Guerrilla Marketing for Ecommerce: Unconventional Tactics to Stand Out

Nowadays, it wouldn’t be wrong to imply that the eCommerce market has become a little saturated. In fact, there are over 26 million eCommerce websites around the world. So it wouldn’t be too hard to get lost in the crowd, which is the last thing you want when trying to reach new customers.

Although traditional eCommerce marketing strategies are well above successful in reaching the target audience, sometimes, you need a little more. And that’s where the Guerrilla marketing comes in. The eCommerce experts use this creative and unconventional approach to make a lasting impact with surprise, engagement, and low-cost strategies.

So, how do you implement guerrilla marketing in eCommerce? And what kind of benefits does it offer? Let’s find out.

What is Guerrilla Marketing?

Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional advertising strategy that leverages surprise, creativity, and low-cost tactics. It helps achieve maximum brand awareness and engagement. As opposed to traditional marketing tactics, the guerrilla approach disrupts the expected and captures consumer attention in unexpected places.

The key lies in creating a memorable moment that sparks curiosity and compels people to share the experience with others, generating valuable word-of-mouth promotion. By its very nature, guerrilla marketing is unexpected and disruptive. That makes it a powerful tool for eCommerce businesses to stand out from the crowd in a saturated market.

Key Features of Guerrilla Marketing

• Surprise: The core element of guerrilla marketing is the element of surprise. It disrupts the usual and grabs attention by presenting something unexpected in a public space or online.
• Low Budget: Guerrilla marketing thrives on resourcefulness. By using creativity and unconventional tactics, it aims to achieve high impact without relying on expensive traditional advertising channels.
• High Engagement: Going beyond just showing an ad, guerrilla marketing seeks to actively engage the target audience. This can involve interactive elements, humor, or creating a unique experience that people will remember.
• Emotional Connection: Effective guerrilla marketing evokes emotions, whether it’s amusement, curiosity, or a sense of wonder. This emotional connection creates a stronger brand association and makes the campaign more memorable.
• Viral Potential: The unexpected and engaging nature of guerrilla marketing campaigns has a high potential to go viral. If people are excited to share their experiences on social media, the reach of the campaign can explode organically.
• Location-Specific (often): Guerrilla marketing tactics often leverage specific public spaces or events to target a particular audience. This allows for a more focused approach and potentially higher engagement.
• Time-Sensitive: Guerrilla marketing campaigns are often temporary installations or events. This creates a sense of urgency and encourages people to capture the moment and share it online.

Guerrilla marketing is all about thinking unconventionally to make an impact and minimize costs. That’s why the marketing team in our eCommerce development company analyzes an eCommerce business and goes through the different types of guerrilla marketing. Then, they implement the most suitable one. Speaking of the types, let’s take a look.

What are the Types of Guerrilla Marketing for eCommerce and Their Examples?

Guerrilla marketing offers a toolbox of creative tactics for eCommerce businesses. Here are some of the most common types you can leverage:

Ambient Marketing

This involves using everyday objects or the environment itself as a creative canvas to promote your brand. Think of painting a giant QR code on a sidewalk that leads to your store or strategically placing branded products in unexpected locations.

This is a great example of ambient marketing by McDonald’s in Switzerland. It shows french fries being used as zebra crossing.

Experiential Marketing

Here, you create interactive experiences that allow customers to engage with your brand on a deeper level. This could involve pop-up shops with unique themes, product demonstrations that turn into mini-events, or even interactive games with your products at the center.

KitKat placed this Delayed flight machine in the Sao Paulo airport on the occasion of Labour Day weekend. It was integrated with the data on the delayed flights. Passengers could see if their flights were delayed. If yes, they deserved a “KitKat break”. The machine would scan the tickets, read the flight codes, and offer KitKats. According to the sources, more than 2000 KitKats were distributed as a part of the ambient marketing campaign.

Social Media Hacks

The online world is a prime playground for guerrilla marketing. You can leverage trending hashtags in creative ways, launch surprise flash sales or contests exclusively on social media, or even create humorous parodies related to your industry.

In my opinion, Zomato has one of the best social media marketing teams around the world. Look at their take on iconic TV shows to promote their offerings.

Street Marketing

This involves taking your brand directly to the streets. Think handing out branded samples with discount codes, organizing product giveaways in high-traffic areas, or even using creative street art that subtly promotes your brand.

Coca Cola is another legend in the marketing game. Although it’s not subtle, this Coca Cola ad definitely manages to capture the eyes of the thirsty.

Viral Marketing

This involves creating content so engaging and share-worthy that it spreads organically across social media. This could be a funny video featuring your product, a user-generated content contest with a unique twist, or even a social media challenge related to your brand.

What started as a simple idea became a viral sensation. Thousands (maybe even millions) participated in this campaign by Apple and showcased their photography skills with the iPhone. That helped Apple sell millions of phones worldwide.

Remember, the key to successful guerrilla marketing for eCommerce is to be creative and unexpected and engage your target audience in a memorable way.

So, what other benefits do these guerrilla marketing tactics offer to your eCommerce business? Let’s see.

Why Implement Guerrilla Marketing in eCommerce?

As I mentioned earlier, Guerrilla marketing is used as an alternative to traditional marketing, which anyways offers quite beneficial results. So why opt for the former? Are there any significant benefits? Let’s take a look.

Cost-effectiveness

Guerrilla marketing thrives on creativity and resourcefulness. Compared to traditional advertising channels, it allows you to achieve significant impact without breaking the bank. This is particularly beneficial for startups or small businesses with limited marketing budgets.

Standing Out in a Crowded Marketplace

The eCommerce market is fiercely competitive. Guerrilla marketing’s unconventional approach allows you to cut through the noise and grab attention better than traditional ads. It creates a surprise element and a memorable experience. So your brand can stand out from the crowd and leave a lasting impression on potential customers.

Viral Potential

The unexpected and engaging nature of guerrilla marketing campaigns can easily go viral on social media. This organic reach can expose your brand to a much wider audience than you could ever reach with traditional marketing methods.

Imagine a creative street art installation or a hilarious video featuring your product being shared millions of times online – that’s the power of viral guerrilla marketing.

Building Brand Loyalty and Advocacy

Guerrilla marketing goes beyond just promoting products. It’s about creating a positive brand association and fostering emotional connections with your target audience. By creating a fun and engaging experience, you can build brand loyalty and encourage customers to become advocates for your brand online and offline.

Measurable Results

Some guerrilla marketing tactics might be less measurable than traditional campaigns. But most of the strategies can be tracked using website analytics, social media engagement metrics, or unique discount codes. So you can gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns and make adjustments as needed.

Targeted Reach

Guerrilla marketing tactics can be highly targeted depending on the approach you choose. For example, an ambient marketing campaign in a specific location can reach a specific demographic. And a social media campaign with relevant hashtags can target users with particular interests.

In essence, guerrilla marketing offers a unique and cost-effective way to break through the clutter and generate positive brand awareness. That drives quality traffic to the store and boosts sales effectively. So, how do the eCommerce development services implement guerrilla marketing?

How to Implement Guerrilla Marketing for eCommerce?

Now that you understand the significance of guerrilla marketing, it’s very important you implement it in a planned manner. Otherwise, the results won’t be as good as you would have hoped.

Define Your Goals and Target Audience

Before implementing this marketing campaign, you need to identify and define the goals and target audience. They will act as the pillars upon which your entire strategy stands.

To identify the target audience, consider the demographics (Age, gender, income level, location, etc.), psychographics (lifestyle, interests, values, pain points, etc.), and online behavior.

Then, set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound). They will help you define what the success of this marketing strategy looks like.

Brainstorm Creative Ideas

Guerrilla marketing thrives on unconventional thinking and surprising your target audience. So creativity is key. Here’s how you try to leave a lasting impression with your strategy:

• Think outside the box. Try to do something completely different and unexpected.
• What makes your brand or product unique? Can you use that uniqueness as a springboard for a creative campaign?
• Stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the world and online. Then, find a way to creatively integrate a trending topic, meme, or social media challenge into your campaign. But don’t exploit sensitive topics.
• Consider the physical space where your target audience gathers. Like coffee shops, restaurants, bars, etc.
• Partner with a local business that complements your brand for a joint marketing campaign.
• People are more likely to remember something that makes them laugh. So, try to inject humor into your campaign while maintaining brand alignment.
• Encourage your audience to participate in the campaign with social media contests.

Finally, don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from successful guerrilla marketing campaigns. The key is to adapt the concept to fit your brand and target audience.

Choose the Right Tactics

As mentioned earlier, there are different types of guerrilla marketing for eCommerce. But not all of them will be suitable for your project. So, you need to sift through your ideas and select the perfect weapon.

• Consider your budget: Guerrilla marketing, as a whole, is known for its resourcefulness. But still, there are some tactics that are more feasible than others. Low-budget options include social media hacks, interactive content, pop-up events, etc. And the high-budget options include flash mobs, elaborate ambient marketing installations, influencer partnerships, etc.
• Align tactics with your target audience: Remember, even the most creative idea falls flat if it doesn’t resonate with the right people. For tech-savvy millennials, go for viral marketing, social media, AR/VR, etc. For the professional, short, engaging video content or pop-up shops near their offices would be better.
• Match tactics with your goals: Are you aiming for brand awareness, increased website traffic, or driving sales? Choose tactics that directly contribute to your defined goals. For example, a viral marketing video would be excellent for generating brand awareness and web traffic. And a street marketing campaign would drive more sales to the store.
• Leverage the Power of Integration: The beauty of guerrilla marketing lies in its unexpected nature. But for maximum impact, you need to integrate your online store seamlessly into the campaign. Consider QR codes, branded hashtags, landing pages, site URLs, etc.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different tactics and combinations. I believe A/B testing is one of the most significant parts of any implementation, and its benefits can be seen in marketing as well.

Plan and Execute

Once you have a solid concept, plan the logistics meticulously. This might involve obtaining permits for public installations, securing partnerships with influencers, or designing eye-catching visuals for your social media campaign.

• Develop a detailed plan: Each tactic requires a well-defined plan. A social media campaign will need a content calendar, scheduling posts, and relevant influencers to partner with. A pop-up shop experience will need a location, logistics, and permits.
• Set a timeline and assign responsibilities: Break down your campaign into smaller, actionable steps with deadlines. This keeps everyone on track and ensures a smooth execution. Delegate tasks based on team members’ strengths and expertise.
• Permits and approvals: Certain guerrilla marketing tactics might require permits from local authorities. Research any necessary approvals beforehand to avoid last-minute delays.
• Be prepared for the unexpected: Things don’t always go according to plan. Anticipate potential challenges and have backup options in place. For example, if your chosen location for a street performance gets rained out, have a secondary location identified.

Basically, you need to plan meticulously and adapt to any unforeseen circumstances. That would ensure your campaign runs smoothly and leaves a lasting impact.

Measure and Adapt

After the execution, it’s time to see how the campaign is going. Is it successful or not? If not, how to make it successful? Here’s how you measure the results of your campaign and adapt it for future success.

First off, define the metrics based on the SMART goals. Here’s where the metrics come into play.

• Website Traffic: Track how many visitors your website received during and after the campaign compared to your baseline traffic. This provides a general sense of awareness generated by your efforts.
• Social Media Engagement: Analyze likes, comments, shares, and mentions associated with your campaign hashtag or brand name. This indicates how effectively you captured attention online.
• Lead Generation: Did your campaign encourage people to sign up for your email list or provide their contact information? The number of leads generated is a valuable metric for future marketing efforts.
• Sales and Conversions: The ultimate goal for most eCommerce businesses is to drive sales. Track coupon code redemption rates, sales figures during and after the campaign, and even the source of those sales (did they come from the landing page you created for the campaign?).
• Customer Reviews and Feedback: Pay attention to online reviews and social media comments about your campaign. This qualitative data can provide valuable insights into audience perception and areas for improvement.

The eCommerce development experts integrate analytics tools to help measure traffic, social media engagement, and conversion rates. But don’t forget the qualitative aspects of your campaign. Conduct post-campaign surveys or polls to gather audience feedback. The aim is to find the most memorable part of your campaign. So you can refine the approach accordingly.

Again, don’t be afraid to experiment with different tactics, target audiences, and even brand messaging. As the famous saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed try try again.”. Or, get in touch with our eCommerce agency. We’ll help you implement the best guerrilla marketing for your business.

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FAQs on Guerrilla Marketing for eCommerce

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Conclusion

Guerrilla marketing offers a unique and exciting opportunity for eCommerce businesses to stand out from the crowd in a crowded digital landscape. It entails embracing unconventional tactics, creative thinking, and a focus on audience engagement. That helps transform your brand into a guerrilla marketing master.

Remember, the key lies in understanding your target audience, setting SMART goals, meticulous planning, and continuous adaptation based on what resonates with your customers.

If you need help with guerrilla marketing for your eCommerce business, consult with our experts today!