Guerilla marketing is cheap and effective. So why isn't every independent ISP operator adopting guerilla marketing techniques to fend off gorilla-size rivals?

by Brock Henderson [March 8, 2002]

There was in interesting thread in one of the discussion groups recently that happened upon by accident. In a response to a post from another member, I commented about the need for gorilla marketing, but what I meant was guerilla marketing. There's quite a difference.

As I thought about my gaffe, I realized that maybe there is a marketing lesson here. The giants in an industry, America Online for example, do use gorilla marketing. AOL is a gorilla because it has enough cash to distribute costly mass mailings of their start-up kit, as well as advertise on prime time commercial television. AOL is able to pound their message home, into the conscious minds of consumers through a multitude of multi-media and right or wrong, convince its target market that AOL is the best ISP around. After all, "everyone" is on AOL, "everyone" is using it, and "everyone" can't be wrong, so it must be true—AOL is a marketing gorilla.

Now how is a small ISP business supposed to compete against a great big gorilla like AOL? Television advertising is expensive and prime time television is even more costly. The average independent ISP doesn't have the cash or the cash flow to support any sort of prolonged heavy media attack against a marketing heavyweight like AOL. What marketing options are available to the average ISP operator?

The answer is clear—guerilla marketing. Guerilla marketing requires a substantial investment of an ISP operator's time and energy, but it only takes a minimal amount of cash to launch a successful promotional campaign. This does present a bit of a dilemma for some small business owners: not only do these entrepreneurs lack the financial resolve to take on a gorilla, they usually don't have much time available either. All the same, you must choose a path—either take a deep breath, dig into your pockets, and spend the money on advertising, or you re-evaluate your time management scheme and find the time to do some guerilla marketing.

There are all sorts of guerilla marketing opportunities out there. Frankly, you are limited only by your imagination in the creation of these opportunities. So let's peel a bunch of bananas and get those mental juices flowing:

• Flyers: You can go door to door (If in an apartment complex you really should get the managements approval first.) or you can put flyers on car windshields. (If in a shopping center you should get management approval, but if the cars are on the street they're fair game).
• Develop Alliances: Your locally owned pizza parlor may be willing to split the cost of flyers with you in exchange for half the advertising space. These flyers could then be distributed as above, or with each pizza order delivered. Talk to your local print shop owner about putting one of your flyers with each of their printing orders.
• Sponsorships: For a small amount of money you could be a sponsor of a Little League team, which will get your ISPs name out and about in the town, as well as help the community.
• Network: This can be a highly time consuming, but well worth the investment over the long haul. Attend Chamber of Commerce meetings, participate in a local civic group, or be active in a local religious group. Networking with local affiliations is a great way to develop new contacts and grow your ISP business. There is one caveat, however, only join civic groups that you have a genuine interest in because phonies are quickly spotted by these groups and you will find that they avoid you and your business as a result.
• Write: Depending on your strengths this will either be a absolute torture, or a lot of fun. Many local papers welcome articles from the business people in the community. The larger the community the more difficult it may be to get your name in print, but if a publication is willing to accept your articles then this might be an excellent venue to pursue.
• Public Speaking: Numerous organizations are constantly looking for speakers. Here's your chance to get the word out about your ISP business to a group of people all at once … and they are interested in what you have to say. Don't talk about just your business, but rather how your industry is changing, or how it is helping education, or other businesses, or what to be wary of—make it informative, not a sales pitch.
• Community Bulletin Boards: Many places have bulletin boards for their customers to view and utilize. Grocery stores, hair salons, barber shops, laundry mats, some restaurants, and the like. Put your flyer up on the board and be sure to check it on a regular basis since some places remove flyers after a week or two.
• Referral Programs: These programs can be very productive when backed up with constant, positive reinforcement for the referring customer. Don't let the reward stop at a few dollars, give those who are sending you a lot of referrals some sort of gift, like a T-shirt, baseball cap, coffee mug—just something else to reinforce your appreciation of their efforts in helping your ISP business grow.
• Training Classes: A lot of individuals need training in how to surf the Internet and appreciate ISP businesses that provide such services. Customers who are educated on how to best utilize the Internet for their personal and professional benefit are customers who require less technical support over time, and can become excellent referral sources. They can also teach a class for a month's worth of free Internet access.
• Seminars: Work with other ISP-related firms, like networking consultants or Web design companies, to produce an informative mini-seminar for local businesses. By joining with these other related—but non-competitive businesses—you have the opportunity of presenting your ISPs services in a format that is not threatening to the participants.

Take advantage of your staff for some of this work. If a member of your team is good at writing, let them be the author for the local newspaper articles. If someone enjoys public speaking, allow them the opportunity to get out and talk about your ISP business and the industry. If an employee doesn't mind long walks through residential areas, let them distribute your flyers. And always, always, always, keep them on the clock for these activities.

You won't kill the competition, but a strong guerrilla campaign can compete with any 800-pound gorilla and survive—if not thrive. Happy hunting.

—End