Marketing Roundtable - 90 minutes

The St. Charles Convention Center is the site of an annual small business expo that brings friends of Small Business Monthly Newspaper out mid-week to consider ways to enhance their businesses. The event took place on Wednesday October 23, 2013. Among the mini-seminars and trade show atmosphere, EG Radio Marketing produced a radio show featuring six local marketing experts. Jeff Arthur, founder of the Excalibur Coaching Institute was the host and moderator. Some highlights:

Matt Ziemianski, Director of OT/IS at Insight Karpel reinforced the message that mobile marketing is coming. Matt earned a BS in computer science from Rockhurst University and holds certification with Cisco, ShoreTel and Microsoft. His firm was also a sponsor of the marketing roundtable program.   

Tom Ruwitch, founder of MarketVolt, an internet marketing expert with a particular expertise in email marketing, web site development and online surveys was on hand to encourage businesses to consider the impact of inbound marketing. “If you are delivering content, you are delivering value,” he offers. Tom used as an example a fly-fishing site. Tom says “Branding activity is certainly key, but engaging customers is a powerful thing.”

Rebecca Ritz, the owner of Bauerhaus Design has experience creating brands, large and small. Her firm focuses on building brands for wineries and helping small businesses translate their dream brand online. She sees Tom’s point but stresses that attention to brand identity is essential.

Carolyn Jackson, Director of Marketing and Rider Services for Gateway Harley‐Davidson (dealership). She admits that she benefits from a well managed brand. “I don’t have to focus on building a brand as much as leveraging it at retail. Partnerships have been one way we’ve leveraged that brand equity,” says Carolyn.

Kristy Meyer whose career journey includes job titles from Customer Service, Sales, Database marketer, Marketing Researcher and eStrategist has proven an ideal mix as she serves as marketing consultancy. She helps them translate their marketing plans and goals into active online communities that engage and support their brands.

Wes Morgan Principal of Morgan Studio/East continues to encourage businesses to consider an approach to their business efforts that includes marketing that is planned with an eye toward measuring success. “Even small business owners can benefit from harnessing the passion they have for their businesses to stay relevant and capitalize on market opportunities.”

It was clear 90 minutes could only scratch the surface of the marketing areas represented by this panel but my hat is off to Jeff Arthur as he extracted plenty for the Small Business and radio audiences to think about as they manage their respective enterprises.