No Marketing Budget?

“Ooh that Blisters! You better call an Attorney!” is a catch phrase that was coined to generate the general public’s interest in the LawsOnline.com directory, a service that connects individuals with qualified attorneys who can address legal concerns and provide viable solutions to difficult situations.

The catch phrase “Ooh that Blisters! You better call an Attorney!” was modeled after similar catch phrases used by other industries such as Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” and State Farm’s “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” and Geico’s “So easy, even a caveman can do it.” These catch phrases helped promote and popularize their products. The goal is to craft a memorable catch phrase that is so amusing, lighthearted, or sentimental that it sticks in the consumer’s head and influences their purchases.

In the marketing world it is both expensive and difficult to stand out from the competition. So creative endeavors must be deployed to build a grassroots campaign that engages the consumer in such a way that organically drives them to become messengers of the movement rather than the industry pushing a repetitive message from the top down. This grassroots effort that ‘makes’ a catch phrase, media personality or event and moves it from consumer to consumer is often called Guerrilla Marketing. This tactic is not just used by small businesses but is used heavily by major corporations, which is why grassroots messaging and Guerrilla Marketing is so effective at forming a connection between consumers and products engaging them on a personal, social level. Remember the goal of Guerrilla Marketing is to propel a message quickly from consumer to consumer so that it catches the competition by surprise. The strategy is to determine which media is the best avenue to create this consumer driven marketing effort. In today’s world there are more options than existed years ago. So one of the best applications for this kind of Guerrilla Marketing is social media outlets. Some social media outlets are better than others based on their status with the general internet community. A smart strategy to determine a great social media market is to follow the migration of young consumers. When we suggest social media we are not just talking about text postings with pictures but videos and emails as well. Younger consumers in their 20s are usually the best at recycling a message and passing it on to others, which will lead to more views.

In most cost effective grassroots or Guerrilla Marketing strategies, the best efforts are focused on establishing brand awareness as opposed to nominal increases in revenue.  To get to that point, there are three steps: 1) Build Name Recognition; 2) Define the Product; and 3) Identify the Target Audience. It is the space immediately after this 3rd step is successfully accomplished that almost all major name brands reside.  Just think of any well known name brand and your relationship with that brand revolves around that “it gets me” anticipation of the newest product offering.  To get close to that level of name recognition, a company has to be well established. What most small businesses need is to attract attention to the fact that, yes we do exist, we are real and not an AI hallucination. The most difficult job of any small business, law firms included, is to create media that potential consumers will identify with and associate with the company. But that ‘15 minutes of fame’ Andy Warhol so famously predicted is more elusive with all the different social media avenues that exist today. Therefore, small businesses will need to think outside the box. Engaging in an effective grassroots or Guerrilla Marketing campaign is paramount.

For the legal industry most law firms are on the low end of marketing budgets because their ‘product’ is related to local services and the demand for an attorney is unpredictable. Creation of an identity should include a catch phrase or message you would like to push. Building name recognition and defining the product can be combined into one statement piece. Utilizing multiple outlets to generate name recognition is everything. Focus on which outlets will fit into your marketing budget and provide the best platform for pushing your message. Remember, the three steps in your Guerrilla Marketing campaign, in greater detail, are:

1) Build Name Recognition: Identify who you are to demonstrate that your company exists.

2) Define the Product: Create a message that is catchy or humorous to start a trend. This process of the Guerrilla Marketing campaign can be the most difficult and time consuming so think it out carefully and test ideas with friends and family to see what they think of your messaging. When you are at this stage, create a cohesive and memorable piece and take care not to offend your target audience. Using animals or objects, such as keys, homes, cars, flowers, money, etc. is one of the top neutral and positive subject matters for a marketing campaign. General occupations and sports are also good subject matters, but avoid political and religious subjects.  (See the LawsOnline “Ooh that Blisters! You better call an attorney!” campaign videos for ideas. Notice the company name is mentioned at the end of the promo. Name recognition can be tied into what you do.) 

3) Identify the Target Audience: Consider what would be the best marketing platform for your message. It is in this area that you will focus on how you can keep refining your message so that it will be simple enough to end up on a business card in print media or in a quick text that can be distributed from person to person. The use of multiple platforms to get your message across is key. Consider the following free and/or cost-effective platforms:

FREE PLATFORMS: 

a) Paper Flyers – Beyond putting the flyer under a windshield, think of something unique such as folding the flyers into origami shapes such as airplanes, animals or boxes and leaving them with friends to circulate or at a coffee shop or restaurant, some place where it will not be a nuisance or get overlooked, but somewhere novel for that form of marketing.

b) Email Messages – Send email messages to friends and family with a brief history of your company that can be passed on to others.

c) Social Media – Use Facebook or LinkedIn to connect with the local community. Create a marketplace account using Facebook Marketplace or LinkedIn Services Marketplace to sell items, unrelated to your company, but with your company information and phone number as the contact for people to reach you.

d) Help Videos – One of the best Guerrilla Marketing techniques may be to create online videos offering useful content sponsored by your company. You can use your cell phone to be creative in making videos and then post them on YouTube, TikTok, etc. Video tips could be unrelated to your company but it still gets your name out in the general public.

e) Text Messages – Convert your video and quick message into humorous memes and animated GIFs that can be passed from person to person via cell phone. The best tools to use to convert your video message into a GIF or a meme are the following:  Giphy.com for quick animated GIFs and Imgur.com, Imgflip.com or tenor.com for static memes.

COST EFFECTIVE PLATFORMS: 

a) Business cards printed with your company slogan, tagline, message, etc.

b) Pens, stationery, etc. printed with your company slogan, tagline, message, etc.

c) URL with either your company name or tagline, but keep it short.

d) Website that includes your message, video, GIFs, memes, etc.

e) Custom email with your company name or short tagline, i.e. yourname@BradleyTempe.com or yourname@Best&Brightest.com.

f) Online ads using Google Ad Words may seem like traditional marketing but this is one area where you can cost effectively find the best time of day to put your ad in front of people. Google Ad Words allows the best micro managing of your marketing audience for the dollars you spend.

So over all the best way to get your Grass Roots Marketing campaign or Guerrilla Marketing campaign off the ground is to just try something. If you try and do not succeed, adjust and try again. There are many more options than what is covered in this article but one way or another you will find an option that will help you stand out from the rest. Just keep trying!

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