Grassroots Marketing | Inc.com

The People's Marketing: Have everyone sell their experience as consumers of your products or services.
Hands On Marketing: Roxanne Quimby, CEO of Burt's Bees, feels the best way to sell her products is by putting it in your hands, literally.
Taking on Procter: She may not have the resources of her giant competitors, but Amilya Antonetti is making her own mark in the soap business, one customer at a time.
Community Leads: A Pat on the Back: A restaurateur details how he is sending congratulatory letters and an offer for free wine to promoted workers.
Battle Grounds: Here's how Rand Smith, the founder of coffee-bar chain Maine Roasters Coffee, competes with Starbucks by leveraging the Maine tradition of supporting locally owned businesses.
Triple-Scoop Sellers: Local ice-cream shop hires the most creative counter help it can find to sing, dance, and draw in customers.
How Do I Market to Local Businesses Whose Owners Are Too Busy to Join Associations?: Entrepreneur and marketer Lisa H. Buksbaum never leaves home without her business cards. Neither should you. More advice: show prospective clients how you help current clients, invite guests to your speaking engagements, and send out quarterly newsletters.
How Can I Expand My Small Business, Which Depends on a Couple of Clients?: Your best source of new clients will always be old clients, according to guerilla marketer Jay Conrad Levinson.

I Read It in the Funny Papers: Marketing innovation doesn't have to come at a high price. Sometimes all it takes is understanding who your customers are -- and what will make them laugh.
Garden of Eden: Offering a soothing ambience and complimentary cups of tea, herb shop serves as sanctuary for customers, creating strong and lasting ties.
Anniversary Waltz: A florist uses sales records to generate letters reminding past customers to order again.
Establish a Late Arrival Policy: To ease the frustration of arriving past closing time, this quick-oil-change outfit offers latecomers money-off coupons for their next visit.

Milking Customer Loyalty: With the help of its customers, Stonyfield Farm was able to get its products onto supermarket shelves.
An American Start-Up: In 1999, a pair of Wharton grads started a company to build and sell a specialized computer mouse. They chronicled their experiences -- the trials and triumphs of starting a business -- in a house newsletter.
Cool Juice, Hot Sales: Unable to get his bottled drink on supermarket shelves, this CEO got the product stocked on the shelves of nontraditional retail venues.

Word of Mouse: Word of mouth is one of the best ways to build buzz about your online business. And getting people talking about you doesn't have to cost a fortune.
Get Business to Come to You: Here are some surefire ways to boost referrals.
A Little Help from Your Friends: A satisfied client can be your best sales rep. Here are some pointers for helping customers "sell" for you.
The Word Is Out: For this entrepreneur, one cold call led to a word-of-mouth publicity blitz.

Associated Press: Cross-promoting your business is cost-effective and increases sales.
Make Your Customer a Winner: As a way to promote both his customers and his design expertise in one neat package, this designer enters industry competitions in his clients' names.