Guerrilla marketing is all about coming up with fun, creative, and (here's the key), free or relatively cheap ways to communicate to customers the who, what, where, why and how's of a product or service.
For your 15-year-old, this could involve trying easy stuff like posting some signs or leaving fliers at grocery stores and coffee shops or spreading the word about the summer business through more sophisticated strategies on Facebook.
Now that summer break is half over, many first-time entrepreneurs are looking for ways to make more money before it's time to hit the books again. In that spirit, here are six guerrilla strategies to try:
-Do your homework. Brainstorming and researching ideas will help you come up with a game plan that plays to your strengths, whether you're a computer whiz or a potential master gardener.
-Know your target audience. If lawn mowing is your forte, your customer base might be senior citizens who no longer have the energy for yardwork, or households with very young children where Dad and Mom don't have the time to cut the grass.
As for how much to charge, size up the competition. If the teen down the street charges $20 a yard for mowing, maybe you settle on $15 but offer a la carte pricing for hedge trimming and flower bed weeding. Or offer discounts for a two- or three-month lawn service contract.
Use the words "free" and "guaranteed" whenever you can. "They're proven and powerful," said Sam Renick, a Los Angeles entrepreneur who founded It's a Habit Co., a financial education business.
For a lawn-care company, said Renick, consider flyers with real grass taped to them stating "Let me cut your grass. Satisfaction guaranteed, or it's free."
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