Marketing;

 

Good marketing often takes the form of education, but few companies go about it as intelligently as Computer Specialists Inc., a fast-growing computer-service business in Monroeville, Pa. Two or three times a year, the company sponsors "executive briefings" at a local country club, each of which draws about 500 professionals from the industry. The meetings, which are accredited by the state Department of Education, include four half-hour presentations on computer-related topics -- two given by customers, one by a vendor, and one by an industry expert.

"It's primarily for the benefit of current customers," says president Warren Rodgers, "but we also identify a number of companies we'd like to be doing business with and invite them as well." The sessions cost the company between $10,000 and $15,000 a year -- there is no fee to attend -- and Rodgers considers the money well spent. "I think it's the single most important thing we've done in terms of giving our business visibility and credibility in the marketplace. It has set us apart from the competition."