Free marketing help from future experts

A nearby college or university could give you new business know-how—even if you never enroll. For example, Molly Mech and her husband Dr. Patrick Mech, owners of Gibraltar Veterinary Hospital, contacted the advertising department at Michigan State University to get advice about promoting their practice. And faculty members decided to use the project for the spring 2005 advertising campaign class.

They met with the class and gave them a history of their business, their philosophy, mission statement, and data to analyze. The students toured the hospital and spent their semester creating a marketing program for the practice. At the end of the term, the students made presentations and proposals for the owners. "That fresh view was what we needed to grow, improve, and expand our practice," they say.