Flier Power What packs a marketing punch for just pennies apiece? The humble flier, of course.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
One of the purest of the guerrilla marketing weapons is fliers.What makes the flier so pure-and so effective?
It gets action if you use it properly.
It is astonishingly inexpensive; we're talking penniesapiece here.
It lets you use color in a sea of black and white.
It is the essence of simplicity and flexibility if you do itright.
What should your goal be in creating a flier? A flier issupposed to make a clear and persuasive offer, create a sense ofurgency, get right to the point, tell the prospect what he or sheis to do now, and tie in with your business's identity.
Should a flier have a special time-limited offer? It doesn'treally have to, but you do want to hear a bang for your bucks-andyou'll probably hear only silence if you don't have anelement of urgency.
Fliers can be distributed in a variety of locations: posted oncommunity bulletin boards, handed out on street corners, placedunder car windshields, made part of your billings or other regularmailings, and placed on the counters and in the windows of yourmany marketing partners.
The most important part of any ad is the headline. Well, thinkof the flier as all headline. Be sure to include your offer, thedate it ends, your address or phone number, and the major benefitsyou offer. Hold back on listing a myriad of benefits. Oneultrapowerful benefit should do the trick.
Even if your offer is not accepted, you haven't lost muchmoney. You will have placed your name in front of your public andincreased awareness of your firm. But if I know you, your offerwill be too good to miss. Same for your profits.
Minor Adjustments
Sometimes one tiny tweak is all it takes to revitalize yourmarketing program. If your sales seem to be stagnating, try some(or all) of these ideas on for size:
Investigate shopping cart marketing. Shopping carts withplacards heralding products or promotions are all over theplace-and they're a great way to boost sales.
Remember that giving is getting. Guerrillas recognize thepower of freebies. You own a restaurant? Give away free appetizers.A dry cleaner? Give $5 worth of cleaning free. You get theidea.
Consider holding a retail auction. Growing numbers ofretailers have weekly auctions of returned and slightly damagedmerchandise. It's fun and generates a lot of in-storetraffic.
Light the back of your store. If you increase the amountof light at the back of your store, more customers will beattracted there, and they will stay in the store longer.
Learn the power of small details such as decimal points andzeros. To minimize prices, write "Only $80." Tomaximize savings, write "Save $80."
One of the best guerrilla advertising venues: the stillads that flash on movie screens before the previews start. It'spure guerrilla advertising because it's local, targeted,inexpensive and projects your business as part of thecommunity.
Trying to reach older customers? Don't talk down tothem; don't patronize them; don't treat them as"cute" or assume they've lost their mental agility.Speak clearly and loudly enough for them. Make sure visuals in yourwritten materials are clear and that type is large enough for agingeyes to read.
Contact Source
Jay Conrad Levinson is author of the internationallyacclaimed Guerrilla Marketing series ofbooks andco-founder of Guerrilla Marketing International. Forinformation on the Guerrilla Marketing Newsletter and otherproducts and services, write to P.O. Box 1336, Mill Valley, CA94942; call (800) 748-6444; or visit the Web site at http://www.gmarketing.com.
