October 22, 2009

Two Local Minority Owned Businesses in the Running for National Honors

African American Marketing and PR Firm

Cincinnati, OH – The National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc (NMSDC) selected The Voice of Your Customer, a marketing consulting firm in Cincinnati, and RCF Services, a facilities management firm in West Chester, as 2009 Regional Minority Supplier of the Year winners.   The businesses were selected from more than 15, 000 certified minority businesses and 80 nominees from across the country.

Benefits of a Minority Business Certification

NMSDC-certified Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American businesses are evaluated on the basis of business growth, development and performance, community service and the ability to overcome challenges brought on by the company owner’s heritage or background.  Sixteen regional winners are divided into four classes based on annual sales, and are nominated by their corporate customers.

“Small business is the engine that drives the economy and these regional winners are proof of that,” said NMSDC President Harriet R. Michel. “Despite the challenging economy, corporations have counted on minority businesses to deliver great products, cost savings, quality service and innovative solutions. This performance will be valuable to corporations as the economy recovers, based on the strength of outstanding small and minority-owned businesses.”

Become a Certified Minority Owned Business

The Voice of Your Customer represents Category I, with annual sales of less than $1 million.  RCF Services represents Category III with annual sales between $10 million and $50 million.  Both firms are active members of NSMDC’s local affiliate, the South Central Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council (SCOMSDC) and competed against minority businesses from Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia for the regional honors.

One regional winner from each of the four classes will be named a National Winner at the Awards Banquet on Wednesday, October 28, at the 2009 NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana.

About Minority Owned Businesses

According to the 2007 Small Business Research Summary released by the SBA Office of Advocacy, in 2002, minorities owned approximately 18 percent of the 23 million U.S. Firms.

Using a proxy for measuring minority business growth for several measures between 1997 and 2002, Blacks owned 5.0 percent of all U.S. firms (almost 1.2 million), 45.4 percent of the total number of minority owned firm, and 24.5 percent of total receipts for minority owned firms.

The 2007 report also indicated that more than half of Black-owned businesses had less than $10,000 in business receipts in 2002, compared with one-third of White-owned firms and 28.8 percent of Asian-owned firms.  What is more, on average, for every dollar that a White-owned firm made, Pacific Islander-owned firms made about 59 cents, Hispanic-, Native American-, and Asian owned businesses made 56 cents, and Black-owned businesses made 43 cents.

Percentages of minority women owning businesses rose from 1997 to 2002.   In 2002, 29 percent of Black employer firms and 47 percent of Black non-employer firms were women-owned.   In contrast, women owned 17 percent of White employer firms and 31 percent of White non-employer firms.

About The Voice of Your Customer

Crystal L. Kendrick is president of The Voice of Your Customer, a Black-owned marketing and consulting firm that assists clients to penetrate niche markets using survey research, focus groups, secret shopping, business training, and media campaigns.  For more information, call (513) 281-3228, visit www.thevoiceofyourcustomer.com, or email info@thevoiceofyourcustomer.com.

About RCF Services

Carl Satterwhite is the president of River City Furniture, a Black-owned distributor and facility service provider. The company is an NMSDC Corporate Plus(R) member that offers a number of services, including commercial furnishing, design, space planning, delivery and installation, warehousing, move and asset management and landscaping. For more information, call (513) 612-7303 or visit www.r-c-f.com.

September 6, 2009

Finding Difference in the Sameness Era

Crystal L. Kendrick, President

Crystal L. Kendrick, President

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber presents Finding Difference in the Sameness Era, a Sales & Marketing Luncheon. 

In this age, your competitors can mimic anything you do.  Messages get lost in the clutter. Parity rules. Standing out can seem not just difficult, but impossible.  If your brand is seen as “the same as the rest,” that means you’re working harder for less reward. Creating meaningful difference, on the other hand, is the proven path to customer loyalty, sales and profit.

Facilitated by Crystal Kendrick, president of The Voice of Your Customer

 

Join Matthew Fenton, president of Three Deuce Branding, to discover how you can be different. Participants in this program will learn:
 Five focused areas to help you define your brand’s difference
 Six key reminders to help you create and live your difference for the future
 Real world examples from brands big and small

Thursday, October 8, 2009
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
300 Carew Tower, 441 Vine Street, Downtown Cincinnati
Cost: $25 members, includes lunch

About the Presenter

Matthew Fenton is founder and president of Three Deuce Branding, a Cincinnati based consultancy with a mission to “help good people build great brands.” Since 1997, the company has helped major brands like Wrigley, Valvoline and Fidelity Investments achieve “brand clarity” with positioning, strategy and ideation.  Fenton authors “That Branding Thing” blog and has been named among Cincinnati’s “Creative Class” and “Forty Under 40.”  For more information, visit www.threedeuce.com.

About the Facilitator

Crystal Kendrick is the president of The Voice of Your Customer, a  marketing firm based in Cincinnati that specializes in penetrating niche populations.   Since 2007, the minority owned company has helped to develop brands for the state of Ohio, the Metropolitan Sewer District, and the African American Chamber of Commerce using social marketing strategies.  The Voice of Your Customer has been named a 2009 NMSDC Regional MBE of the Year, 2009 Cincinnati PRSA Small Agency of the Year, and a 2009 Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce 10 Under 10 Award Winner.  For more information, visit www.thevoiceofyourcustomer.com.

To register for the session, visit cincinnatichamber.com or call 513.579.3111 .