Today's Issue
- Editor's Take: Out-of-the-box Thinking
- SME Power Quote of the Month
- Article: Adding Social Value to Your Brand
- Testimonial Callout
- Events: Effective Leadership Skills (Monday 12 February), Corporate Culture: Filipino Values in the Workplace (Tuesday 13 February), Import Procedures and Documentation (Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 February), Basic MS Excel (Thursday 15 February), e-Services Global Sourcing Summit (Thursday 15 to Friday 16 February), and ISO 9000: Quality Management System (Friday 16 February), and Japanese Business Language Introductory Course (Saturday 17 February)
Jay Conrad Levinson on Guerrilla Marketing:
"Guerrillas continue romancing those they are courting. Eventually, those prospects feel so cared for, so important, so attended to, that they switch over and begin to patronize the guerrilla who never stops courting."
Article:
Adding Social Value to your Brand
In this course of time, many businesses realize that they have a social responsibility toward their target market or immediate community that they serve. They will be made to respond in a proactive or reactive manner.
A proactive effort is an activity strongly associated with the business. Some pharmaceutical companies for example will identify several depressed communities, and will conduct a free medical mission involving volunteer doctors and company staff. They will offer free check ups and provide advice on dental hygiene, skin ailments, optical care, nutritional health to name a few.
To read more, click here!
Testimonial Callout
For those who want to share their thoughts, just simply send us an email to info@sme.com.ph and place on the Subject header: SME Testimonial. The best testimonial will also be featured in our SME.com.ph Web site.
Editor's Take
Back in 2001, Selecta started selling their ice cream in subdivisions and villages via a roving bicycle which plays a catchy music that has now become the trademark song of the product. Selecta knew that to beat competition, they have to resort to other means beyond TV and radio advertisements in order to sell their products.
Their creative approach was the roving ice cream cart and the strategy: bring the product closer to the market.
Gone are the days when businesses rely solely on old media - TV, radio and print - in order to create product awareness. Most businesses are now beginning to "think out-of-the box" and are exploring creative and imaginative means to promote their products. If you really want to stand out and stay ahead of competition, "Guerilla Marketing" just might work for you.
In a nutshell, "guerilla marketing" is defined as unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. According to Jay Conrad Levinson, world renowned marketing expert and father of Guerilla Marketing, "broadening your search isn't as important as aiming your message at the right people."
You have to get a better perspective of the needs and wants of your target market, look beyond demographics and start understanding their behavior, explore options on how to connect with your target market and effectively reach them in order to make a lasting impression.
With so many businesses sprouting left and right, the marketing arena has become so fierce that there's no point fighting head on with the big players with expensive mediums to advertise your products.
Businesses have applied the principles of "guerilla marketing" because it's simple and practical, yet the result is heavy on recall and high in impact.
Russelle S. Trinidad
SME BizLink Editor
Postscript: Spread love to everyone you meet, it's Valentine's Day on the 14th!
