This guest post was written by Shar-day Campbell.

Too often, people think strategic marketing and implementation require big dollars. Think again, and consider this 3 Step Tactical Guerrilla Marketing Plan:

Step 1 | Gather Intel Through Surveillance

In order to properly execute any tactical marketing operation, one must survey the environment.

The surveillance should include:

• Assessing the target audience by conducting surveys to determine their interests and purchasing habits. For example, Survey Monkey is a free online resource to gather feedback.
• Monitoring your online presence and benchmarking competitors through free tools like Google Alerts and Social Mention that notify you when specified search queries (i.e., your company’s name, industry and competitors) appear online in articles, social media posts, blogs and videos

Step 2 | Assembling the Troops

Look at our Military. They are a keen example of how assembling a properly trained team will yield significant results.  To have successful marketing campaigns, business owners have to budget for the right team of employees, consultants and contractors.

Everyone on the team must play his/her role to ensure that the mission is completed. The representatives who answer your phone and interact with your customers are on the frontline and can kill opportunities.  Case in point, I recently read a testimonial titled “Who Is Answering Your Phone.” It briefly highlighted how an unpleasant store clerk abrasively asked a journalist to call back.  Needless to say, the journalist never did and the store owner missed out on a free publicity opportunity.

Step 3 | Operation Gain Visibility

Assess the audience, gather intel and assemble the troops–it’s time to execute.

Below are some guerrilla marketing, public relations and advertising tactics that are often overlooked.

Guerrilla Marketing Tips

• Power Behind A Signature—An email signature that includes your name, title, company’s name, contact information, website, social media links, line about most notable award/recognition and a link to a recent promotional piece/media feature reminds others about your company’s current endeavors.
• Business Card Links—Build an online community by including links to your social media profiles on your business cards.

Guerrilla Advertising Tips

• Medium—After defining the target audience, select a print, television, online or radio medium that will have the greatest impact.
• Messaging—Never underestimate the intel gained from your surveillance. Develop your messaging by considering what motivates your customers.
• Timing—Effective advertising is all about timing. If your goal is to connect with a specified demographic, you should target that audience with ads around cultural holidays (ie: Black History Month, Women’s History Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian Pacific Heritage Month, etc).
• Incentives—Deals/coupons have an average redemption rate of 30-50 percent and are appealing during a recession.  Always consider your bottom line–Can you afford the deal?
• Walking Advertisements—Branded t-shirts, hats, pens and other paraphernalia should be worn or used as much as possible.

Guerrilla Public Relations Tips

• Social Responsibility—Most media outlets are seeking the next great human interest story and companies that give back to the community are featured in the media more than their competitors.
• Building Your Contacts—Use the results from Google Alerts to reach out to journalists and bloggers who are featuring stories in the company’s industry.
• Timing—The bulk of media features come from having events and product releases when the concepts are media worthy.
• Gratitude— goes a long way! Say thank you and follow up with free give-a-ways to journalists/bloggers who feature your company.

Remember, the simplest solutions are always in plain sight.  Have you overlooked any of these marketing opportunities?

Shar-day Campbell is a marketing communications professional who has honed valuable skills that are proven to establish/maintain rapports, increase lead generation and build brand awareness.  Her work has been featured in national news outlets and recognized by the State of Texas and City of Houston. She is a proud member of the Houston American Marketing Association and is currently freelancing while seeking new career opportunities.  For timely marketing communications tips and more information about Shar-day Campbell, connect with her on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.