Wesley Ward Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Il, Us

Leads a 14-person team focused on driving new patient growth and patient retention. Responsible for Oak Street Health’s public-facing websites and digital experience.KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:• Built a performance marketing team that accelerated new patient growth and improved patient retention while navigating an IPO and acquisition by CVS Health.• Scaled paid marketing investment while reducing cost per lead and cost per patient utilizing Paid Search, OOH, CTV, DRTV, Paid Social, Organic Search, Programmatic Display, Direct Mail and Affiliate channels.• Grew visits to oakstreethealth.com 20x by deploying content marketing and organic search best practices (content development, page speed optimization, meta-data, link building).• Oversaw digital product roadmap and agile development process for public-facing digital experiences, accelerating speed to market for new products. • Optimized Oak Street Health website and supporting landing pages to improve site conversion (unique visitor to lead submission) 2.5X.• Oversees Digital CRM function, utilizing marketing automation and customer journey principles to improve patient onboarding and retention through Email, SMS, Direct Mail, and outbound calling touchpoints.

Led 15-person team responsible for marketing technology, digital marketing and CRM, user experience, online merchandising, and search for multiple websites. KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:• Created full-funnel marketing plan supporting the Hausera launch, with emphasis on digital CRM, paid search, digital media, SEO, social media, influencer marketing, content marketing, referral marketing, and public relations• Grew organic traffic to over 200K visits per month, using a mix of content marketing, link building (700+ referring domains acquired), and strong technical SEO (site structure, page speed, Meta Data etc.) in under 12 months• Led selection and roadmap for marketing technology, including the CRM and Marketing Automation Platform, focusing on unifying customer data and improving team efficiency• Led social media and influencer marketing strategy that saw the @HauseraHome Instagram channel grow to over 75K followers and engagement rate of 4.45% in just six months• Tested innovative approaches in PPC and PLA focused on optimizing paid media for gross margin and acquired customer lifetime value• Improved eFaucets.com product GP% from 27.0% in 2017 to 30.9% in 2020, by renegotiating supplier agreements and launching several private label brands• P&L owner for the eImprovement Amazon marketplace business (3PL via Seller Central), profitably growing revenue from $100K to $8M a year• Built the merchandising function, hiring and developing team members focused on expanding our national and private label brand product assortment, managing the process of onboarding products to the website, and optimizing the online experience• Launched a dedicated B2B sales team resulting in 2X growth from Interior Design and Contractor customers

Crescere collaborates with clients to understand customer needs and business objectives to craft meaningful marketing strategies. Key focus areas:- Digital CRM- Marketing Technology and developing scalable digital experiences- eCommerce- Digital optimization- Digital marketing channels - email, display, site

Lake Forest, Illinois, Us

Led 11-person team responsible for developing Grainger’s Integrated Marketing Plan and two person team leading Marketing Technology use case and roadmap development. Team created innovative, multi-platform integrated programs for Healthcare, Manufacturing, Commercial and Government verticals and Small to Mid sized businesses. Thought leader in transforming Grainger’s marketing function from a tactical production focused team to a strategic partner using data and insights to maximize customer value across online and offline channels.KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:•Transformed the marketing team by building a new strategic marketing function (from 0 to 11 team members in six months) and developed the first ever Integrated Marketing Plan for Grainger that centered the business on a core brand idea and key lifecycle metrics that guided how marketing focused and prioritized its 2016 programs and investments.•Led the development of Grainger's Marketing Technology roadmap, executing cross-functional workshops with Sales, IT, Marketing, and eCommerce to identify and prioritize use cases, and map the future marketing technology needs of the business.•Developed the business case for Marketing Technology investment and led the RFP process and ultimate selection of Adobe Experience Cloud as the primary suite of solutions for Grainger's marketing team.•Partnered with core Grainger business units to develop innovative strategic marketing plans, leveraging new capabilities, to achieve each segments business priorities (typically account growth or new customer acquisition).•Introduced new strategic capabilities to Grainger's marketing organization such as Persona development, journey mapping, account based marketing, content marketing, leads management & optimization, demand generation, and marketing automation.•Challenged status quo, and enabled marketing organization to test & learn with new marketing channels and technologies supporting new strategic marketing outcomes

Lake Forest, Illinois, Us

Developed CRM vision for digital business focused on leveraging customer insights and data, and integrating and aligning digital marketing channels to enable multi-channel customer centric campaigns. Managed a five person team who optimized Grainger.com based on customer segmentation, enabled multi-channel digital experiences and developed the strategy for Grainger’s marketing technology stack.KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:• Designed marketing and technology strategy that led to integration of Grainger’s digital channels and enabled Grainger’s first integrated and automated multi-channel program focused on reactivating lapsed customers, resulting in $8M in incremental revenue.•Utilized machine learning to automate and optimize Grainger.com customer experiences based on customer industry and lifecycle.•Evaluated, selected and negotiated contracts for Grainger’s marketing technology stack and generated cost savings by consolidating foundational solutions (analytics, data management, and targeting & optimization) to a single vendor.

Lake Forest, Illinois, Us

Launched digital CRM function by developing customer-centric programs and enabling customer level targeting across email, paid search, display, social and Grainger.com. Led 14 person team, focused on Email Marketing, Onsite Optimization, Technology Strategy and Data Science/Predictive Analytics. KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:• Led Grainger.com’s onsite optimization program that incrementally grew online revenue over $150M utilizing A/B and multi-variant testing plus machine learning to automate and optimize content and experiences based on user profiles and behaviors.

Lake Forest, Illinois, Us

Led Grainger’s Email Center of Excellence, comprising of seven team members supporting Grainger’s US business and providing advisory support to International business units. Oversaw email strategy and production functions and managed email service provider and agency relationships. Mentored and developed email marketing team that became industry recognized for its innovation and rapid growth. KEY CONTRIBUTION• Overhauled Grainger’s email marketing strategy and grew program revenue contribution from $81M in 2011 to $255M in 2014.

Lake Forest, Illinois, Us

Managed Grainger’s Email Marketing Strategy team and introduced customer contact strategies and email program frameworks focused on improving customer engagement and business revenue. Successfully onboarded new email marketing platform and designed and integrated marketing data mart to enable customer engagement models used to optimize customer contact frequencies and content relevancy.

Chicago, Il, Us

Planned and executed strategic multi-channel marketing campaigns working with cross functional teams and external agencies to drive revenue for the Sears Online Business Unit. Leveraged customer analytics to develop and implement strategic customer communication plan through the email channel supporting loyalty and general consumer marketing objectives. Consulted Loyalty Marketing and Home Appliances business units on customer contact and lifecycle marketing opportunities. Directed internal and external agency partners to align brand positioning in email communications and identified opportunities to reduce production costs, increase speed to market, and improve revenue performance. Allocated and administered department’s annual budget.KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:• Refined customer communication strategy through the email channel for Sears Home Appliance business unit that focused on leveraging customer lifecycle data, appropriate customer segmentation targeting, simplified offer structure, and re-energized creative growing category email revenue from $21M to $32M• Developed first data driven approach focused on customer propensity models and contact strategy enhancements to improve Sears email deliverability and improve inbox placement from 68% to 98% in just 6 months.• Directed multi-department pilot initiative that combined customer segmentation, targeting criteria, and content enabling the automation of Sears promotional emails which drove a 78 percent improvement in revenue per email due to improved relevancy and an estimated 20-30 reduction in creative development time.

Arlington Heights, Il, Us

Led five person marketing team to develop and implement strategic marketing plans for Arlington Park and its eleven off-track wagering facilities. Deployed integrated marketing programs leveraging mass advertising, on premise, events, and with a strong emphasis on digital, direct response and loyalty marketing. Negotiated advertising and direct marketing agency agreements and budgets. KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:• Identified opportunity with live racing customers to offer a purchased loyalty program focused on value and member exclusive access resulting in 45 percent growth in visits and 29 percent growth in wagering.• Owned customer acquisition for the Twin Spires Club loyalty marketing program and directed customer service opt-in programs and e-commerce data collection initiatives that resulted in over 55 percent growth in customer database from 2006-2009.• Maximized admission revenue by leading strategic shift in promotional messaging focusing on value and experience achieving 50.5 percent increase in paid attendance and in 49.5 percent increase in revenue at Arlington Park from 2007 to 2009.

Arlington Heights, Il, Us

Developed marketing strategies and programs supporting Arlington Park’s eleven Off-Track Betting facilities.

Chicago, Il, Us

Coordinated event marketing lead generation programs for Capital One (college football tour) and Cadillac (art festival sponsorship and activation).

Us

Executed lead generation focused event marketing programs for Cadillac, General Motors Powertrain, General Motors Performance Parts, and General Motors Restoration Parts.

Las Vegas, Nv, Us

Chicago, Illinois, Us

Master'S Degree, Business Administration

Master'S Degree, Sports Administration

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Sport Management