Guerrilla Marketing: Cutting-edge strategies for the 21st century
£12.20£13.30 (-8%)
The book every small-business owner should own
First published in 1983, Jay Levinson’s Guerrilla Marketing has become a classic in the field of business, revolutionising marketing for small businesses all over the world and creating a new way to understand market share and how to gain it.
In this completely updated and expanded fourth edition of Levinson’s first Guerrilla Marketing book, his take-no-prisoners approach to finding clients is on full display, as he offers hundreds of marketing ideas that really work and a new roadmap for small-business success in the global marketplace.
Filled with leading-edge strategies for marketing on the Internet, putting new technologies to work, targeting prospects, cultivating repeat and referral business, and managing in the age of telecommuting and freelance employees, among others, Guerrilla Marketing will be the entrepreneur’s marketing bible for the twenty-first century.
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Piatkus (3 May 2007) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 384 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0749928115 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0749928117 |
| Dimensions | 15.7 x 2.8 x 23.3 cm |
by Paul Simister
This is a big, dense book with 368 pages of small typing, little white space and no diagrams. My only criticism at the time it was published was the presentation because I generally like books to be easier to flick through and pick out the main points. Instead you have to read this book thoroughly. That’s not a hardship because it’s is very well written, concise and it fires up the imagination with its content.
Guerrilla Marketing started in the mid 1980s but this fourth edition brought the ideas up-to-date when it was published in 2007.
Fundamental to understanding these concepts is the viewpoint that “marketing is every bit of contact your company has with anyone in the outside world.” This puts marketing at the very centre of your business. Everything you do is marketing because it leaves an impression (good or bad) on other people which influences what they think and what they say to other people.
In Chapter 1 Jay Conrad Levinson contrasts guerrilla marketing with traditional brand based marketing over 20 points but this ignores direct response marketing where truths can be traced back to the late 19th century.
The main principle of Guerrilla Marketing is that you can replace money by investing time, energy, imagination and/or information.
In Chapter 3, the author explains the 16 secrets of Guerrilla Marketing, the foundation stones the ideas are based on. These all end in “ent” like commitment and intent. These are really to do with the mindset of the marketer or at least, that’s how I use them in my business coaching. Mindset issues are too often ignored in other marketing books.
I’m very keen on the principle that a business owner works with intent – he or she decides what they want and then works out how to make it happen. This is why I love the 7 Sentence Guerilla Marketing Plan because it helps to create focus quickly and stops the business owner getting bogged down in planning. It takes practice to get used to the technique but, in the end, you should be able to plan a marketing campaign in about 15 minutes. I’ve developed the idea because I found clients were getting confused. If you’d like a copy of my pdf to help you with your marketing planning, get in touch.
Much of the book is about the 200 different tactics and techniques that you can use to promote your business effectively. Sometimes I hear business owners say “I’ve tried everything to market my business and nothing works.” Lists like this are useful for reminding yourself that there are still plenty of options. Some of the 200 are now obsolete and the advice on the IT issues is dated. Many of the tactics are still relevant but it’s hard to be selective. If in doubt, ignore any of the Internet or social media issues.
When I first reviewed it on my blog in 2007, it was an automatic five star book but I felt it needed to be read with several other marketing books to give a complete picture like
Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got: 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition
,
Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide
and
The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don’t)
.
Now it’s overdue for an update but the author died in October 2013. The book still has the vital mindset issues that aren’t covered by other authors and the GM plan which is so quick and useful when you get to know how to use it but I don’t like the fact that marketing has moved on so much with the Internet and social media. This time I’m giving it a reluctant five stars because some of its contents is far too important to overlook and remains an integral part of the way I work with clients.
About my book reviews – I aim to be a tough reviewer because the main cost of a book is not the money to buy it but the time needed to read it and absorb the key messages. 5 stars means that I think that overall it has some vital messages in it.
Paul Simister, a business coach who helps business owners who are stuck, get unstuck.
by Paul Clegg
I’ve been involved in Marketing for over 30 years at all levels from corporate to small business. This highly practical approach eliminates the ‘hype and hope’ promoted by so many ‘gurus’.
by Matthew Duke
If you’re a veteran to the world of marketing, there will probably be little to surprise you here, however: If you’re new to world of business, marketing or design then this is definitely worth a read. Filled with great tips.
by Simon Shehata
When I bought this book I was expecting insights into creative low budget and out-the-box tactics, which is really what I understood as guerilla marketing. This book however seems to focus more on pretty much traditional advertising and over cluttered mediums in a really basic way, something that might have worked in the 80s but now is just expensive and non efficient. I am therefore, not that impressed with the fact that this guy “invented” the term guerilla marketing but does not really talk about it in the modern sense. Despite that, the book reminded me of marketing planning basics that I had forgotten and some other interesting insights. Would still recommend Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes for anyone looking for more exciting and word-of-mouth driven campaigns.
by AnC
I am totally new to marketing strategies and I was looking for an introductory book. This one came highly recommended and did not disappoint. It is well written and easy to follow. Only downside is that it is a bit too tailored for an American audience. But again, for a starter is pretty good.
by A. Dawud
I have bought a lot of business and marketing books and whilst some leave a lot to the imagination and motivation, this book hits the nail on the head every single time.
The book goes through everything clearly and explains in simple words why guerrilla marketing is the way forward especially for those businesses on a small budget.
I have only read a small part in this book however keep ‘dipping’ into Jays wealth of knowledge. I had thought about looking at gift vouchers for my business and how will go ahead with them as Jays book explains why vouchers are important to those in retail.
There is an in-depth list of skills and qualities we have but we often do not credit ourselves for. This list alone encouraged me to think about what I can do personally to make my business a huge success.
The can do attitude of Jay is motivational-a must have book for those who do not have the multi million pound budget to spend on marketing.
by JP Leonardo
This book everyone needs this in your curriculum. It’s boosted my marketing skills and also allowed me to open up and just be me. The authenticity I see in life is being you. And that is marketing for free. I can’t wait to read all the other collections. I strongly recommend it.
by croftonstorage
I was really looking forward to getting this book, and I must say that I wasn’t dissapointed. It has some really useful “general” marketing insights, which I could apply to our business.
The specific guidance it gives is rather too focussed on TV and Radio advertising, and is rather US-centric too.
If you want general marketing principles and some creative ideas for things that can be done on a budget, it’s a good start, but the specifics of this book need brought up to date and made more relevant.