56 BUSINESS ERRILLA MA
GBD SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 GUERRILLA MARKETING: ETIN
“Unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.” Jay Conrad Levinson
Bill Sanderson believes we have to show courage and avoid following outmoded ideas if we are to succeed in the fast-changing modern business landsape.
• Te outcome mattered to them personally • Tey bought into the cause • It was their life, their land • Tey had the passion, energy, imagination • And the commitment to win
To do this they were prepared to accept everything that came their
way and deal with it in whatever way was necessary to get the result they wanted. Totally in contrast to the professional soldier to whom it was just another day at the office. To whom the rules of engagement came foremost and the belief total that he could impose his way of doing things on the enemy whatever the circumstances, because that had worked last time. So it will be in business next year and probably for a few years more
than that. Tose small and medium sized businesses who survive and prosper will
Pictured above: The PGA is communicating well with its members and website visitors Below: Finding new ways to reach and please customers is important
I
have been helping clients from all corners of the business world deliver sales through this concept which is totally aligned to the business world of today.
Tis experience has led me to say: “It is now time for Guerrilla Business Management!” Business is often likened to warfare. Te terminology we use could be
taken from a military text book. Strategy, planning, tactics, deployment of resources, winning the battle with competitors, rules of leadership, marketing campaigns, morale, discipline etc etc. Indeed most of the management courses now available can trace their
ancestry to the original versions set up in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Tese were mostly run by ex military officers on a variation of the theme they had been through. Industry and commerce in those days was very top down, autocratic and structured. Switching from the past to 2011, I want to develop the military analogy
further. Just as the cliché goes that generals always fight the current war with the
mindset of their last one, so it is evident that over the past 50 years for all their military might, tradition and resources, the “super powers” have been out-thought time after time by a different type of foe. Te ‘Guerrilla’. Out-thought because the Guerrilla: • Chose to ignore the ‘rules of conflict’ • Was not hidebound by convention, history or tradition • Did not accept the obvious that the biggest would always win • Would not structure themselves in the same way as their enemy • Believed that small is an advantage • Knew that speed of thought and action would beat the ponderous clunking of huge unwieldy armies • Understood that the only thing that mattered was the context of the battle as it was being fought here and now.
Tey were always driven by the fact that:
be predominately drawn from the ranks of the managers and owners who understand that history is a poor guide to what needs to be done. Experience is only valid when it has relevance to the current situation.
Experience of successful cavalry campaigns counted for nothing when armoured vehicles came along. Trading in the boom times is no preparation for prospering in the downturn. I had 20 years’ experience presenting with Overhead Projectors – a lot of good that is now. Having business experience of good results in the pre on-line era does
not equip anyone to manage their way through the future landscape of business. Tomorrow’s (that is next season I am talking about) customer is a different person to yesterday’s. Fifty years ago business could take its time in adjusting to change. Today you need to move quickly, confidently and flexibly. Tis will be the default behaviour for as far as we can see in to the future of business. Tat is why I am delighted to see the moves being made by such bodies
as the PGA, and the PGAsE. Tey have recognised that the overwhelming need of the golf pros and everyone connected with the business of golf is to have access to resources that equip them in this fast changing, high demand, and customer-led world. A world that demands that golf professionals are business professionals. Whether in retail or teaching, in golf club or range management, owning or managing the golf business, the need is the same. Access to relevant, practical and professional support to help them become guerrilla businesses. By rethinking their training delivery model the PGA is clearly leading
the way by practising what they preach. Te PGAsE have similarly decided to change the model of delivery of the business seminar programme available at the Munich show. Te PGA along with TGI and Foremost, are combining to similar effect at Harrogate this year. Tis then is where golf pros need to be looking and where they need
to be engaged. Te resources are changing as is the way they are being delivered. Tis principle is being reinforced within every sector of business and commerce. I am involved in literally dozens of programmes across the UK
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