The 100 Guerrilla Marketing weapons are very powerful when used correctly. They can be equally powerful when used the wrong way, and you end up shooting yourself in the foot or sometimes just blows your whole leg off! I recently saw a weapon used both correctly and then incorrectly. It was so bad that they would have been much better off not using it at all. Signs on your company vehicles are a great way to get exposure if you have more than just the company name and phone number on them. If you have a sign on the back of the vehicle that includes your seven word theme-line, then every time you stop in traffic, someone will get a healthy dose of exposure of what your company does.
Today I saw an example of how this can work against you in a big time way; and, unfortunately this is not the first time I have seen this happen. I went to lunch today at a local restaurant and was surprised at what I saw in the parking lot; a lawn service that had a truck and long trailer behind it had parked in such a way that they took up six prime parking places. It was so blatantly inconsiderate that it was absolutely amazing anyone would do that. Usually someone with a big truck or a truck and trailer either parks in the street or in a corner of the parking lot. I have seen other times where someone will park their company vehicle in a way that is totally disrespectful of anyone else. They will do this with the company name plastered all over the side of the vehicle. People see the vehicle parked wrong, keeping them from parking. Since the company name is all over the vehicle, they make the association of being inconsiderate (or worse) to that particular business.
Anytime the business name is portrayed, there is an association always made by people who come in contact with it, whether on a vehicle or even an employee’s shirt. Sometimes the association may be unfair or unfounded, but it happens. I have a friend who owns a large security company. All of his employees drive the same style and color cars with the company name on them. Every Saturday he hires someone to come to their office and wash each car so people won’t see his company on dirty vehicles. Needless to say his employees are always dressed very nicely also, and, yes, their shirts always have the name on them. Did I say that he has a large company? Well, it is the largest in the area.
I recently posted a related article about business relationships and how relationships and experiences customers have with employees mold the relationship the customer has with the business.
http://www.thecrmdoctor.com/EveryOneIsInMarketing.htm
Doc Pratt
