Marketing Hacks that Worked a Treat

Every company in the world is obsessed with marketing and sales - trying desperately to get in front of potential clients, gain visibility, join the conversation, and generally drum up new business in order to grow.

Competition is fierce these days (regardless of size and industry), so it's not that surprising that innovative and creative people are out there trying to find new and interesting ways to market and promote themselves.

But which marketing strategies actually work?

I posed this question to a bunch of different companies and what I found was quite interesting. It's not necessarily the 'type' of marketing strategy you use (you don't have to come up with something completely new in order to succeed), it comes down to 'how you do it'.

Take a look at what strategies these companies used and how their efforts paid off...

No half measures (Computer repair doctor)

Matt Ham, the owner of Computer Repair Doctor bought an ambulance and wrapped it (see the above image). Here's what he said about it:

So advertising on your vehicle is not all that new, right? But look at what a great job they did at it. Instead of being conservative they took the leap and went all in. In fact, I would probably use their service just to have my PC repair tech rock up dressed as a medical intern.

What's nice about Matt's story is that they have also done proper research and analysis of this particular campaign so that they know for sure (from their customer feedback forms) that the ambulance is working as a lead generator and new business driver (no pun intended).

Be controversial (Rebel hack)

Carly Klineberg from Rebel hack related a story about a blog post that ultimately ended up generating a huge amount of interest precisely because it was controversial. Here's what happened:

So, once again, creating content that stimulates debate is not something new. But getting it picked up and shared on bigger platforms is. Increase your chances of this happening by targeting topics that are of direct interest to the bigger players.

Be warned though, being controversial is like walking a tight rope with no safety net. Ensure that your opinions are at least defensible so that you can join the debate with intelligent and rational points.

Startup Santa (Baron Fig)

James Mazza from Baron Fig was telling me that they were looking for a way to get one their products into the hands of their target audience - local and international startup companies. Their answer is priceless:

He elaborates:

What I like about this story is that it is ultimately a human relationship based strategy. They physically went to their potential clients' locations and handed out gifts - complete with Santa and elves. This type of thing makes an impression. It's fun. It's unique. And, you end up capturing a lot of attention and time from potential clients.

You're the best (RT500 Enterprise)

RT500 Enterprise was stuck with a small marketing budget and the problem of making a data based subscription service 'sexy'. Here's what they came up with:

So, hopefully you've been able to see that not every hack has to be completely new in order to work. But, everything that works seems to have something unique/new/unusual about it. There's definitely a bit of 'secret sauce' in each one of these hacks. The trick is finding your own.

What unusual marketing techniques have you tried? Have you met with success or failure? Share your tips and ideas in the comments.