It’s hard to keep track when so many of the parts come from Korea, and my Honda is made in Ohio, while a Ford pickup might be built in Mexico.

But what’s most important is that the U.S. auto industry is actually getting itself back on track by employing some smart product and promotion strategies–strategies Wichita small business owners can apply to their own marketing efforts.

1. Make the product relevant: This goes for your entire product line. Chevy (GM), has done the best job of this, IMHO. They have great trucks (Silverado and GMC), hybrids (cars and pickups), and the Volt, their answer to the Toyota Prius. Whether you’re a Wichita small business marketing a line of aviation parts or a Wichita restaurant advertising high-end dining, your products and services have to encompass a complex set of customer needs.

2. Focus: You have to balance your diverse product portfolio with a focus on a specific audience need or product specialty. I think GM and Dodge do this well with trucks. Ford has lost a step with its F-Series. Plus, GM and Dodge have pushed trucks while balancing other lines: power cars, crossovers and affordable sedans and mini SUVs. It’s one thing to specialize and balance that specialty with diversity. It’s quite another to be a me-too brand. Don’t be like Ford.

3. Make it count: Leverage, leverage, leverage. Look for tie-ins and co-promotions, Wichita marketers. Ford does a nice job of this with rodeo and the Pro Bull Rider (PBR) circuits. Chevy and Dodge do it with outdoor sports, such as hunting and fishing. If your print ads, Facebook presence and sponsorships don’t all work together, then you’re in trouble.

Free Friday night concerts, a promised Bellagio-styled water feature, complete with lights and music, and a central location really sold us on Waterwalk. But it also provides our company a tremendous opportunity to promote ourselves. Here are a few ways you can follow our lead and utilize your real estate and location as a wichita marketing tool.

1. Make sure you have a nice, big sign that people can actually see from the road and/or walkway.

2. Cross-promote  your business with your neighbors. If you are new to the area it’s a great opportunity to get out and meet your fellow business owners. Ask them what kinds of people you can refer to them. They will surely reciprocate.

3. Host an open house. An open house isn’t just for new office space. You should have an open house at least once each year. Then consider hosting other events, such as wine tastings, watch parties for sporting events and parties for little celebrations.

4. If you are in some kind of office community make sure you take advantage of any website, newsletter or e-newsletter opportunities to promote yourself to people around you and throughout the city.

5. Make your office space as comfortable as possible–for your clients. Whatever TV station they like, whatever food and beverage, whatever magazines, give them what they want. Ask them. Don’t just assume.

In order to get more out of that lease check you write each month, these are some great ways to market your business, regardless of where in Wichita it is located.

Either way, one thing is for sure: More people need to know about Western Kansas because some fantastic things are happening.

In the past month, I’ve learned about a relatively new click-and-mortar fashion store called Bling Fashion, an event planning business, and an old-time drugstore that are leading a small business economic renaissance in their respective rural communities.

Next week, I’m going to have the pleasure of speaking with 20 business owners in Scott City about the importance of marketing planning and how to use electronic marketing tools. I’m looking forward to learning more about these businesses and how they are making things happen. In the process, I hope to gather information that could be helpful to other communities around the state of Kansas.

The more I travel and the more people I meet, some common themes are emerging.

1. A growing minority of people are stepping up to the plate to make things happen; in part, because they are tired of empty promises from politicians and “business leaders.”

2. The divide between rural chambers of commerce and economic development departments is widening. It seems that chambers of commerce believe retail trade is not part of economic development. And economic development folks don’t think the chamber people know a whole lot about developing the economy. I would say the latter is closer to the truth than the former.

3. Leaders in these communities are starting to recognize the value of electronic marketing.

We’ll see how this week goes, and we’ll share some other ideas about how rural Kansas can market itself.

Like anyplace, though, small-town rural Kansas has its challenges.

Like trying to figure out how to merchandise reverse osmosis (RO) water and fiber-to-premises communications infrastructure to individuals and businesses.

But Clay County has a few other aces in the hole, including a program that is going to take advantage of contacting and networking with alumni (people who used to live in Clay County).

You see, when it comes to marketing, it truly is who you know, not what you know. After all, who better to evangelize or perhaps populate the county than people who used to live here. And if the area can carve out a niche in certain industries by promoting unique infrastructure advantages, then all the better to lure businesses and entrepreneurs.

Other communities around rural Kansas have benefitted from their alumni moving back or helping out in other ways, but Clay County is the first I’ve heard that is making them a proactive component in their marketing efforts.

I, for one, am excited to see how it works out. You can learn more at http://www.claycountykansas.org/business/economic-development.

There are not many stretches of highway or dirt I haven’t traveled, but I discover new sights and experiences every time I hit the road. I marvel at the Flint Hills, particularly in the spring, as the verdant landscape comes to life and black and brown cattle dot the hills and vales. Conversely, it’s marvelous to see the growth, development and rebirth of Main Street Kansas from Lawrence to Salina to Council Grove and Scott City.

Today, I’m in Salina, enjoying the hospitality at Moka’s, a warm, modern coffeehouse and bakery at Santa Fe and Iron in downtown Salina. Great smells, a comfortable booth and work environment, people of all ages and occupations, and the vibe of a dynamic city center outside are housed intimately beneath a stamped tin ceiling that provides the perfect link to another era.

So many exciting things are happening in Kansas that it’s almost possible to forget our current economic hardships. I think a big part of what helps Kansas fare better than our coastal counterparts is certainly our not-so-reckless investment and spending habits. But now we are seeing businesses and communities drawing more from our strengths: natural resources, agribusiness, recreation, urban and rural crossover, hard-working and intelligent workforce, and an unmatched quality of life for the price.

Smart business owners and communities in rural and urban Kansas are betting on the future. Not recklessly, but intelligently and with an eye toward risk management. They realize that there is no success without some risk but that the success rate increases when we bet on strengths-based endeavors. Some of these might be business ventures that capitalize on community, improving wellness and strengthening families. And anything that adds value by bringing “more bang for the buck” in a sustainable business model is going to be a winner in a cost-conscious environment.

That’s what I’m seeing as I travel Kansas. Now we just need to tell more people about it. Probably the best way to do that is through electronic media like the Web, Google, Facebook and email. Let’s broadcast what makes Kansas great.

These words are: access and innovation.

To paraphrase Senator Moran, in a time when the Internet and the World Wide Web offer tremendous opportunities for innovation and a way to keep America competitive by leveling the playing field for Kansas and Wichita small business, it just doesn’t make any sense to make reduce access, sharing and transparency in the cyber-sphere.

The beauty and elegance of an immensely powerful tool like the Web is that the free flow of information raises the competitive waters for all business ships. Obviously, if you have true intellectual property, then you need to take steps to protect it. For the most part, those safeguards are in place. But if you ask most business owners, they will tell you that restricting this information flow is bad for everyone, especially consumers. This leads to higher prices, fewer choices and inefficiencies that stifle innovation.

All SOPA would do is create another government-led artificial environment rife with higher taxes, more unnecessary publicly-owned infrastructure and rewards for those willing to circumvent or cheat the system.

As we have seen time and time again, these types of onerous regulations are especially tough on small businesses who already struggle to be as efficient as their competitors who operate on a much larger scale. We don’t have the legal and financial resources to fight the court battles and add the staff that this legislation would require.

Perhaps one of the most alarming elements of these bills is that they would make changes to the fundamental DNS and TCP/IP interfaces. Ironically, many experts believe these changes will actually make our “cloud” more prone to attacks and less trackable. We shouldn’t be trying to fix what isn’t broken and has taken us 18 years to build.

I remember Bill Gates said, shortly after the “dot-com bubble” burst 10 years ago that the truly amazing and wonderful thing about that setback was that we would still benefit greatly from all the research, development and innovation that had occurred in the years immediately preceding the tech downturn. He was right. But that setback and ultimate recovery took place in a business environment mostly free from the shackles of regulation and taxation.

I have often said that Kentucky Fried Chicken and Coca-Cola could post their recipes on the Web for all to see and still win in the market because they do all the other things that make their brands great and win followers. That would be extreme, but we’re really not talking about anything different than putting two football teams on the same field with the same number of players who all have to play by the same rules. Imposing special sanctions, implementing onerous regulations or providing subsidies has never done anything more than distort free and efficient markets, harm consumers and stifle innovation.

Let small business compete.

Jim started Samuel Adams Brewing Co. with a little help from his friends, and now he wants to help US food and beverage entrepreneurs with loans of up to $25,000.

You can learn more at http://www.samueladams.com/btad/how-it-works.aspx.

One such website is peerbackers.com. You can submit a project or a business idea and pitch your network and site visitors for up to $25,000 in total funding.

The site’s founders recommend you ask for $25 or $50 at a time and offer small rewards to your backers. A cap. A t-shirt. Free services.

The idea is that people like to help other people and feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. After all, what’s better than helping someone fulfill a lifelong dream?

Check out peerbackers.com an do a Google search for other crowdfunding resources.

Best

5. Prudential “First Day” Ad Campaign

Brilliant way to reach boomers.

4. Dillon’s Amps Up In-Store Experience

Sampling sells food.

3. Via Christi Lives Up To Its Promise

Branding means nothing without a fantastic experience.

2. Rob Dyrdek Keeps Getting Bigger

Multiple shows. Nothing but fun. And Big Black.

1. 5-Hour Energy Rolls On

The energy boost’s 15 minutes aren’t up yet.

Worst

5. D.C. delays tax reform and economic stimulus

What happened to the “fast track?”

4. Crowd-sourcing Gone Wild!

Sometimes, it pays to pay for what you need.

3. Tiger Fires His Caddy

Huh?

2. Subway Green Lantern–Avocado Tie-In

Green Lantern “green” M&Ms would have made more sense.

1. Domino’s “Artisan” Pizza

Worst. Food promo. Ever.