For business owners Marlene and Keith Stone, staying local is an advantage.
‘We’re not tainted by different attitudes of different areas,” Keith said. “You have so many companies, marketing research, advertising in one sector (in Detroit), so everybody kind of looks at it the same way, where we don’t. We view it from here.”
Another advantage: traffic.
“Our employees enjoy coming out to Clarkston,” he said. “They always get to come opposite of the traffic. It’s a great community, people really love being here. It’s a great business atmosphere for us.?
Their company, Intellitrends LLC of Independence Township, was voted ‘The Best of Michigan Business? by CORP! Magazine and was honored at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy, Feb. 19.
‘We were very excited and honored to be recognized for that, especially in the type of work that we do market research. There are still a lot of companies out there that are relatively unfamiliar with market research and what it can do for their business,? said Marlene Stone, president of Intellitrends.
‘In the face of all the negative economic news and everything that’s going on, it was really nice to actually be recognized and have our services recognized for what we can bring to companies.?
Keith, Marlene’s husband and vice president of the company, said they were awarded best of the best because of the ‘personal touch? they give to companies.
‘We understand their business, what they want to get out of the information that we get for them and to help them strategically plan the future of their business or product or service that they’re going to offer. Then we integrate that with their business over all,? he said.
‘Helping those companies and giving the same amount of enthusiasm, the same amount of work, same amount of effort for everyone of them. Nobody feels like they’re too small to get the services that we provide.?
Keith said the company deals with small 2-3 person offices to big corporations.
‘We have a lot of really great clients. We have national household name clients, Little Ceasars, and Masco,? he said. ‘We just have a whole host of great organizations that we work with.?
‘It’s so fun because we deal with companies in food products, we deal with pizza, we deal with cars, we deal with industrial fittings, we deal with coffee,? said Marlene. ‘Our work is so varied that it is nice because we’re not pigeon holed to automotive, industrial, or consumer products. We can take strategies for consumer products companies and apply it to industrial.?
She said companies often have a tendency to cut back on money spending for advertising, and marketing in declining economy.
‘The companies that do come to us come to us because they are market leaders, because they want to stay on top, because they want to continue to grow,? she said. ‘That’s exactly what we do we work with companies to help them with strategy to understand what the market place wants. We identify new target markets for growth.?
What sets Intellitrends apart?
Keith said it’s letting companies know it’s about them and not about Intellitrends.
‘We really work hard it’s not about us,? he said. ‘We figure we give them what they want, ultimately we’ll get what we want and that is to grow and to sustain our own growth as a company.?
Intellitrends does not have a ‘cookie cutter product,? noted Marlene.
‘Every client we have regardless of size receives a very customized approach,? she said. ‘All tools, questionaires, documents anything we prepare for them are all specifically customized for their need.?
Keith said it’s also showing companies that ‘can do? attitude, which differentiates them from other companies.
‘Helping them (companies) understand who they are, who they could be, and what their potential is then helping them seize that,? said Keith. ‘Then monitoring them after to make sure they’re staying on their message, so they can continue to grow and get more business.?
Marlene, who was born in Sarnia, Ontario, received her bachelor’s degree in 1985 from University of Western Ontario in political science and an honors degree in French. She worked for a member of Canadian parliament from Toronto for the next year prior to moving to Michigan.
Keith was born in Detroit, and graduated from Wayne State University where he received his bachelor’s degree of Business Administration and then received his Master’s of Business Administration, Global
Management from the University of Phoenix Graduate School.
Marlene met Keith while he was sailing as a crewmember in the Port Huron to Mackinac race. The couple has now been married for 21 years.
In 1990, Marlene started Intellitrends from her family’s home. The transition from politics to consumer research wasn’t tough for her because she was still gauging personal perspectives with her new career.
Keith has worked in high technology for 27 years, and Marlene has worked market research, analysis background for 20 years.
‘Combining those two talents and then the rest of our team bring lots of stuff to the table,? said Keith. ‘We have a team of great nice people (with) just ‘can do? attitude all the time. Nobody ever looks at anything as a burden, so we think that is a big plus for us too. Our customers feel that.?
Intellitrends LLC is located at 8031 M-15 in Suite 120 in the Freedom One building. The building is north of I-75. For more information call 248-922-3344 or visit www.intellitrend.com