Expertise

Mike carries extensive loyalty marketing credentials and he has either designed, launched, operated, analyzed or shut down over 50 individual programs across all vertical markets. Marketing Strategists is one of the few consulting organizations in the world that understands all current loyalty models operating globally – proprietary programs, hard and soft points models, coalitions, player models, communications only programs, promotional programs – and MS is intimately familiar with the leading loyalty coalitions around the world.

Mike has helped both clients and service providers navigate the loyalty marketing landscape. He has been called upon by investment analysts and venture capitalists to assist in identifying, evaluating and recommending strategies for emerging loyalty technologies or to avoid pitfalls in the acquisition of loyalty marketing capabilities.

Writing & Speaking Credentials
As an acknowledged expert in the theory and practice of loyalty marketing, Mike has published numerous articles and white papers describing the characteristics of marketing programs which seek to change customer behavior. Bylined articles have appeared in DM News, The DMA Insider, DIRECT and COLLOQUY and both are often quoted by major trade publications covering the relationship marketing industry as well as in the general business press.

Mike has been a featured presenter at industry conferences sponsored by the DMA, NACS, FTMA, Thompson Media, and the Institute for International Research. He has delivered educational workshops on the principles, practices and technologies of loyalty marketing in five countries. He is the co-author of Customer Retention in the Golfing Industry (NGCOA, 2004) and has been a featured speaker and workshop leader at the World Golf Foundation’s 20/20 conference and educational seminar.

International Experience
Mike’s international experience is extensive including client engagements, channel marketing and the delivery of educational workshops in the UK, Canada, France, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and the US. He co-authored Loyalty Trends for the 21st Century (European Retail Digest, 2004) and was a co-founder and principal faculty member for the Templeton College, Oxford University (UK), Loyalty Marketing Workshop for Executives.

Previous Experience
Mike most recently served as Vice President, The COLLOQUY Group, for Frequency Marketing, Inc. (FMI), a global loyalty marketing services provider and wholly-owned subsidiary of Alliance Data (NYSE:ADS). From 1999-2005 he was the senior marketing officer for the company with executive management and P&L responsibilities for the professional services (loyalty consulting), analytics, creative and partner development functions. He also served as senior market development executive for international expansion strategies. Throughout his entire tenure he served as the Executive Editor and General Manager of COLLOQUY, the publishing, research and educational services unit of FMI. He left in 2005 to form an independent consulting practice.

Mike reported directly to the President of FMI and was a member of both the FMI Executive Team and ADS Senior Leadership Team. He had extensive interaction with FMI’s parent company, Alliance Data, including Canadian subsidiary, The Loyalty Group, operators of the Air Miles loyalty coalition.

Mike’s 30 plus year career has also included positions as Senior Vice President for Burgoyne, Inc., a national Marketing Research company (1972-1990) and Vice President, Marketing for Convergys Corporation (1990-1999), a customer management firm providing outsourced customer care, billing and technology solutions to global clients. He was the VP, Marketing at the time of Convergys’ successful IPO in 1998.

He holds a BBA in Marketing from the University of Cincinnati and studied at the Master’s level in Media at New York University. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s, he was an adjunct instructor in Marketing at five different US universities.

Our clients are highly satisfied which is proven through our long-term relationships and through the repeat business we have been awarded. Key clients served over the past 30 years:

Financial Services
American Express, GE Money, Visa International, Master Card International, Citicorp, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, First Horizon, Banco Popular, BBVA Bancomer, Grupo Ixe, Gerson Lehrman Group, UBS

Retail
Best Buy, The Home Depot, Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Sears Canada, Eddie Bauer, Exxon Mobil, FedEx Kinkos, Office Depot, West Marine, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Hospitality and Gaming
Cendant, Sheraton International, LaQuinta, Grupo Posadas, Accor, MGM Mirage, Isle of Capri, Spirit Mountain

Technology, telecommunications and industrial
Hewlett Packard, Teradata, Verizon, Bell South, Yellow Pages Group, Warner Cable, MCI, Apple Computer, Sprint PCS, LA Cellular, Charter Communications, Cincinnati Bell Long Distance, W.W. Grainger, Eco Engineering, Sun Industries, Sun Electric, NetTrecker/Thinkronize

Consumer Products
Mattel, Clorox, Procter & Gamble, Clairol, HJ Heinz, Paul Masson, American Home Products, John Deere, Ralston-Purina, Britannica.com, AutoNation USA

Health care and pharmaceuticals
Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, ChoiceCare, Mercy Health Partners

Marketing Services Providers
Harte-Hanks, Reward Stream, COLLOQUY, Electronic Scrip, Consumer Benefit Services, Maritz Loyalty Marketing

We believe that providing case studies of the successes we have achieved with our clients and their responses to our engagements demonstrates our approach and capabilities better than any copy you can read on this web-site.

We ask our clients after each and every engagement to let us know how we did so that we can focus on maximizing the value delivered through continuous improvement. We consistently receive above average scores on every variable for every engagement. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being poor and 5 being excellent) our current metrics:

Average score of 4.7 for “exceeded expectations”
Average score of 4.7 for “overall value delivered”

Most important, 100% of the clients surveyed said they would hire us again and serve as a reference for future assignments.
Let us know if would like to talk to them!
From a satisfied client in the educational software industry in Cincinnati, Ohio:

“As the project manager, I had the honor of working with Mike in the design of our Customer Loyalty program. We challenged them with a complex initiative and asked them to deliver results in a compressed timeframe. Not only did he meet that challenge, but went beyond expectations and delivered a total package from entry-level programming to data-driven business modeling to a customer and business friendly exit strategy. Wow! I am now a Raving Fan and will promote Marketing Strategists to anyone that asks.”

Tom Agler Education Industry – Product Manager