Combining Traditional and Digital Tools in Developing an International Guerilla Marketing Strategy: The Case of a SME Greek Company

Economic crisis in Greece has led many Greek SMEs to turn to foreign markets and overseas distributors, since the interior market is low disposable income and because they do not have the funds for foreign direct investments. Even though the SMEs are aware of the advantages of an export activity, they often ignore the challenges, which incur time investment and extra costs, and follow a traditional export strategy, which just includes the participation to international exhibitions. This study suggests the use of guerilla marketing by SMEs, through the incorporation of several innovative advertising instruments along with their traditional and digital ones, in an attempt to achieve sales in foreign countries with the minimal resources. The validity of this methodology is proved through a case study of a SME in Thessaloniki, Greece, which followed the aforementioned practice and performed successful exports, managing to sell its products to overseas markets. After the case study analysis, the paper outlines some propositions for further research regarding the use of guerilla marketing by the SMEs. Finally, the emphasis is given to the managerial implication that SMEs, Greek and others, could use in order to perform well during their export efforts.