Even if you’ve built a better mousetrap, the world will not beat a path to your door unless you have a savvy marketing team spreading the news. If your financial plan doesn’t include funding for full-time, in-house staff, you can profit from marketing expertise by calling on consultants like Tria Design & Marketing, Rizzi Designs and Redhead Design Studio.

Tria Design & Marketing, LLC

Tina Block, Barbara Matheson and Ann Siegle of Tria Design & Marketing have brought together their individual years of experience along with a depth and breadth of expertise that can help any business. Focusing on the unique needs of each client, Tria provides comprehensive marketing plans. Their client list features such heavy hitters as Playmakers, numerous Michigan State University (MSU) departments and programs, Lansing Public Schools, City of Lansing, State Employees Credit Union, Michigan Association of Home Builders and others.

Tina Block is a graphic and fine artist who received her degree in commercial art, illustration and advertising from Lansing Community College (LCC). She has worked at LCC and as senior art director of the Michigan House of Representatives. She went on to cofound Abbi Creative before becoming a partner at Tria.

Barbara Matheson holds a BA in fine art from MSU and two degrees from LCC. She had worked as a graphic designer locally, including several years at her own business, Point & Click, before she became a partner at Tria.

Ann Siegle’s degree from MSU is in advertising and marketing. She worked as senior designer for a large computer distributor and also was art director for a real estate magazine publishing company. She was president of Paradise Graphic Design before founding Tria.

The three came together in the early 2000s and have been in their present facility, a comfortable, homey residence in Old Town, since 2004. Besides the three principals, Tria also employs two website developers and interns from local colleges and universities.

Siegel says, “This economy is difficult for small business owners, but things are picking up. The field of marketing is changing, and we are able to offer the most up-to-date thinking. For instance, social media has become an essential part of any contemporary marketing plan. We understand that and are able to create strategic plans for the best use of this new technology.”

Matheson continues, “We are fully client-focused. We work with our clients to understand their goals, and we can offer them a complete and comprehensive marketing plan.”

Block adds, “Sometimes clients may know where they want to go, but they don’t have a clear idea of how to get there. We can show them the way.”

As a small agency, Tria provides personalized service. As Matheson says, “We are the designers; we do the work. And we work directly with clients.”

Siegel adds, “We are definitely person-to-person oriented. We know and value our clients, and they know and trust us.”

And it is clear that they trust and value one another as well. Small businesses prosper when everyone is a team player, and these three attest to the truth of that adage.

Redhead Design Studio

To answer the most pressing question first: yes, Jen Estill and Amy Moore, owners of Redhead Design Studio, both have red hair. But that’s not all they share. They both bring vision, passion and a sense of fun to the work of marketing and communication on behalf of their clients.

Jen Estill has a degree in journalism from Michigan State University and over 12 years of experience in marketing. She serves as board chair for Educational Child Care Center (EC3) and is also on the board of the Old Town Commercial Association.

Amy Moore’s degree from MSU is in fine arts with a focus on oil painting and graphic design. She has over 10 years of experience, including time as art director at Pace & Partners, where she and Estill met.

Redhead Design Studio was founded in the early 2000s; the duo and their staff moved into their current Old Town location in 2004 after an extensive renovation of the building, whose previous incarnations included its use as a potato warehouse.

In describing their services, Estill says, “We do everything in the field of marketing and communication for our clients, from naming and creating logos to building websites, producing brochures and print materials and anything else they need. And our clients range from big to ‘boutiquey.’”

According to Moore, “We work with several programs at MSU, including the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Residential College in Arts and Humanities [RCAH]. For the RCAH, we started from the ground up, establishing their brand and handling all their marketing and communication needs. We also work with the MSU Dairy Store, A Piece of Cake Bakery, Ingham Intermediate School District and Capital Area Michigan Works!, among others.”

Estill adds, “We like to work with people who do good things. We care about the community and prefer to work with others who do too. We have done pro bono work for organizations like EC3, Michigan Audubon Society and the Old Town Commercial Association.”

Moore adds, “We both love what we do and we think that shows in the fresh ideas and innovative concepts we offer our clients.”

Although Michigan’s economy presents a challenge, Redhead Design Studio is doing well and continuing to grow. Businesses understand the necessity of a strategic marketing plan that sets them apart, and Moore and Estill bring solid credentials to the table. Both take pride in learning about their clients and their needs and responding with imaginative, interesting, and, yes, inspirational initiatives.

Rizzi Designs

Rochelle Rizzi took on a massive undertaking in moving her business into the 6,000-square-foot Old Town Manor, former home of the superintendent of the Michigan School for the Blind, which had been sitting empty for 20 years, and looked it.

But taking on big challenges is nothing new for Rizzi and her team of designers. Just as carefully as Rizzi Designs crafts marketing and communications plans, so too the renovation of the home has been meticulous and imaginatively detailed.

Six years ago, Rizzi founded Rizzi Designs with the idea of being a one-stop shop for businesses who want to maximize success and fulfill their marketing potential. Rizzi currently has five employees, and their recent move certainly gives them room to grow.

Rizzi describes herself as an Air Force brat who grew up traveling with her family from base to base. Rizzi was given an appointment to the Air Force Academy but decided instead to attend Eastern Michigan University as a pre-med student.

However, in her senior year, she was able to take elective classes in business and communications and found that her interest in these classes made her rethink her career goals. Since graduating from Eastern, she has received a degree in graphic design from LCC and an MBA from MSU.

Rizzi says, “My goal of helping people has remained the same; I’m just doing it in a different way than I originally intended.”

Rizzi was working in Milford for an HR consulting company and the business eventually closed. After that, she worked as a freelance marketing consultant and, in 2004, started Rizzi Designs with Sandra Neuman, now executive vice president and chief operating officer, whom she had worked with in Milford.

Rizzi says, “Sandra is great at administration while I am more project-focused. I can see what our clients need, and I love managing projects and interacting with our wonderful clients.”

Her commitment to Old Town and her desire to grow her business led her to make the move to Old Town Manor. She says, “We have a vision for this property and you will see the area thrive in the next few years. Right now, we are working to raise money for a tactile sculpture garden on the property.”

She goes on, “This place was in awful shape! But it’s been great seeing our vision become reality. We have renovated keeping in mind the historic integrity of the building and, at the same time, making it as green as possible.”

Rizzi says it isn’t always easy to run a business and a home, but, as she says, “Women can do it all; they just can’t do it all at once.”