Business Profile of Bob Hougland

1. RGH MARKETING Innovative Business Solutions
Bob Hougland graduated 4th in his class of 465 from U.S. Air Force Officer Training School and earned con-
sistent top 10% performance ratings during his 5 years of service. As a Viet Nam veteran with “O” ratings,
he was recruited by the original AT&T for one of their 100 fast-track executive development slots. During
his first year leading a major account marketing group in L.A., he innovated two new applications for exist-
ing Bell System services, each of which became an industry standard, and one of which was among the 10
largest Bell System sales that year. In his second assignment, Bob was given responsibility for all Pacific
Telephone business telephone service in Beverly Hills/Century City, with the highest customer complaint
level of any company territory. The interdepartmental service improvement committee he created and
chaired reduced the complaint level by 50% in just 6 months by changing the company’s focus to the cus-
tomers’ point-of-view. In his third position as aide to the VP-General Marketing Manager, Bob was honored
by AT&T for his creation of a new and more realistic monthly sales results analysis system as well as a new
sales force reporting system, both implemented nationwide. However, Bob came to realize that the halls of
big corporate America were not for him, and he decided to downsize employers. Following a year as Mar-
keting Director of a nationwide telecommunications consulting company, Bob served in Sales Manager posi-
tions of increasing responsibility with Los Angeles radio stations KIIS, K-EARTH 101, and 93KHJ, earning
“Sales Manager of the Year” two out of his three years with the RKO General Radio chain. Participating in
the informal executive development program at RKO, Bob proposed and innovated a marketing consulting
division as a new profit center which would also help prepare unsophisticated potential advertisers to get
value out of radio. The new division was profitable in only 90 days, and contributed the gross revenue of an
additional small FM station by year end. Bob’s group in L.A. converted consulting clients like J. W. Robin-
son’s and The Broadway to radio advertisers, and set some of the principles still used today in broadcast ad-
vertising. His success was replicated in the six other cities where RKO had offices. In February, 1979, Bob
registered the name “RGH Marketing!” and he is now in his 30th year of consulting small and start-up busi-
nesses as a one-man shop working out of his Pasadena home.
One of Bob’s first clients was J. D. Power & Associates, for whom he re-defined and helped launch their
flagship product, the quarterly new car buyer survey, still among the most-quoted market research products
over 20 years later. His growth plans for The Long-Distance Company, launched shortly after the introduc-
tion of prepaid telephone debit cards, took them in two years to fourth place in the country, behind only
AT&T, MCI, and Sprint, creating the opportunity to be purchased by MCI. For a gourmet bakery, he reor-
ganized their sales and distribution programs, boosting annual sales increases from 19% to 33% while reduc-
ing distribution costs a full percent. As a contract Project Manager for Southern California Edison, he com-
pleted the “Welcome Home” energy conservation program on-time, at 83% of budget, and with 4½ times the
results goal. As interim General Manager of a small aerospace distributorship, he took them from #2 to #1 in
their product category in the world while solving both their quality control and inventory control problems.
Bob created the start-up Business Plan for Fax Court Filings which successfully innovated a new way to file
civil documents at courthouses. His Business Plan for Ascenda Corporation successfully launched the inter-
national trade and barter company with a unique business model, so that they generated their first $1-mil in
revenue in 90 days. The company now has offices throughout Asia and provides all kinds of products to
small U.S. businesses at significant savings. His start-up plan for Empire Painting helped them attain their
first year’s goal in 6 months.
Bob’s core competency is in strategy, as it applies to both marketing and general business issues, and he’s
continued to innovate in manufacturing, service, and professional services environments, in both goal at-
tainment and problem solution. His success has been based largely on insight into about 200 different com-
panies over the last 34 years so that he can draw real ideas that work in real situations and tailor them to a
current situation. His greatest value is found in situations in which a company is stagnating in some way, the
CEO is becoming overwhelmed, or there’s a difficult new goal or problem to address like a down economy.
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RGH Marketing! Box 92166 Pasadena CA 91109-2166
Tel: 626-583-9000 Fax: 626-583-9111 RGHmktg@pacbell.net