McLean-based iCore Networks Featured in Nationally Acclaimed Book

Oct. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- Internet Company Proves Charity Equals Bottom-line Success Even in Tough Economy

McLean, VA –  Virginia-based networking and voiceover Internet company, iCore Networks Inc. has a secret to success that not many companies consider when developing their marketing strategies. The secret is that charitable giving rewards success. While it seems counter-intuitive to think that giving money away leads to increased profits, founder and CEO, Stephen Canton, knew from the beginning of iCore’s existence that community service and support would be a vital part of the company in fulfilling its ultimate purpose in making a difference. Employees help choose the charities that will be supported by their efforts. iCore donates 20-25 percent of annual net profits to these causes. Their approach is clearly working since the company experienced a nearly three thousand percent growth rate in four short years resulting in them being named among Inc. 500’s fast-growth companies in 2009. This was especially impressive since the significant growth occurred during a time when other companies were struggling just to turn a profit due to the recession.

iCore’s success  caught the attention of author, Sherré DeMao, resulting in an interview with iCore’s founder and then featuring the company in her now nationally acclaimed  book, 50 Marketing Secrets of Growth Companies in Down Economic Times. DeMao’s book is a combination of comprehensive how-to’s with documented success stories of clients and companies she personally interviewed for the book backed by validated research confirming what growth companies do that stagnant of no-growth companies miss. Her firm, SLD Unlimited Marketing/PR, conducted research released after the economic downturn of 2002/2003 following 9/11. When DeMao saw the same secrets proven to be true of companies growing in the current recession, she knew the book had to be written to help others get out of a rut and succeed like iCore and the more than 60 other companies featured in the book.

According to DeMao, people like to do business with companies who care for more than their bottom line. “Companies that ‘do good’ make the markets they serve ‘feel good’ about doing business with them,” stated DeMao. “iCore made this an integral part of their corporate philosophy and even involved its employees in the decision-making regarding charities to support. Their commitment to truly making a difference through action and genuine intent resulted in a marketplace fully engaged and loyal in doing business with them.”  

While DeMao chose iCore as an example of Secret #33, entitled “Charitable Giving,” another common factor in all the companies featured in the book is the number of secrets they put into action to realize recession-defying growth. Readers are encouraged by DeMao to re-read the success story examples throughout the book once they have learned all 50 secrets because then they will gain a true understanding of the impact combining the secrets can make in a business and has made in the companies featured.

“iCore is putting more than 45 of the secrets into play on an ongoing basis,” stated DeMao. “So I am not surprised at all by their success.”

About iCore Networks, Inc.
iCore is a managed networking and Voice over Private Internet (VoPI) company named number 29 on the Inc.500 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. iCore offers businesses a cost effective, simple solution to their voice and data needs. Unlike VoIP, VoPI provides a managed, secure, hosted, end-to-end voice and data system that provides businesses Fortune 500 features at a savings over their current voice and data providers. iCore backs those capabilities with the most customer-oriented employees in the industry; unprecedented reliability and disaster recovery tools; and world-class employee support and training. For more information about iCore Networks, please visit http://www.icore.com.

About 50 Marketing Secrets – The Book
How are companies, even in the hardest hit industries, thriving in the current recession? How have they grown while others have floundered or gone out of business? 50 Marketing Secrets of Growth Companies in Down Economic Times answers these questions and more with powerful how-to impact that will enable business owners to immediately put these secrets into practice in their business the minute they finish reading them. Based on ground-breaking research conducted by author Sherré DeMao’s marketing firm, SLD Unlimited Marketing/PR, Inc., released in 2004 after the economic downturn of 2002/2003 in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, DeMao saw the same success factors identified in the research proven again during the current economic times.  50 Marketing Secrets shares proven tactics and strategies to build growth companies through these documented success secrets, featuring more than 60 entrepreneurial success stories or examples supporting each secret including Business Journal Fast 50 companies, Inc.500/5000 companies, and locally based companies from coast to coast. DeMao specifically included examples and success stories of companies from industries that were hardest hit by the economy to prove how the secrets and knowing them can make a difference. The book is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, as well as numerous other online retailers. Since its release, the book has received national acclaim, including being named a Top Business Shelf pick by Midwest Book Review, a 5-Star read by Armchair Interviews, and  “… a value that is hard to beat … business marketers will refer to time and time again” by ForeWord Reviews. For more information, visit www.50marketingsecrets.com.

About Sherré DeMao
Founder and Chief Marketeer of SLD Unlimited Marketing/PR, Inc., Sherré DeMao inspires millions through her monthly Savvy Business Owner and Me, Myself & Inc. columns, her weekly Monday Motivation & Insight eZine and her national contributing writing has appeared on FoxBusiness.com, Entrepreneur.com, and in Business Insider and Enterprising Women magazines. An expert strategist and marketer focused on entrepreneurs since 1984, her unique perspective and firm’s innovative approach has earned more than 50 awards regionally, nationally and internationally, including being named among the Top 50 Enterprising Women of North America in 2007,  a Small Business Administration Women Champion, as well as a being given a National Leadership Award for small business advocacy.  Her first book, Me, Myself & Inc. - A Synergized World, An Energized Business, Living Your Ultimate Life, was cited as a Top Business Shelf pick by Midwest Book Review.