When it Gets Tough in business, don’t quit, Go Guerrilla Instead!
- Southerton Business Times
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
Why the Guerrilla Mindset?
The world of business does not operate on an even playing field. There are rugged terrains, disruptions, valleys, and cliffs that the entrepreneur should navigate. The word “guerrilla” conjures rebellion, conflict, and insurgency. Put it next to “business”, “research”, “marketing”, “public relations or “selling”, a lot of people will ask “Huh?” “What did you say?” When you go guerrilla, you are rebelling against the conventional or the usual. When the classical formulas aren’t working or delivering, one should go the unconventional route.
This is the road less travelled that Robert Frost was referring to in his famous poem “The Road Not Taken”. Contemporary businesses are fast going guerrilla as they scream and compete for attention. Formulaic textbook-based methodologies are fast losing out in favour of fresh approaches. The guerrilla mindset is not fixated on strait jackets. It breaks out of all established patterns and suggests newer, stranger, and sometimes preposterous ways of looking at things. In this article, when all things aren’t equal, I challenge the modern entrepreneur to embrace the guerrilla route.
Guerrilla Warfare Tactics
In guerrilla warfare, freedom fighters are aware that they are fewer in numbers than the conventional enemy armies. They are under- resourced and cannot compete on a plain field, yet they should make so much noise and make their presence felt by any means necessary. They therefore adopt the following tactics to complement their shortfalls:
Intelligence: they gather quick, valuable intelligence using ‘shoe-string’ budgets or resources for reconnaissance missions against the enemy
Ambushes: they launch surprise, targeted attacks and quickly disappear into the civilian population
Raids: they attack in unexpected places to gain attention
Deception: they mask themselves from recognition or deliberately mislead their enemy
Sabotage: they disrupt, interrupt, or interfere with the normal day-to-day run of things in
order to be heard or noticed
Espionage: they carry out surveillance and spying missions on enemies
In like manner, the entrepreneur should be ready to responsibly deploy guerrilla tactics in business (marketing, selling, etc.), the intention being to get mileage and acquire trophies at the lowest budget by elbowing potential competition (lions) out of the game. Guerrilla marketers use intelligence gathered from guerrilla research. They ambush unsuspecting customers with publicity material and even raid unexpected places to gain maximum audience and exposure. They are aggressive, extraordinary, subtle, and innovative in their approaches. You simply cannot resist them.
The Nature of Guerrilla Methods
These are quick and low-budget approaches that yield or give leads and pointers to reliable results. Guerrilla methods are not there to provide detailed results per se but to generate quick insights to help you make informed decisions. They help you to minimize the “dangers of flagrantly assuming”. They either rubber-stamp or quash your “gut feelings”. Classical methods tend to be silo-based and ritualistic, yet guerrilla methods are about “getting out of the building and experiencing the world” as is.
Guerrilla methods are about mesmerizing your audiences as you register your presence and visibility. Their effectiveness and possibilities are as limitless as your creativity, innovation, daringness, and audacity. Guerrillas will look for surrealistic visuals and situations that passers- by will always remember. Guerrillas are interested in knowing what sets them apart from the competition. They are interested in harnessing that which gives them a slight edge, winning edge, competitive edge, or cutting edge. As creative thinkers, guerrillas are constantly having to think of new and exciting ways to grab people’s attention and admiration.
Key Guerrilla Tactics Companies Can Use
In contemporary business, companies can deploy word of mouth, blogs/blogging, podcasts/viral videos trending on social media, graffiti, publicity stunts, treasure hunts (with awarding of prizes at the end), creative billboards, and stealth marketing.
Professor Mufaro Gunduza coaches and mentors Business Intelligence at Mount Carmel Institute (Harare), Indian School of Management (New Mumbai), and UNISA, among others. He is the SADC Investments Advisor for the Future Trends Group. He has written several books, including Unleashing Blue Sky Thinking, Spotting Business Opportunities, and Big Picture Thinking (Bookboon Publishers, London & Denmark). He has just assumed the Presidency of the Southern African Chamber of Commerce. He can be contacted on WhatsApp: +263774868896 Phone: +263718925350 Email: mgunduza@yahoo.co.uk
Guerrilla business tactics Zimbabwe
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