Growing your business — particularly a new business — is difficult in today’s overcrowded marketplace and having a limited marketing budget can make things even more difficult.

You know you have quality products or services, but not enough people are aware of them. One popular way to solve this dilemma is through the strategic use of guerrilla marketing.

To help get you started here are three steps for discovering the power of guerrilla marketing and exploring ways it can help grow your business.

1. Understand What Guerrilla Marketing Is — and Isn’t

The term guerrilla marketing was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book of the same name, initially published in 1984. As an executive for top advertising firms such as J. Walter Thompson and Leo Burnett Advertising, Levinson helped create some of the world’s most famous brands including The Marlboro Man, The Pillsbury Doughboy, Tony the Tiger and many more. It was from this background that Levinson came up with a new concept for marketing geared to smaller businesses without big budgets.

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In his book, Levinson defined guerrilla marketing as a means of achieving business profits through unconventional methods that rely more on time, energy and imagination than on spending money.

Many people often confuse guerrilla marketing with the more recent term growth hacking, coined by Sean Ellis. Both concepts focus on low-cost approaches to marketing, but growth hacking’s emphasis is a data-driven approach focused on scalable and repeatable ways to grow a business rather guerrilla marketing’s more creative approach.

2. View Sample Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns

Some guerrilla marketing campaigns are local, in-person events whereas others rely on the power of the Internet to fuel their success. Here are several popular tactics with some recent examples that offer a real-world look at guerrilla marketing in action.

Blogger outreach — Modcloth promoted its online store by naming dresses after featured bloggers, who in turn publicized Modcloth’s clothes extensively on their own blogs and social media channels.

— Modcloth promoted its online store by naming dresses after featured bloggers, who in turn publicized Modcloth’s clothes extensively on their own blogs and social media channels. Flash mobs — Flash mobs involve a group of people, either professional performers or willing amateurs, to perform a predetermined activity at a specific time and place. For example, Riverdance created a flash mob in Sydney, Australia to promote its local show and Alphabet Photography created a Christmas flash mob that went viral with nearly 50 million YouTube views.

— Flash mobs involve a group of people, either professional performers or willing amateurs, to perform a predetermined activity at a specific time and place. For example, Riverdance created a flash mob in Sydney, Australia to promote its local show and Alphabet Photography created a Christmas flash mob that went viral with nearly 50 million YouTube views. Street marketing — Some street marketing examples include a dentist who posted detachable flyers in the shape of a tooth to telephone polls, a restaurant that created sidewalk ads using chalk or a store that projected nightly videos on an outside wall. Note: Be sure to check into any local city regulations concerning public advertising before starting a street marketing campaign.

3. Pick the Right Guerrilla Marketing Tactics for Your Business

Choosing the guerrilla marketing tactics that will work for your business is both art and science. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Research successful campaigns from the past, both from your competitors as well as from businesses in other industries. Seeing what’s already been done can help spark your creativity and give you an idea of what’s possible. The best campaigns, however, are often creative, imaginative concepts rather than an exact repeat of what’s already been done.

Evaluate your tolerance for risk. Because guerrilla marketing campaigns are often unconventional, there is a chance they could backfire. For example, Cartoon Network never expected its publicity stunt for a new show would result in terrified local residents reporting a potential terror attack to the police. So think through any possible problems or pitfalls carefully before proceeding with a risky campaign.

Partner with your agency. Agencies are noted for having creative staff who can develop unconventional marketing ideas that the typical business owner might never think of. Working with your agency partner, brainstorm creative guerrilla marketing tactics that work within your budget.

Final Thoughts

In a competitive business world, companies with small budgets often need to think outside the box when promoting their products and services. Done right, guerrilla marketing tactics such as blogger outreach, flash mobs and street marketing can create substantial publicity for little cost. Get creative, or partner with a creative team, to generate some buzz for your business.