The Countess Group Officially Named an Approved Partner of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program

ORLANDO, FL, April 26, 2013 (Press-News.org) Entrepreneurs and startup companies often have great ideas for new businesses. It's not as often that they have all of the expertise they need internally to get their concept off the ground.

Companies can join programs like the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program (UCFBIP) to kick start sales, and often become clients to take advantage of a wealth of resources designed to give them a head start on the road to success.

UCFBIP partners with respected organizations who have demonstrated the willingness and desire to provide resources and expertise to client companies. The Countess Group, a marketing and communications consultancy, has recently been approved as one of UCFBIP's partners to provide services for clients at its 9 Business Incubators across Central Florida. Led by Managing Director Ken Countess, The Countess Group is now in its 13th year.

We're delighted to have Ken and his team join the UCF Business Incubation Program as an approved partner," said Jim Bowie, site manager of the UCF Business Incubator in St. Cloud. "His seminars on email marketing and social media marketing consistently get among the highest marks for attendee satisfaction and they fill our conference room each time. We look forward to having clients benefit from his expertise in all aspects of marketing."

"We're excited to become an approved partner of the UCF Business Incubation Program," Countess remarked. It's an honor to be associated with this great organization. We look forward to enabling the success of UCF Business Incubation Program clients with our services."

About Ken Countess (http://www.linkedin.com/in/kencountess)

An award-winning marketer and a nationally recognized expert on Email Marketing and Social Media Marketing, Ken's approach to educating audiences how to use email marketing and social media tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to build their business has earned him the respect of loyal followers around the country.

Ken has held executive management positions at several Fortune 100 companies and has been a senior partner at Ascend Marketing, a 35-person marketing firm. While with such well-known companies as Marriott, Caremark and Motorola, Ken provided award-winning leadership for the fastest growing divisions of these industry leaders. Over his 25+ year career, he has been responsible for creation and delivery of multiple successful sales growth strategies, strategic messaging and communications, and change management programs for worldwide markets.

Ken is an active public speaker on many topics and energetically participates in several professional organizations. He currently serves on the Seminole County (FL) Public Schools (SCPS) Foundation's Development Committee, the SCPS Take Stock in Children Leadership Committee and is a past president of the International Association of Business Communicators Central Florida Chapter. Ken has served on The Conference Board's Council on Corporate Communication, the Executive Committee of the Motorola Public Relations Council, and the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of Business (Texas State Chamber of Commerce), along with several other organizations.

A graduate of both Leadership Southlake (TX) and Leadership Boynton Beach (FL), Ken holds an M.B.A. in Marketing from Florida Atlantic University and a B.A. in Business Economics from the State University of New York.

About The Countess Group (http://www.thecountessgroup.com)

The Countess Group (TCG) is a marketing and communications consultancy providing strategic vision and measurable results for clients since 2001. TCG continues to expand their client base by providing value-added services such as:

- Strategic Marketing
- Marketing Communications
- Corporate Communications
- Email Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Internet/Website Development and Optimization
- Customer Acquisition/Retention/Engagement
- Lead/Demand Generation
- Customer Relationship Management
- Sales Channel Development
- Sales Training and Support
- Trade Show Support

The Countess Group's service offering includes training seminars on best practices in social media and online marketing, including workshops on email marketing, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest and Twitter. Immensely popular, the workshops often fill venues with attendees who return again and again to learn the latest strategies.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program

Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 300 emerging companies that cumulatively generate over $500 million in annual revenue and pay an average wage that is 45 percent above the region's wage. With nine facilities across the greater Orlando community, the Business Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development among the University of Central Florida, The Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Orlando, Apopka, Winter Springs, Sanford, Kissimmee and St. Cloud. For more information about the program and its clients and graduates, please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu.

All product names and other brand names mentioned herein may be service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Ken Countess
The Countess Group
407-242-4200
kc@thecountessgroup.com

About The Countess Group

The Countess Group (TCG) is a marketing and communications consultancy providing strategic vision and measurable results for clients since 2001. TCG continues to expand their client base by providing value-added services such as:

� Strategic Marketing
� Marketing Communications
� Corporate Communications
� Email Marketing
� Social Media Marketing
� Internet/Website Development and Optimization
� Customer Acquisition/Retention/Engagement
� Lead/Demand Generation
� Customer Relationship Management
� Sales Channel Development
� Sales Training and Support
� Trade Show Support

Contact us at 407-242-4200 or via email at info@thecountessgroup.com