Catalyst Marketers... Innovation at its best

Selasa, 28 September 2010
One of the most granular questions about starting a business is what value does the product or service offering you are selling bring to the market place? What is it about that product or service that will stand out above your competitors?

Ryan Taft, founder of Catalyst Marketers in Chalfont, PA asked himself that question before starting his company.

"I had a really big desire to show local and small business how to take advantage of technology and new media to help grow their business", said Ryan.

With the emergence of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare, businesses really have the ability to gain more advertising for virtually no cost, that may have cost thousands of dollars in the past utilizing more traditional methods.

In fact, they've become so popular, that if your company isn't utilizing these tools, you're way behind the curve, and allowing your competitors to get out ahead of you. Of course, as a small business owner, when you finally decide to sit down and research all of the possibilities, it gets a little frightening. How are you going to learn to do this? Who are you going to get to continue providing content, update status' and constantly tweet?

This is exactly where Catalyst comes in. Ryan started Catalyst Marketers to help small & mid-sized businesses use Social Media and other online marketing tools to reach more customers and prospects, build relationships with those folks, and ultimately drive sales.

Currently Catalyst Clients range from Central Bucks Family YMCA in Doylestown, to National Retail Products producers, and even a slew of auto dealerships. Catalyst Clients outsource their online marketing efforts to Catalyst Marketers. A team of experts in all forms of online marketing, which were brought together to form a virtual partnership that is Catalyst Marketers, help clients build their Online Marketing Plan, as well as, execute their online marketing tactics.

For example, Catalyst Marketers writes blog articles, manages foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, & Flickr, and develops a monthly eNewsletter for Central Bucks Family YMCA. Instead of hiring a team of Marketing employees, which come with salaries, benefits, & tax expenses, the Y outsources this work to Catalyst. The secret to Catalyst's success is that they integrate themselves with each & every client, which makes clients feel like they are part of the internal team. This allows the relationship to thrive.

Most of the online tools out there are 100% free. It simply takes time to learn what tools are out there and available to you, as well as, time to create a plan for using those tools effectively for your business. Business owners who lack the time to do it themselves can find strategic partners like Catalyst Marketers to help them with their Online Marketing efforts.

The coolest thing for me about Catalyst? It's a local business. Check them out. You're business can't wait!

Best of 2010!

Selasa, 14 September 2010
Every year the Times Herald publishes a "Best of Montco" list that highlights those local businesses and institutions that are voted best by their staff, the community, and polls that are offered in the paper every so often throughout the year.

You can see the article here.

You can see the complete list here.

Everything from the best attorneys to the best electricians to the best bars are on this list.

It is a great resource for everything you need and highlights LOCAL businesses throughout our area.

Take a look at the list and show your support for these businesses that have done a fantastic job serving the community!

Poker is FUN!

Jumat, 03 September 2010
First, let me apologize for being a tad absent. The moral of the story is don't get tonsillitis when your over 21 (or even 40). It incapacitates you and they lied to you by saying you get all the ice cream you want!

I'm better now, so let's get on with it :)





Unless you have lived under a rock, you know that Poker became very VERY popular around 2003. Back then, you couldn't turn on the TV without seeing a show that was running a poker championship event, a cash game, or a celebrity poker game. At least 5 movies came out about poker, and everyone and their brother (and sisters) decided to jump in and play Texas Hold'em.

Well for the last 6 years, Riverchasers Entertainment has been providing free to enter Texas Hold'em tournaments in bars and restaurants throughout our area. "We started out taking advantage of the poker boom and were very successful. We built a huge following and acquired a lot of venues who wanted our service. By offering our games, we were able to attract anywhere from 35 to over 100 people a night to any game we held and that held a lot of value to our clients.", said Andrew Griffith, Vice President of Operations, and who has been with the company since the first year.

Riverchasers is like any other form of bar entertainment where the venue (or client) pays RC a fee to host their service for a night. Most venues sign on for a weekly game and their average tenure is over 2 1/5 years. Players can just show up to play, earn points, and qualify for Riverchasers trimester Tournament of Champions. There, players can compete for a chance at much larger prizes such as buy-ins to real casino poker tournaments. They also have numerous other qualifying events throughout the year where players can earn other larger prizes.

Riverchasers has awarded 5 World Series of Poker Main event seats in the last 6 years and numerous buy-ins to tournaments at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Those buy-ins range from $500 to $5,000 entries to real tournaments. "playing free poker on any night of the week and having a chance to win buy-ins to these tournaments is a ridiculous value. If you win a seat into a $1,000 tournament in a real casino, first place in those tournies can reach $200 thousand!", said Tom McMenamin, an avid player of the tour.

Riverchasers isn't only for the hard core player. Most players who attend played their first game of Texas Hold'em at a Riverchasers game. It is a totally social game and they consider themselves the largest social poker network in the state. You can even get lessons before your first game at any venue you attend.

As far as legalities go, Riverchasers works closely with the LCB to ensure that they are operating within the guidelines of the law. The games are free to enter so no gambling is taking place.

In addition to their bar games, Riverchasers also provides corporate and marketing events. They do everything from company holiday parties to large monte carlo nights for local business looking to attract people to their place of business.

To find out how to get involved, just visit their website. There you will find a nightly schedule of events of where you can play. Right now they service all of the Delaware, Lehigh and Cumberland Valleys, and are starting to expand. The website also boasts a forum where you can converse with other players, pick up information on special events, and even find out where you stand among the other players in the field.

The popularity of poker hasn't died off at all. Riverchasers has a database of over 35,000 players to prove that! Get out and enjoy the fun!