When it comes to startups and creating experiences it can be a huge challenge due to a lack of cash flow. This means many startups fail to create those experiences that truly connect with customers. They function primarily on a very basic means of building brand awareness which is just social media but it doesn’t have to be this way. Startup brands must have a love for guerrilla marketing in order to succeed. 

The concept of guerrilla marketing has been around for many years. By marketing your brand in this way it can build awareness. Guerrilla marketing is a very grassroots hybrid way of getting your business out into the world. It’s one that focuses on having a dialogue with your customers, encouraging them to engage with you. Versus traditional marketing which is very much a one-way dialogue, where brands tell the world I have this product, buy it. 

One of the key components to building brands is to really ask yourself, “what do I want to do?” What solution(s) is your brand offering to solve a problem in the world? By creating this core concept it provides your brand a Northstar and streamlines a lot of your efforts when it comes to marketing as well as creating brand experiences. The idea is to start with one sentence, cut it down to 7 words and then finally 3 words that describe what you do. 

So the question becomes how do we use guerrilla marketing to encourage a conversation with our customers? It simply starts with these: 

1. Asking Customers to Register For Something 

Maybe you want them to register for a demo of your product or a chance to meet the founder of your company. This is also going to be a great way for you to start collecting email addresses of those who are interested in what you have to offer.  

2. Newsletter Signups 

This is the most common way of encouraging a conversation. Those who sign up for your newsletters find some kind of value in what you’re offering. They want to know more and this is the chance for your brand to shine and educate those qualified customers. 

3. Giveaways and Contests

We see this a lot on Instagram these days where brands ask you to follow, tag a few friends in order to win something from them. If you want new followers for social media this will be the quickest way to do it. 

4. Online polls 

Is another way to get the conversation going. It’s also a great market research tool where you really get a glimpse into the mindset of your customers. Feedback is always great and this is a very non-invasive way of getting it. 

5. Appeal To A Wider Audience 

With over 500 million users utilizing Instagram stories, brands such as Burberry unveiled an interactive AR filter that covers the user's face with white lace, the same pattern used for the house's fashion show invitation during its Spring/Summer 2020 show. 

With all these options which one really works? That’s going to take trial and tribulations because not every brand will have the same goals nor will the audience respond in the same way. It will depend on how you craft these experiences and what your goals are. 

You need a marketing combination, it’s no longer about just about omni-channel marketing. 

Startups with limited budgets can try creating a website, canvassing, telephone marketing, circulars, brochures, signs on bulletins, personal letters, classified ads, direct mail, outdoor signs, billboards (ask for remnant inventory it’s cheaper), demonstrations, seminars, event sponsorships, trade shows, Public Relations, T-shirts, free gift giveaways, newspapers, magazine ads, radio, or television.

Yes, some of these sound like dinosaur advertising methodologies, but I invite you to think about if a marketplace is very noisy, where you’re aggressively competing for attention would your brand be seen? So why not try an area where not many people are playing in.