It is the spirit of hope that keeps business alive. The service or product is the heart of a business but the life blood is marketing. Is marketing an asset or an expense? We are told by the marketing authorities the money is in the list or customer base. If these authorities are correct then marketing is an asset. Small business owners are many times too involved in their work to see the necessity of marketing. How much is a customer worth? Spending a few hundred dollars to have a return on investment of perhaps a thousand dollars is just good business practice. Marketing dollars converting to sales dollars is the golden key of success for any business.