Business Model Generator (BMG)

Step #4: Guerrilla Marketing Test

Guerrilla marketing is essentially smart marketing; marketing where brains substitutes (to some degree) for money. Most startups need to use GM simply because they don’t have a marketing budget that includes, say, purchasing a 30 second Super Bowl ad for $2.3 million. But that doesn’t preclude large, successful companies from engaging in GM. Many do.

GM is smart, brains-for-money, niche-based, targeted, bold, imaginative, non-obvious, 2nd order thinking, unconventional and even sometimes borderline legal marketing. You can find out more about Guerrilla Marketing here.

1) Is building trust in your brand a significant initiative for your organization/business/startup?

Yes
No

2) A brand is important to us because:

It helps us sell more when we get in front of clients and customers because they trust us more because they know about us through our brand.
We expect that our branding and marketing will generate sales for us simply be getting our name out there.

3) What type of marketing does your organization currently do or contemplate doing?

a) Major Newspaper
Yes
No

b) Local Newspaper
Yes
No

c) Magazine
Yes
No

d) Radio
Yes
No

e) TV
Yes
No

f) Online Ads
Yes
No

g) Flyers
Yes
No

h) Web Site
Yes
No

i) Sponsorship or Donations
Yes
No

j) PR Event or PR Stunt or Media Releases
Yes
No

k) Contests
Yes
No

l) Lawn Signs
Yes
No

m) Handbills
Yes
No

n) Coupons
Yes
No

o) Promotional Products
Yes
No

4) Do you ask existing customers for referrals?

Yes
No

5) Did you know that often the best place to find new clients is by selling more to your existing customers?

Yes
No

6) How do you keep in touch with existing clients?

a) Newsletter
Yes
No

b) Email
Yes
No

c) Telephone
Yes
No

d) Faxes
Yes
No

e) On-Site visits/Face to face
Yes
No

f) Special Events
Yes
No

g) Social Events
Yes
No

h) Media Releases
Yes
No

7) Do you sometimes bid on jobs even though you know you will probably lose but you can get to know the prospect organization anyway and maybe sell them later on through personal contact? This is a kind of win-by-losing idea.

Yes
No

8) Do you ever use online surveys or telephone surveys to open doors for you?

Yes
No

9) Do you do any cold calling?

Yes
No

10) Do you do some homework on prospects before cold calling prospects?

Yes
No

11) Have you been able to sign up clients before you launch any new product or service?

Yes
No

12) Have you ever been able to show a client, with a spreadsheet for example, how using your product or service actually improves their bottom line and is a ‘negative cost’ to them?

Yes
No

13) Do you use tag lines for your company, your products and services?

Yes
No

14) Have you ever considered trying to get a free celebrity endorsement?

Yes
No

15) Have you ever considered trying to get sponsors and advertisers for your business initiatives?

Yes
No

16) Do you presently use give-aways, branded with your name on them, such as?

a) T-shirts/sweatshirts/polo shirts
Yes
No

b) Pens
Yes
No

c) Mouse pads
Yes
No

d) Mugs
Yes
No

e) Magnets
Yes
No

f) Golf gear
Yes
No

g) Key chains
Yes
No

h) Watches
Yes
No

i) Cameras
Yes
No

j) Tote bags
Yes
No

k) Decals/labels/bumper stickers/signs
Yes
No

l) Caps/hats
Yes
No

m) Electronic gear
Yes
No

n) Other promotional products
Yes
No

17) Do you think promotional product give-aways with your company name on them is an effective, lasting way to market your organization?

Yes
No

18) If you are currently giving promotional products away or are contemplating doing so, how do you or would you deliver them?

a) Give them to existing clients
Yes
No

b) Give them to staff
Yes
No

c) Give them to suppliers
Yes
No

d) Give them somehow to prospective clients
Yes
No

e) Use them in contests and draws
Yes
No

f) Give to qualified customers at events and trade shows
Yes
No

g) Use them for sponsorship events and donations
Yes
No

h) Use them for holiday and celebration gifting
Yes
No

i) Use them for product or partnership launches
Yes
No

19) Do you co-promote or co-market with other firms?

Yes
No

20) Do you have an online presence where you can market your products or services?

Yes
No

21) Do you have an e-store where you can sell your products or services?

Yes
No

22) What is the main reason why you do not have an e-store?

N/A
No budget to invest in such a project
No support to maintain an e-store
No time to implement
Does not fit our target market
Other

23) Are you using a marketing and public relations firm to assist you?

Yes
No

24) If yes, are you satisfied with that company?

Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Not satisfied
Not applicable

25) Did you know that your accounts payable can be a source of sales leads by reverse selling to people who sell to you (i.e., you can sometimes sell to your suppliers)?

Yes
No

26) Do you always or often include a call-to-action in your marketing, something (like say a free give-away, a free quote, a discount …) that inspires people who see your marketing to do something?

Yes
No

27) How would you compare to others in your industry?

We do (or expect to do) more marketing than the average
We do (or expect to do) about the average amount of marketing
We do (or expect to do) less than the averages

28) Do you or will you try to track the results of your marketing?

Yes
No

29) Do you do or will you any marketing-by-press-release?

Yes
No

30) Do you have or plan to have regular company events or promotional events?

Yes
No

31) Does your company or organization attend or plan to attend trade shows or conventions?

Yes
No

32) What is your annual marketing budget?

Less than $10,000
$10,000 to $25,000
$25,000 to $50,000
$50,000 to $100,000
More than $100,000

33) Do you use Guerrilla Marketing Research?

(For example, placing an ad in a newspaper for a soon-to-be-introduced product or service to gauge consumer demand.)

Yes
No

34) Do you use or plan to use Guerrilla Marketing?

(For example, getting huge media play by first floating a target in the Indian Ocean like Taco Bell did and then announcing during the de-orbiting of the Russian Space Station that if any piece of the station should hit the target, then every man, woman and child in the continental US would receive one free taco.)

Yes
No

Final Score:

66% complete