, not one of these Guerilla Marketing tactics is going to cost you more than $20, often, it’ll be much less than that and the results will linger for a long while. The key to GM is to combine tactics since even when you combine five or ten GM tactics you’re still nowhere near the cost of say a TV or newspaper commercial that just blends the surroundings (not to be confused with Ambient Marketing although it contains AM elements).

People for the most part have grown to ignore commercials. How often do you actually leave the TV on the same channel when a commercial that doesn’t interest you comes on? Not very often. The people making the commercial you are ignoring could have just as easily and for less money (if any money) could have used a GM tactic that was sure to get your attention and at least get you to check out what they are promoting.

The next GM method I am going to speak about may require a little money and may be reserved for bigger companies or more established companies but it’s a great way to get people’s attention and works wonders for smaller or startup companies. Remember I said GM is not about money but time and effort but this particular tactic as I said may cost a little money but it’s well worth it compared to traditional marketing methods.