Not having a marketing strategy is like entering battle under a commander who says, "READY...FIRE...AIM!" It's tough to win that way. Read how to make it easy.

A mind-boggling number of businesses operate without a marketing strategy. That's like navigating the globe without a map: you're probably not going to reach your destination, and you'll be lost for much of your journey.

A guerrilla marketing strategy has only seven sentences. It's this brief for two important reasons. One, a seven-sentence strategy forces you to focus. And two, everyone in your organization can read and understand a simple seven-sentence marketing strategy, putting them smack dab on your wavelength.

Let's say you run a business, Computer Tutor, which teaches people how to operate computers. Here's how a guerrilla marketing strategy would work for you.

1. The first sentence tells the purpose of your marketing. Keep it simple, and be ultra-clear. Don't even come close to using marketing or computer jargon.

"The purpose of Computer Tutor marketing is to book 100% of the company's available time for computer education, at the lowest possible cost per hour."

2. The second sentence tells the benefits you'll offer to achieve your purpose, concentrating upon your competitive advantages. Everybody offers benefits. Be certain to emphasize the benefits that no other business that your customers can buy from offers.

"Computer Tutor will accomplish 100% booking by establishing the credentials of the educators, locating the operation conveniently, and using high-quality equipment, as well as by offering free training for the first month."

3. The third sentence defines your target audience - or audiences. Don't aim at just one audience when you really have two or three.

"The primary target market for Computer Tutor is local small-business owners who can benefit from learning to operate a computer; our secondary market is large corporations."

4. The fourth sentence lists the marketing weapons you'll use. This is where you list your entire arsenal ... and this is where you prove that you're a guerrilla, because you'll unleash a wide array of weapons so you can determine which hit the bullseye and which miss the target. Unless you experiment, you'll never know.

"Marketing weapons to be used by Computer Tutor will be a combination of personal letters, e-mail, a Web site, circulars, brochures, signs on bulletin boards, classified ads in local newspapers, classified ads online, Yellow Pages advertising, direct-mail special offers, free seminars, speeches to local groups, a column for a local newspaper, sampling, a referral program, telephone training, professional office decor and employee attire, and publicity online, in the local newspapers, on local radio talk shows, and on cable television."

5. The fifth sentence tells your niche in the market. The buzzword for this is "positioning" and it tells what you stand for.

"We at Computer Tutor will position ourselves as the prime source of one-on-one instruction in the operation of personal computers."

6. The sixth sentence tells your identity. Your identity stems from truth and honesty.

"Computer Tutor's identity will be a blend of professionalism, personal attention, and warm regard for our students and their use of computers in their lives and businesses."

7. The seventh sentence tells your marketing budget as a percent of your projected gross sales. In 2000, the average U.S. business invested 4 percent of its budget in marketing. But guerrillas know what happens to the average U.S. business: it goes out of business within five years.

"Ten percent of Computer Tutor's projected gross sales will be allocated to marketing."

This strategy should guide your efforts for the next one to 50 years. Use it to measure all marketing materials you plan to use. No matter how much you may love them, if they do not fulfill your strategy, they go into your wastebasket.

Okay. You've got a strategy. You've thought it through. Now comes the most important part -- commit to it. Make sure your employees and co-workers read it and know exactly what you're up to. You'll be ready to earn record-breaking profits, and the bright light of your guerrilla marketing strategy will illuminate your path.