Here's an example. A few weeks ago we stayed at a charming boutique hotel on La Rambla, Barcelona's famous tree-lined walking street. After two days at this hotel, I accidently discovered a most beautiful lounge hidden on the second floor and an extraordinary roof-top terrace with views of the city's ancient and intriguing Gothic Quarter. I also discovered, accidently, that this beautiful hotel had originally been built in the early 1800s as a palace for a prominent Barcelona family.

This is all great stuff, but it was never even mentioned during our front desk greeting, in-room briefing or in any "About our Hotel" literature left in our room. This is a great example of keeping all your good stuff a secret.

Here's another example. Baristas from Café Artigiano in Vancouver, British Columbia, have won the Canadian National Barista Championship every year for the past six years. That's an amazing story that, if properly communicated, creates celebrity status and adds tremendous emotional value to the Artigiano coffee experience.

But they practically keep it a secret. It's mentioned on a small plaque, on the wall, hidden behind a vase of dead flowers. There are no pictures of the actual winners and none of the baristas on duty have any message on their apron or anywhere else indicating that they are one of the champions. What a missed opportunity.

Some businesses do get it, bless them. Chef Alain and wife Robbie Irvine of the North Restaurant and Lounge in Gravenhurst, Ontario have created a wonderful dining experience and they do an excellent job of communicating it. They send out regular e-newsletters that are a masterpiece of communication and relationship building.

Then, this past May, they mailed out beautiful invitations - you know, the kind we never seem to get any more - inviting prominent local residents (their target market) to a special complimentary evening at which they revealed and sampled their new summer menu.

They partnered with a few top wine merchants to offer free wine pairing as part of the event. It was a huge success. Of course, the secret to being able to do this is that they started building a customer database from day one so that they can communicate regularly with their customers to nurture the relationship and drive the business.

So, what are you doing that's extraordinary? Are you effectively communicating that? Does your business have a great story to tell and are you telling it to the right people? If not, why not? And what will you do to fix that?

Donald Cooper has been both a world-class manufacturer and an award-winning retailer.  Now, as a business speaker and coach he helps business owners and managers throughout the world to rethink, refocus and re-energize their business to create compelling customer value, clarity of purpose and long-term profitability. For more information, or to subscribe to Donald's thought-provoking free business E-Newsletter, go to www.donaldcooper.com.