by: Geoff Ficke

The Importance of “Focus” for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Cannot Be Overstated 

This is a true story. This occurred within the last week. Unfortunately it occurs every week, usually several times each week.

I was contacted by an Entrepreneur. She had developed a new Pet Product. The phone interview was productive. The item seemed to offer great commercial potential. I agreed to review the supporting Business Plan. However, before the call ended, the young lady excitedly continued that she had several more products and was constantly discovering new concepts. There was a Bicycle Accessory. She had an idea for serious runners. Another was a cooking utensil. 

I listened with increasing dismay. My initial interest in the Pet Product was deflated by a recurring problem that so many aspiring Entrepreneurs, Inventors and Small Business people in the Consumer Product space seem to suffer: a lack of focus. 

A few days after the conclusion of the call with the Pet Product Entrepreneur the Business Plan arrived in the mail. (A tip: always send a hard copy of a Business Plan. The hard copy has an exponentially better chance to be read, marked up and passed up the decision-making line.) I had promised to review the document and as I began to look for the four highlights that confirm viability, I was confronted by the same issues I experienced on the call: lack of focus. 

Every Venture Capitalist, Investment Banker, Angel Investor, Marketing Consultant, potential partner or Merchant Banker that I have ever worked with considers lack of focus to be a mortal sin for a project. Entrepreneurs, especially those seeking to use other people’s money, must be able to focus like a laser on the one item, product or service that affords the individual, and their partners the best opportunity for success. 

A lack of ability to focus on the immediate task at hand indicates a lack of discipline. Most Entrepreneurs and Inventors are by nature creative types. They see things others do not. Ideas constantly flow through their minds. However, it is also true that very few creative types can make the leap to running a business or successfully launching Consumer Products or Small Businesses based on their ideas. The inability to focus all of one’s energies and efforts on a project until it is completed and introduced is endemic in the makeup of many innovative individuals. 

One thing that most prospective Entrepreneurs and Inventors do not seem to realize is that investment in a project is investment in the individual. The creator is as important as the product or service that has been created. You only have one chance to make a great first impression, don’t blow it by trying to make multiple impressions. This does not impress, it creates confusion and diminishes interest in your project. 

After an “alpha” success is achieved there will be endless opportunities to develop new products and services based on your creativity. First, focus like a laser on the task at hand. Let nothing disturb your focus on achieving the result your creativity deserves. Repeating the success formula you have experienced then gets easier and easier.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release:

September 19, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

 859-567-1609

 gficke@msn.com

Duquesa Marketing Medical Aesthetic Skin Care Client Selected for Exclusive Spa Soul Program 

3 Sisters Restorasis™ Hydro-BioMimetic Skin Care to Be Introduced to International Clientele at Hong Kong COSMOPROF November 9-11 

Florence, KY   Nancy Ficke, General Manager of Duquesa Marketing announced today that her Consumer Product Development, Marketing and Branding Consulting firm will manage the international introduction of 3 Sisters Restorasis Hydro-BioMimetic Skin Care November 9-11, 2011 at the Hong Kong COSMOPROF. 

“3 Sisters Restorasis is a product with an amazing medical provenance and it deserves the premiere Skin Care Beauty Industry trade show in the world for the market launch”, said Mrs. Ficke “To be one of 12 lines chosen for the exclusive Spa Soul program is an amazing accomplishment for a newly launched line”.   

“A self-sterilizing, organic lipid complex formula has never been accomplished before”, said Geoff Ficke, President of Duquesa Marekting. “We have developed and Marketed dozens of skin care products over the last four decades. Nothing has had such amazing performance results on sun abused, aging, wrinkled skin as we have measured with 3 Sisters Restorasis program”. 

“Spa Soul is a separate, high-light area within COSMOPROF Hong Kong where show management has judged Brands and chosen those demonstrating unique technology, product features and benefits for special attention”, said Alexis Bruning, V.P. of New Product Development for Duquesa Marketing. “There will be several more exciting announcements over the next several weeks”.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release:

September 19, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

 859-567-1609

 gficke@msn.com

Restorasis Essentials, LLC to Launch Skin Care Regimen At Hong Kong COSMOPROF November 9-11, 2011 

First Self-Sterilizing Organic Lipid-Complex Technology to Be Unveiled during Asia’s Premiere Beauty Product Trade Show

Frederick, MD Dr. Jeanne O’Connell, MD announced today that her Medical Aesthetics Research and Development firm Restorasis Essentials™ will introduce their first Skin Care program for consumers at the upcoming Hong Kong COSMOPROF trade show.

“We have applied the science and technology in our Hydro-BioMimetic proprietary formulated treatments on hundreds of patients in our Medical Aesthetics clinic”, said Dr. O’Connell. “3 Sisters Restorasis™ is the culmination of years of work to create a program that addresses the problems of sun damaged, aging, abused and wrinkled skin by utilizing the best of science and nature”.  

“By introducing 3 Sisters Restorasis to the consumer market, Dr. O’Connell and her sisters Meg Comer and Kateri Delaney, are offering consumers for the first time the opportunity to experience the amazing benefits their patients have enjoyed for years”, said Geoff Ficke, President of Florence, KY based Duquesa Marketing, managing consultants for the project. “Cosmoprof Hong Kong is the paramount Skin Care show in the world and ideal for the international launch”. 

“Restorasis Essentials LLC is the R&D arm of our Medical Aesthetic clinic, the Sylvana Institute”, said Dr. O’Connell. “We are in various stages of clinical development on additional treatment products that will address specific dermal issues that we treat every day while working with patients in our clinic”.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release:

September 14, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

 859-567-1609

 gficke@msn.com

Duquesa Marketing to Launch 3 Sisters Restorasis™  Hydro-BioMimetic Skin Care at COSMOPROF Hong Kong 

Asia’s Premiere Beauty Product Trade Show Ideal Venue for Medical Aesthetics Anti-Aging Product Introduction to International Distributors 

Florence, KY Geoff Ficke, President of award winning Consumer Product Development, Branding and Marketing Consulting firm Duquesa Marketing announced today that his group will handle the world wide launch of 3 Sisters Restorasis Hydro-BioMimetic Skin Care Regimen at Hong Kong COSMOPROF, November 9-11, 2011.

“We have been working closely with Dr. Jeanne O’Connell, Meg Comer and Kateri Delaney, the 3 Sisters, to commercially develop the self-sterilizing lipid complex that they created and use to treat patients in their Medical Aesthetics practice in Frederick, MD”, said Mr. Ficke. “The most sophisticated Skin Care marketplace in the world, the Asian market and Hong Kong COSMOPROF, is the ideal venue to introduce Restorasis to international skin care distributors and retailers.

“This is not the usual topical skin care line with a lot of glitz and sizzle”, said Nancy Ficke, General Manager of Duquesa Marketing. “3 Sisters Restorasis has a serious medical provenance and after testing and use on hundreds of patients at the Sylvana Institute the Brands performance in immediately improving damaged, sun abused, aging, wrinkled skin is spectacular”. 

Alexis Bruning, V.P. of Duquesa Marketing noted that, “Pricing, Sales Promotion, Sales support and an educational web-site for 3 Sisters Restorasis will be unveiled on November 9, 2011.  Duquesa Marketing has specialized in creating and executing innovative Marketing Strategies for over 40 years.

by: Geoff Ficke

Natural and Organic Product Makers Must Be Very Careful When Developing Formulae and Recipes

The Consumer Product world is undergoing a green revolution. Marketers are racing to be the most green, most natural, most organic. Trade groups and organizations are marketing seals of approval, ala Good Housekeeping, to bedazzled Innovators. There is a “Gold Rush” aura to this stampede. 

When a large, multi-national firm like P&G, or General Mills touts their green bona fides, the consumer can trust that these Brands have been properly vetted. Teams of lawyers review every label statement and product performance claim. Publicly traded Companies such as these cannot afford any risk of lazily policing their quality and standards. Huge Quality Control Groups and Research and Development departments oversee every step of New Product Development, ingredient and product testing. All of this is accomplished long before a concept is turned over to the Sales, Marketing and Branding pros to prepare Market Launch and consumer consumption. 

The rapid growth of Social Media and the Internet has greatly enhanced and accelerated the opportunity for Entrepreneurs to launch artesian and micro-Brands. My Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm reviews many of these projects. These innovators are passionate about the Hand Crafted Soap, Skin Care Moisturizer, Barbecue Sauce, Energy Drink or Gourmet Candy they produce and proudly tout as “all natural” or “organic”. 

Many of these Entrepreneur’s are self-taught. There was a time when this was considered a positive business trait. No longer! The risks associated with legal and insurance issues must be paramount for every small green business. Too often it is given short shrift. 

There are literally an endless number of Cosmetic Brands, Topical Skin Care Brands, Food and Baked Goods, Weight Loss, Drinks and other consumable product sellers that can be easily searched on the internet. LinkedIn is bloated with these types of Brands, many making outlandish performance claims. I read some of the Branding Statements and Marketing claims and gasp at the audacity. 

Food, Cosmetic, Vitamin and other topical or consumable product manufacturers are very sensitive to the desire for contemporary Small Business innovators to appear 100% green. However, they are even more sensitive to the risk that most all-natural products pose. The FDA always lurks and regularly rears its grizzly head to enforce rules that approach the Bible, Torah and Koran combined in length and complexity. 

Bakeries and food product manufacturers are extremely sensitive to providing preservative systems that protect products from bacteria growth and extend shelf life. I love my neighbor Mary Jean’s cupcakes and look forward to eating them. But I would not buy one that has been shipped, handled, stored in extreme climatic conditions, etc. unless I knew it was made under tight industrial standards. 

Many artisan cosmetic producers make their products at home. The “all natural, organic” tag they attach to their products is accurate, and they state this openly and proudly. They should be very careful. It is almost impossible to get Product Liability insurance for these products without proper production controls. Bacteria growth will occur unless a preservative is added and virtually all such systems that efficiently protect users include chemicals. 

Another issue with all truly “all natural” products is the problem of obtaining Nature Identical ingredients. Natural ingredients are flora or fauna that are grown and harvested. Every major producer of these products faces the issue of product quality control and stability from season to season and year to year. Essences that are essential for the production of Perfumes can be of differing color and strength owing to different climate, moisture and exposure cycles. Mother Nature really does control natural life. Taste, smell, color, product performance and quality can be seriously affected by biological changes that regularly happen each growing season. Sophisticated manufacturers have developed technology to minimize this risk. I have rarely seen an artisan producer that knows the problem exists, much less how to cope with it.

This is not a screed against small artesian craft Brand Marketers. It is just a nod to difficulties that are real and should be addressed. The ability to germinate new Consumer Product brands is an essential part of the American character. Some of these innovations grow and become the next great new thing. Just protect yourself at every stage of the Product Development, Sales, marketing and Branding cycle.

by: Geoff Ficke

Having a “Better Mousetrap” Is Not Enough to Propel a New Consumer Product to Success 

This past week I reviewed a new Skin Care concept. My Product Development and Consumer Product Marketing Consulting firm reviews hundreds of projects in numerous categories each year. Many are presented in ways similar to this Anti-Aging range of topical creams and lotions: incomplete and poorly. 

We always ask the same question of the Entrepreneur: “What is unique about your product? What differentiates it from the competition”? It is amazing how many times we hear almost the same answers: “My ingredients are the best. Or, we have a better formula. Or, we have designed a better mousetrap”. 

Here is the issue that virtually every Entrepreneur or Inventor must address in order to be successful: While competing in an incredibly cluttered and frenetic marketplace, how do you create separation from competitors that enables your Consumer Product to receive attention and generate Sales traction? 

Your product might actually have the best ingredients, recipe, construction, or design. You may truly have built the best mousetrap. However, unless you can convey the items Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to buyers the product will not break through. There are very few product categories from Pet Products to Gourmet Food to Toys and Games to Fashion to Jewelry and so many more that are not controlled by established multi-national Companies and Brands that support their products with huge Marketing budgets. Few Start-up Companies, Entrepreneurs or Inventors enjoy this luxury. 

Despite the competition and the hurdles that are inevitably placed before any new product working to achieve Sales and Marketing success, successes do happen. And they happen with surprising regularity. What lessons and actions must be applied in order to not just design a better mousetrap, but to sell and prosper from the Invention? 

The biggest flaw we see in most New Consumer Product concepts and presentations is that the owner has taken shortcuts. Due Diligence has been skirted. The Business Plan (if there is one) is not thoroughly vetted. Production Costs and dead net Cost of Goods is but a guess. Source of supply and manufacturing have been given short shrift. No thought has been given to creating a solid Sales Model or customizing a Marketing Strategy. Prototypes are not professionally prepared. 

The most egregious element that first time Entrepreneurs discount is defining clearly their USP. The ability to find and detail a slight hole in a mature, huge product category is essential for a product to succeed. The world does not need any more Perfume, Cosmetics, Shoes, DIY products, Sporting Goods or House Wares, unless the new products offer a different Feature and Consumer Benefit that can be targeted, detailed and readily understood.

This is where narrative and Marketing become crucial. Consider a fictional example from the Gourmet Food space. Let’s say the female Entrepreneur wants to start a Cookie business. Her neighbors tell her that she makes the best cookies in the world. This gives her the confidence and impetus to plunge ahead. She starts making and attempting to Market and Sell her yummy cookies. 

Unfortunately, they don’t sell well at first. What can she do to kick-start sales? How does she overcome the edge that industrial bakers selling to big-box Retailers enjoy? She could tell an artisan production story. She might consider organizing a cookie club. She could focus sales efforts on creating customized cookie programs for group and school fundraising programs.  Leasing a mall kiosk, sampling and retailing assortments and gift boxes might be the niche she can best utilize. Warren Buffet’s Mrs. See’s Candies has utilized this strategy to great success. The strategy options are endless. 

The Skin Care line we reviewed this week was built around a specific active ingredient. It is a very good Skin Care, Anti-Wrinkle, Anti-Aging raw material, but it is already being commercialized by a number of other large brands. Creating a proprietary process niche for harvesting and/or handling the ingredient may be a way to create Brand separation. Another step could be a pro-active application program. Proof of better performance by demonstrating a quantifiable faster dermal improvement could be part of the answer.

 Simply stating that a product is made from Argan Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Olive Oil, etc. and is therefore the best item in the space does not mean much if you cannot provide a USP. When seeking Retail Distribution, Investment from Venture Capital, Strategic Alliances, International Distributors or Partners the inability to detail a tight set of Features and Benefits that can readily be recognized as the USP that differentiates your Consumer Product or Service from competitors is the kiss of death. Do not dismiss the importance of this element in creating your Business Plan and opportunity.

by: Geoff Ficke

A Great Example of Building a Successful Start-up Gift Marketing Business from a Nice Personal Habit 

Recently my Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm was engaged by a client seeking to leverage a Small Business opportunity from a personal habit she had nurtured all her life. The habit that this young lady had been encouraged to commercialize by friends and family for years was simply her thoughtfulness. She would commemorate almost any friend’s accomplishment, successes, holidays and birthdays by sending thoughtful, highly personal gifts. These gifts were prized by the recipients and had lead to a growing reputation in her neighborhood for their creativity. 

We review hundreds of Consumer Product submissions from innovators, small and micro-businesses and entrepreneurs. Most contain some form of product improvement or novel new features. Few are as elegantly simple as this example of commercialization of a personalized gift program. 

The client needed to expand what had been a hobby and simple acts of personal thoughtfulness into a real business that could develop growing Sales traction, execute a customized Marketing Strategy and handle all of the logistics essential to support inventory control, fulfillment and finance. This infrastructure needed to be developed on a relatively modest level of working capital. 

We worked with the client to develop a Sales Model that was both simple for her to manage and for potential customers to grasp and appreciate. This was accomplished by limiting Price Points to three offerings. In the past she had personally made cleverly embellished cookies, candy, cakes, silk flowers and handicrafts. This would no longer be possible if the Small Gift Business was to be ramped up. We sourced local and regional wholesalers that worked with the client to minimize her Inventory exposure but provide an excellent range of offerings from which customers could choose. 

The Marketing and Branding of the Company and the Gift packages was created with a whimsical, old country, memory lane theme. Gift Sets were packaged in highly desirable coffret-like unit cartons with clever Graphic Arts. Personalized messages are submitted on-line with each order, transcribed and included with each Gift Set shipment. Sales Collateral, Public Relations, selective personal appearances and a Web-Site with a strong call-to-action, copious and powerful key words and simple navigation logistics was created to drive Consumer traffic. A very valuable asset is growing each day in the form of a Customer Mailing List. 

Today sales have grown so fast that the client’s bank has extended a line of credit for purchasing additional inventory and packaging. Product has been shipped to all 50 states and several countries. Clients are flooding the Web-Site with positive testimonials about the thoughtfulness of the products, the convenience of buying and direct delivery and wonderful pricing. 

This type of project is most rewarding and on so many levels. For our Marketing and Branding Consulting Company we receive a tremendous level of satisfaction from playing a part in assisting an Entrepreneur in achieving their dream. The client is excited to get started to work each day. A fine financial and satisfying personal future is being developed. The reality of creating products that consumers want, buy and appreciate is a powerful tonic. It is always exciting for Start-Up Business owners to be able to expand and employ others in their community.

If you have a passion, a hobby or a novel idea this can often germinate a business opportunity. Offering a new Consumer Product or Service is not the insurmountable climb that so many people fear. This can be started small, locally or on a simple web-site. Managed with passion and drive there is still the opportunity to realize the American Dream.

by: Geoff Ficke

A Case Study in Very Bright Successful People Making Really Bad Product Marketing Decisions 

As my readers know I run a Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting Company. We review hundreds of Inventions, Innovations and New Product Concepts each year. These are submitted by individuals, small and micro-businesses, occasionally multi-national Companies and run the gamut from Foodstuffs to Sporting Goods to Giftware to Cosmetics. If it Sells in Retail Stores or is marketed to consumers we have probably worked in the space. 

Recently we met with a group associated with a Men’s Fashion Accessory product. The group detailed that they had met with the Products Designer and were impressed with the innovation. They had decided to provide Venture Capital and Management services for the project. The people we met with were all successful, seasoned business professionals. Two had advanced degrees from prestigious universities. They presented us with the fruits of their labor on behalf of their investment in the Menswear product. 

The group recounted how they had launched and failed in their attempt to self-market the items. We reviewed the Unit Packaging, Sales Collateral, Point-of Purchase Display materials, Branding, Marketing Strategy, Sales Model, Bill of Materials, and all of the elements that they had built to create the Market Launch. The outlook for the product, as presented, was glum. 

This team had stepped into an area in which they had no expertise. Their success in other technologies and sciences had imbued them with a feeling of over-confidence in their abilities. They had never marketed a Consumer Product, a Men’s Fashion Accessory or sold to big-box retailers. While brilliant, they had overestimated their competence in the field they were endeavoring to enter. 

They asked a number of times: “Is this a product”? Is there a business here”? Our response on both counts was, “yes”. The product possesses the absolute requisites for retail commercial success, Unique Features and User Benefits. This they had in spades. The products performance features were a true advance. The group would have to arrange the deck chairs significantly though before the party could begin. The questions they asked should have been answered before starting to develop the line.

The due diligence that we always perform for clients had either been given short shrift or not performed. The initial investment had been squandered and a complete re-work would have to be managed before the product could be properly introduced to the Retail marketplace. Pricing was out of whack as Cost of Goods for the product was not based on volume manufacturing. No Focus Group had been conducted to confirm the assumptions that had been used to assemble Marketing and Branding Strategies. Sales Collateral and Point-of-Purchase Display did not support the Product Features and Benefits that consumers would need to digest before purchasing. Free Publicity was not being created to support the product. The Unit Carton Packaging was stylish but did not support the products intended uses.

This is a classic example of bright, successful people making really bad Product Marketing decisions because of hubris. No one knows it all. My area of expertise is very limited. I have no, zero mechanical aptitude. I am a lousy gardener. I have limited interest in science or technology. I always hire talent to fix my cars, work on my house, program my computer and tend my yard. If I wanted to attempt to rebuild an engine I would have to take a course and study before understanding and attempting the task. 

It amazes me the number of people, usually very talented in many areas, that attempt to jump start projects in businesses or specialties in which they have no practical experience. Clint Eastwood’s famous Dirty Harry movie character once famously murmured to a villain, “A man has to know his limitations”. It can be a very expensive and painful exercise to dismiss this bit wisdom.

by: Geoff Ficke

Unique Small Businesses Have Become Highly Desirable to Multi-National Companies 

For over 50 years Estee Lauder has been the pre-eminent luxury Cosmetic, Fragrance and Skin Care Company in the Beauty Product world. Since the founding of the firm by Mrs. Lauder in the early 1950’s, the Company has prospered by constantly developing line extensions and new categories that it Markets to specific demographic targets. Clinique (Skin Care), Clinique for Men and Aramis (Mens Skin Care), Prescriptives (Problem Skin Care) and Origins (Bath & Body Care), along with numerous Perfume Brands made this Marketing juggernaut the envy of competitors. 

Estee Lauder had developed, quite rightly, a reputation for having the magic touch. Then a funny thing happened. The Company hit a development wall. The men’s lines sales leveled. Prescriptives suffered the indignity of being sold on QVC. New brands stopped coming or experiencing startling growth as enjoyed in the past. The Company then had an epiphany: it was faster, more economical and easier to buy interesting, small entrepreneurial brands and integrate them into Estee Lauder’s vaunted Logistic and Marketing systems than to develop brands in-house. 

La Mer, Jane, Bobbi Brown, Mac, Smash Box, Aveda, and numerous Fragrance licenses have been added in recent years to the Estee Lauder stable of brands. Theses Brand purchases and strategic alliances have rapidly extended the Company’s reach into many new areas of distribution. 

La Mer is an interesting example of how a small brand can have a unique importance to a powerhouse like Estee Lauder. The La Mer Skin Care line enjoyed very limited distribution in a few exclusive department stores for many years. The sea algae-based product had a cult following. The sales of La Mer were much smaller than the reported price that Estee Lauder paid for the line. Why was such a small minnow of interest to such a mammoth multi-national Company and at such a steep purchase price multiple to actual sales?

Large Companies must feed the monster and the monster is an insatiable distribution chain. Estee Lauder is sold in over 120 countries around the globe and at about 50,000 outlets. The initial pipeline production order to fill distribution requirements covered the purchase price paid for a brand like La Mer several times over. This model is constantly being repeated. 

Proctor & Gamble, the Cincinnati-based Consumer Product giant has undergone a similar re-invention. For most of the 20^th century the Company was renowned for in-house creativity and the Brand Management system that the Company pioneered. In the 1990’s P&G hit a wall. Growth flattened. A number of competitors began to take market share in important categories. 

A new management team was brought in to P&G and this group decided that new direction was essential for kick starting growth. They announced that a target of 40% of new products that P&G would launch in the next decade would be discovered and purchased from outside sources. This was a shock to the hide-bound corporate culture of staid Proctor & Gamble. But it worked. Today over 50% of new product introductions have resulted from acquisitions. IAMS Pet Foods, Spin Brush Toothbrushes and numerous Cosmetic Brands such as Max Factor, Cover Girl, Hugo Boss Fragrances and Giorgio Perfumes have led the Company’s resurgence. 

Jones Apparel Group (Shoes, Clothing), Nestle (Food, Drinks) Unilever (Personal Care), Phillips (Small Electrics), Hasbro (Toys, Games), General Mills (Foods), Pepsi-Cola (Drinks, Snack Foods), Shiseido (Cosmetics), Electronic Arts (Video Games) and Rubbermaid (House Wares) are only a few of the multi-national Companies that are aggressively searching the marketplace for the next great addition to their line-up. 

What is required of a Small Business, Inventor or Entrepreneur to be a target for their attention? Your product must have an easily recognizable niche. It should have Features and Benefits that offer separation from the competition. It must be perfected. An idea or unproven technology is just a glimmer, it is not marketable unless wrapped in due diligence and supported with performance data.

The hardest hurdle to overcome is to get your product in front of decision makers from acquisition hungry companies. We do this in a number of ways for our clients. Attending industry specific trade shows are an excellent vehicle to receive exposure. Test markets and focus groups are invaluable for creating proof of product concept. Customize a Business Plan that is built on assumptions that are accompanied with hard data that is quantified, qualified and well narrated.

Remember, if it was easy everybody would be successfully doing it. Do not take shortcuts. Be passionate about your product or service. Make a great first impression. Estee Lauder started by making creams in her kitchen. Now the great Company that she founded and built is looking for products that offer a performance advantage to her Companies customers. So are many other multi-national enterprises. You must be in play in order to be discovered.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release:

September 6, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

 859-567-1609

 gficke@msn.com

Connectture Announces Addition of Geoff Ficke To Roster of Business Experts on Networking Site

Danish-based Site Provides Professional Service Content to Thousands Of International Businesses, Innovators and Entrepreneurs 

Copenhagen, Denmark  Shahid Butt, Managing Partner for the rapidly growing on-line content provider and business networking web-site www.Connectture.com announced today that his Company has obtained access to articles written by award winning Branding, Marketing and Product Development Consultant Geoff Ficke, President of Duquesa Marketing. 

“We have quickly become the go-to on-line destination for international business people seeking to enhance their productivity and market penetration by gaining exposure to experts that provide a more unique experiential perspective”, said Mr. Butt. “Geoff Ficke’s interesting articles, lectures and vast experience as a successful Consumer Product marketer will greatly enhance Connectture content”. 

“So many of the ubiquitous “networking” sites today are not much more than sales vehicles”, said Geoff Ficke, President of Florence, KY based Duquesa Marketing. “I am impressed that Connectture offers their growing international membership content that informs, teaches and guides utilizing real-world experience, not just academic theory. I was honored to be approached by Connectture to become a content provider”. 

Connectture offers FREE membership to business people from around the world interested in fresh and stimulating enterprise enhancement. The editorial team at the site screens all content to insure that only the highest quality articles are published.