May 10th, 2010 | Bill McIntosh, Founder

I have always been a fan of Sun Tzu’s treatise, The Art Of War.  But when I recently watched the History Channel’s presentation on this world-renowned book, it made me think how most businesses do not apply it.

One would need to watch this TV version of the book as a good start, as well as read the book itself. ( I recommend the James Clavell version)  But one thing stuck out for me above all else and that was to attack an enemy’s weakness despite one’s size. In this case size does not matter. In other words, any guerrilla force can be effective if they are stealthy, consistent and attack the enemy’s weak spots.  And everyone has at least one.

In marketing, I hear to often about how they have a small budget, no sales people, lower revenue and on and on. In other words, they have not realized that they have to adapt and become a guerrilla marketer. And no where else can this be done more effectively than the web. This is because of two major factors:

1. The internet has evened the odds, more than any other factor in business. You may be operating from your home, or even while eating a muffin at your local coffee house, but your potential client cannot tell that by looking at your web site.

2. About 90% of the companies, big and small, are either not utilizing all possible methodologies and tactics or are making big mistakes that is costing them SEO and SEM potentialities.

The guerrilla marketer does not look at what he or she does NOT have. They look at their competition’s weakness and develop practical ways to exploit them.  Most companies do not blog often. This is a weakness. Most companies do not submit articles or use online PR distribution channels. This too is a weakness. There are hundreds of examples of weaknesses to be found.

Based on this knowledge, one can then develop tactics that would make Sun Tzu proud and your banker even happier with all the profits generated with your online marketing campaign.

Ancient knowledge is still as applicable as it was today, even in the world of internet marketing.

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