Great Info at EntreForum

Thanks to everyone who turned out for EntreForum last week!
Our Marketing panel did a fantastic job explaining their specialities. We heard Bob Hoppman of the Pasta House talk about his marketing philosophies. Among the great advice he shared..."the most important person to market to is the one sitting in your restaurant!" Bob made the point that marketing begins at the point of sale...if you've done everything RIGHT at the store level, then you're ready to "spread the word" through mass marketing.
Sandra Wilson of NewPage Corporation in Wickliffe shared with us the importance of companies being involved in their communities...a concept known as "Cause Marketing." Sandra discussed how NewPage not only invests in local support of the arts, but how its employees and the company contribute to six different charities.
Our panelist (via Skype) from Los Angeles was Van Vandegrift of matrixx, LLC...a branded entertainment marketing firm. Van and I worked together during my years at Dippin' Dots on several national promotions and campaigns. Van shared with the group the importance of social network marketing...and how to maximize the effort for the greatest return on investment (ROI). Our thanks to Van for donating a door prize of a free social media evaluation for one of our Mentees.
As always, thanks to our mentors who attended who always provide great counsel and advice to our budding entrepreneurs.
Watch the next blog post for details on our next EntreForum program!