Chad Gourley

Owner/Chief Dot Connector

Product Launch/Business Development

• Launched a portal in Lake and Geauga County to connect students in high school to meaningful career opportunities after graduation.
• Engaged with the schools to register students, businesses to increase membership, and community partners to evangelize the portals usage.
• Created content for clients that attracts their audience and aligns with SEO practices.

Director of Marketing/Marketing Strategist

• Built and executed marketing plans for businesses to strategically align their brand and marketing activities.
• Performed SEO operations including content audits, competitive analysis, keyword research, and buyer persona development.
• Worked closely with the CEO to develop the brand, target audience, and product offering.
• Improved client website content by analyzing performance data and measuring KPIs against industry benchmarks.
• Identified customer needs and industry trends by analyzing data from interviews and surveys.
• Trained clients on authoring and curating content on various platforms.
• Implemented the use of the following software systems: MOZ, Buffer, Nimble, Slack, Trello, and SEM Rush.

Marketing Consultant/Business Development

• Identified prospective clients within the target audience to develop relationships with, while maintaining relationships with existing clients.
• Engaged with clients to define campaign goals for website design projects.
• Created, presented and negotiated proposals, utilizing proposal writing software, based on client budgets and timelines.
• Closed sales and up-sold prospects using solutions-based sales methods.
• Collaborated with all internal and external project contributors to ensure projects were resourced and managed to meet deadlines and exceed client’s expectations.
• Planned user experience and designed wireframes for thirty-seven client websites in WordPress.
• Maintained accurate and up-to-date customer data using Customer Relationship Management systems.
• Tracked and built revenue reports on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
• Developed a process and procedure for marketing research and strategy for clients to align their overall brand and marketing.

Founder/President/Vice President

• Determined a need for a Community Development Corporation from engagement with the community.
• Partnered with the City of Willoughby and community stakeholders to build an inclusive strategic plan.
• Developed a board of directors that is inclusive to identified stakeholder groups.
• Hosted monthly meetings with members to inform them of upcoming events, activities, and changes in the community.
• Planned and executed annual community events with attendees ranging from 10,000 – 40,000 people.
• Raised funding from grants, government funding, and events to hire a Director for the organization.

Content Marketing Certificate

Shortly before the Christmas of 2018, I decided it was time to take my Content Marketing Skills to the next level and enroll in Content Marketing University.  This online course is designed to help hone in skills while delivering a framework for a full content marketing process.  During this course there was testing, and most importantly worksheets to help you this process in a content project of your own.

Bachelor’s Degree

At Cleveland State University I received my Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a major in Marketing.  During the program our professors had us work on many projects with real clients such as The Cleveland Orchestra, Auntie Anne’s and the Cleveland Consignment Shoppe.  While at CSU I was a member of the American Marketing Association where we worked on a project for the Big Brothers and Sisters of Lake County, and traveled to New Orleans for their Annual Meeting and competed in their Marketing Strategy and Booth Competitions.

Associate of Arts

At Lakeland Community College my focus was on completing my Associate of Arts Degree, while determining what area of business I wanted to pursue in my future.  During my time at LCC, I was a leader in SIFE (Students Interested in Free Enterprise), where worked on projects that tied business to community activism.