FuelNet presents a case study on how one smart growing business, in an effort to land new customers as part of its business development plan, increased the visibility of its quarterly newsletter through guerilla marketing.

PROBLEM: New Jersey–based family counselor Cathy Noblick was looking to attract new customers without incurring huge costs. She also wanted to project a professional image. So she joined forces with two colleagues who had the same goals to launch a joint newsletter called Relationships. But they had to find the best way to distribute it.

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SOLUTION: Leaving a stack of newsletters in their own offices would fulfill one of the counselors’ goals — to educate customers on relationship topics. But that method would reach only current customers. The same is true for emailing distribution to clients. The three women could have chosen to post the newsletter on their individual Web sites, but there was no guarantee that would garner many new prospects.

The counselors may not have been familiar with the concept of guerilla marketing, but that describes the method they chose to pursue. Each started leaving the newsletter at spots around town, such as tailor shops, beauty salons, an attorney’s office, and a dentist’s office. Now it’s second nature for the three women to grab a stack of newsletters when they go on errands, and their guerilla marketing strategy has paid off.

“We’re always well received, and we’ve gotten quite a few new customers — from places like doctors’ offices, day care centers, and bagel shops,” Noblick points out. “Women are particularly attracted to the topic.”

The counselors email a Word file containing their articles to a local printer, which designs the newsletter and prints 1,500 copies. The colleagues split the cost — $188 apiece. The quarterly newsletter is a great way for them to introduce themselves and illustrate their philosophy and approach to counseling. For them, guerilla marketing is a perfect method to spread the word.

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