I  am  a  highly  motivated  marketing  executive  possessing  more  than  20  years  of  experience.                  Working  in  various  roles  ranging  from  management  to  e-­‐business  strategy,  I  can  adapt  to              many  business  types  across  a  broad  range  of  industry  segments.  Whether  it  is  digital            marketing,  SEM/SEO,  sales,  strategic  planning  and  implementation  or  IT-­‐related        projects,  my  experience  makes  me  a  qualified  candidate  for  numerous  job  roles.    

“Ariba Inc. was proud to bestow upon Chip our 2010 Business Commerce Excellence Award for his leadership in developing a cutting-edge marketing strategy, embracing eProcurement technologies to help customers gain greater visibility into spend while reducing administrative costs.”

— Leah  Knight  |  Director  of  Marketing  |  Supplier  Solutions  |  Ariba  Inc.

CHIP GRAHAM DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & E-BUSINESS STRATEGY

 

MANAGEMENT Since  2002,  I  have  held  various  management  positions  including  marketing,  inside  sales,  communications,  customer  service,  product  management  and  web  services.  Due  to  EBSCO’s  diverse  collection  of  profit  centers,  I  have  gained  invaluable  experience  working  with  many  different  business  types  and  industries.    

Marketing & Corporate Communications  • Marketing  Research  –  led  research  teams  to  formulate  brand  architecture  strategies  for  key  messaging,  

product  positioning,  pricing,  taglines,  logo  design  and  ad  campaigns.  This  included  focus  groups,  individual  interviews  and  surveys,  which  provided  critical  feedback  to  ensure  successful  product/service  launches.  

 • Corporate  Communications  –  managed  a  group  responsible  for  social  media,  brand  management  (via  data  

mining  on  listservs,  Google  Alerts,  etc.),  events,  promotional  collateral,  public  relations,  web  content,  advertising,  sales  collateral,  news  articles  and  press  releases.  I  was  responsible  for  external  and  internal  marketing  and  communications  plans  for  regional  marketing  teams  worldwide.  

 • Web  Marketing  &  E-­‐Commerce  –  managed  a  web-­‐services  department  responsible  for  growing  sales  and  

market  share  for  each  EBSCO  profit  center  ([PC],  which  was  more  than  40  business  units).  We  grew  sales  from  just  a  few  hundred  dollars  per  month  to  more  than  $2,000,000  per  month  in  5  years.  For  each  PC,  we  managed  the  requirements,  web  design,  search  engine  marketing,  product  content,  e-­‐mail  marketing,  adwords  and  marketing  automation.  

 

Inside Sales, Sales Support & Business Development  • Inside  Sales  –  managed  the  Inside  Sales  department  and  was  responsible  for  telesales,  lead  cultivation  and  

sales  support.  While  managing  this  group,  I  was  able  to  turn  a  negative  6%  sales  trend  into  a  positive  6%  (12%  growth)  within  9  months  and  1  less  FTE.  Total  sales  for  this  group  averaged  approximately  $10,000,000/year.  

 • Sales  Support  –implemented  a  Customer  Relationship  Management  (CRM)  system  for  EBSCO  Information  

Services  as  well  as  the  Request-­‐for-­‐Quote  (RFQ)  database.  These  tools  enabled  various  departments  and  offices  to  log  sales  activity  and  respond  to  RFPs  to  win  new  business.    

 • Intranet  –  supervised  a  team  responsible  for  converting  our  old  intranet  site  to  a  Sharepoint  system.  This  

system  held  all  sales  collateral,  competitive  matrixes,  events  and  all  relevant  data  within  a  centralized  knowledge  base  for  internal  education  and  awareness  of  our  various  products  and  services.  

 • Business  Development  –  assisted  sales  representatives  with  presentations,  on-­‐site  trainings,  and  business  

requirements  in  order  to  win  or  retain  clients/prospects.  Also  landed  the  Amazon.com  account  by  calling  on  various  category  managers  for  3  years,  until  we  closed  the  deal.  New  business  from  Amazon.com  deal  was  more  than  $6,000,000/year  and  was  active  for  many  years.  

 

   

COMMUNICATIONS With  more  than  20  years  experience  in  communications  and  marketing,  I  have  worked  in  many  different  roles.  My  first  salaried  position  was  a  Marketing  Specialist  where  I  performed  basic  marketing  functions  like  graphic  design,  copy  writing  for  newsletters,  market  research  and  event  management.  From  there,  I  have  gained  experience  in  communications,  research,  planning  and  analytics.      

• Marketing  Plans  –  analyzed  sales  and  market  share  for  the  products/  services  offered  by  each  division.  Our  goal  was  to  assess  the  direct  and  indirect  competitors  and  develop  product  matrixes  to  benchmark  success  criteria  or  key  performance  indicators  (KPIs).  We  also  revised  our  SWOT  analysis  via  market  research,  industry  news  and  competitor  updates,  in  order  to  stay  on  top  of  the  latest  opportunities  and  threats  while  playing  to  our  strengths.  The  information  was  then  used  to  develop  and  maintain  marketing  plans.    

 • Communication  Plans  –  formalized  the  communication  plan,  which  started  with  the  creation  of  the  

product  positioning  document,  a  one-­‐page  summary  of  key  messages,  demographics,  differentiators,  markets  and  geography.  Once  created,  the  product-­‐positioning  document  was  used  as  a  resource  for  developing  internal  and  external  communication  tactics  by  function,  channel  and  team-­‐member.  

 • Evaluation  –  researched  success  criteria  by  defined  KPIs  for  each  campaign.  External  communications  had  

specific  calls-­‐to-­‐action  with  links  and  landing  pages  to  capture  leads.  Leads  were  cultivated  for  new  sales  acquisitions.  New  sales  were  measured  by  year,  by  product/service  and  market.  Return-­‐on-­‐investment  (ROI)  was  measured  in  order  to  determine  future  budgeting  and  tactics.    

 

Communications Experience  

• Social  Media  –  responsible  for  social  content  for  events,  industry  updates,  product/service  releases,  campaigns  and  sponsorships.  We  primarily  focused  on  Facebook  and  Twitter  since  that  is  where  most  of  our  target  audience  spent  their  time.  Our  biggest  ROI  came  from  social  data  mining  for  brand  preservation.  Anytime  we  received  a  Google  alert  on  something  related  to  a  product,  our  brand  or  service,  we  would  route  to  the  appropriate  parties  for  resolution.  

 • Communications  –  used  many  types  of  communication  ranging  from  press  releases  to  social  media  &  chat  

(IM).  Communication  style  and  content  varied  depending  on  the  demographics  of  our  target  audience  and  the  channel  utilized.  We  tested  by  channel  to  see  which  calls-­‐to-­‐action  garnered  the  best  results.  Split  tests  were  also  done  for  e-­‐mail  campaigns  to  see  which  converted  better.  

 • Case  Management/Customer  Feedback  –  mined  data  originating  from  cases  logged  within  CRM  systems.  

Within  the  CRM  knowledge  base,  we  discovered  what  systems  and  services  were  in  need  of  improvement  by  product  or  service.  We  also  found  common  themes,  providing  a  roadmap  for  future  enhancements.  

 

Marketing & Communication Plans  

 Since  1992,  I  have  directly  or  indirectly  influenced  the  sales  growth  by  providing  sales  support.  The  tactics  and  support  varied  depending  on  the  needs  of  the  client,  but  we  excelled  in  determining  the  right  mix  of  sales  collateral,  communications,  presentation  and  RFQ  support  to  meet  or  exceed  expectations.    

Sales Support  

• Inside  Sales  –  led  the  inside  sales  team  by  quickly  discerning  skill  sets  of  each  sales  representative  and  help  empower  them  to  achieve  their  goals.  We  found  new  opportunities  by  looking  at  field  sales’  call  activity  and  customers  compared  to  our  calls  and  target  areas.  We  then  created  a  targeted  heat  map  by  identifying  most  to  least  viable  target  areas  by  average  sales  potential.    

 • Sales  Collateral  –  developed  sales  and  marketing  collateral,  presentations  and  bid  proposals  for  sales  reps  

by  market.  We  worked  with  the  subject-­‐matter-­‐experts  (SMEs)  to  get  the  key  elements  and  differentiators  of  the  product  or  service.  Then  we  created  the  visual  elements  and  relevant  testimonials  and  taglines  in  accordance  to  the  product-­‐positioning  documents.  

 • Event/Exhibit  Management  –  managed  a  team  responsible  for  storing  and  setting  up  the  exhibit,  booking  

the  space  and  ensuring  all  events  and  speakers  were  prepared.  We  also  kept  up  with  event  leads  and  routed  to  the  appropriate  sales  rep  for  follow-­‐up.  

 • On-­‐Site  Presentations  –  was  frequently  called  upon  to  help  win  or  retain  business  while  acting  in  the  role  

of  product  manager  for  EBSCO  Information  MarketPlace,  an  e-­‐commerce  site  positioned  for  corporate  accounts  seeking  to  purchase  newspapers,  magazines  and  trade  journals  for  continuing  education.    

 • Lead  Cultivation  –  followed  up  on  web  and  event  related  leads  for  viability.  We  either  called  on  them  

directly  to  close,  or  passed  them  onto  the  field  reps  depending  on  the  potential  sales  value.  

Intranet and RFQ Database  

SALES DEVELOPMENT

• Intranet  –  managed  the  implementation  and  update  team  responsible  for  supporting  our  global  sales  force  for  EBSCO  Information  Services  (EIS).  While  there  was  a  central  knowledge  base  for  all  collateral  and  product  information  and  pricing,  we  also  worked  with  regional  teams  for  local  translations.  All  collateral,  content  updates  and  news  was  then  promoted  via  internal  email  notification,  linking  directly  to  topic  specific  content.  

 • RFQ  Database  –  driver  and  primary  manager  of  the  RFQ  database,  a  web-­‐based  tool  that  consolidated  all  

of  our  services  in  a  centralized  site.  The  SMEs  had  specific  access  rights  to  their  information  for  the  purpose  of  updating  user-­‐specific  content.  Managers  could  customize  proposals  based  on  the  categories  and  markets  selected;  to  respond  to  most  commonly  asked  questions.    

 

 I  started  focusing  on  digital  marketing  and  e-­‐commerce  in  1997.  Since  then,  technology  evolved  at  a  rapid  pace,  enabling  better  usability  and  reporting  tools  to  track  all  kinds  of  consumer  data.  Digital  marketing  provided  a  better  way  to  measure  ROI  and  get  granular  with  targeted  and  more  relevant  communication.    

Business Requirements and Usability  

• Business  Requirements  –  researched  the  business  we  were  supporting  and  the  competitors  within  the  market  to  better  define  client  objectives.  After  gaining  client  and  competitor  knowledge,  a  business  requirements  document  was  drafted,  detailing  the  goals  of  the  client,  project  specific  details  and  timeline  for  client  approval.      

 • Usability  Testing  –  tested  the  user  interface  and  functionality  vs.  the  competition  in  order  to  ensure  

greater  usability.  This  prevented/minimized  user  bailout  rates  and  increased  conversions.  

• Content  Development  –  created  credible  and  persuasive  content  to  drive  site  traffic  via  social  channels,  while  helping  search  engine  rankings  due  to  deeper  content.  Subject-­‐matter-­‐experts  (SMEs)  were  assigned  to  drive  and  retain  search  engine  traffic  from  keyword  phrases.  Content  was  created  and  revised  by  channel  and  market  to  increase  keyword  relevancy  within  the  defined  target  audience.  

 • Search  Engine  Marketing  –  researched  relevant  keyword  phrases  associated  to  specific  products  and  

services  in  order  to  learn  which  phrases  required  optimization  for  search  engines.  Competitors  were  also  researched  for  the  same  phrases  in  order  to  determine  which  phrases  to  target.  If  natural/organic  search  terms  were  too  competitive,  adwords  were  used  to  offset  the  competition.  

 • E-­‐mail  Marketing  –  implemented  e-­‐mail  marketing  campaigns  and  automation  to  promote  

product/service  offers  and  events  for  registration.  Gained  a  marginal  uptick  in  site  conversions  from  automated  features  (like  cart  abandonment),  which  required  less  manual  resources.  Also  performed  split  tests  (Content  A  vs.  Content  B)  to  compare  and  maximize  e-­‐mail  conversion  rates  (links  to  offer)  based  on  message  and  visual  content.  E-­‐mails  included  links,  which  were  tied  to  specific  campaign  IDs  for  analyzing  links  clicked,  visits  to  landing  pages  and  purchases/form  submission.    

 • Site  Optimization  –  analyzed  site  conversion  metrics,  by  category  and  product/service,  to  see  how  

traffic  flowed  through  the  site  and  which  pages  caused  the  highest  bailout  rates.  Pages  were  revised  along  with  functionality  (if  required)  to  improve  conversion  rates.  

 

DIGITAL STRATEGY

Web and Search Engine Marketing  

 

TESTIMONIALS “Chip is an effective Marketing Director who has demonstrated his leadership abilities in a variety of positions and environments at EBSCO. He exhibits excellent knowledge and experience in his role and communicates well with all impacted personnel. His focus has always been centered around driving revenues, profit- ability and performance at EBSCO. I’ve personally worked with Chip on many new account opportunities and other initiatives and I’ve always come away pleased with the outcome. He’s a valued asset and leader and enjoyable to work with.”  

—  Jerry  Welshoff  |  Director  of  Sales  |  EBSCO  Information  Services  

“I have known and worked with Chip on many projects over the past several years. I appreciate his honesty and his ability to relate to my clients. His ability to present fresh, relevant and creative ideas to clients combine to add exceptional value to the projects he's involved in.”

—  Ben  Drake  |  Partner  |  Dent  Baker  &  Company,  LLP  

“Chip and I worked together in an effort to increase sales for the Siegel web site through search engine marketing. Chip was instrumental in obtaining the software tools necessary for success. I found Chip to be a shrewd negotiator. He was cognizant of our bottom line yet never compromised his principles of honesty and integrity in his efforts to ensure we got the best price. His efforts put us on the right track to increasing our web presence.”

—  Bernie  Bauhof  |  Vice  President  &  General  Manager  |  Siegel  Display  Products  

“I have worked with Chip ever since I began at EBSCO, first when he was in Corporate Communications and later when he was a direct report while managing the Inside Serials Sales team. Chip is very driven, expects and gets results. His organization and detail took Inside Sales to a new level under his management prior to the merger and he was a valued asset on my management team.”

—  Steve  O’Dell  |  Vice  President  of  Sales  |  EBSCO  Information  Services