About Me
I make Digital Marketing accessible to Local Business Owners.
I am a Digital Marketing Expert with over 15 years of experience advising businesses on how to get the most out of their online presence.
I’ve provided strategy and consulted on award-winning marketing programs for top brands including Chipotle, Verizon, Scholastic and Keurig. I’ve also helped upstart e-commerce retailers including Bonobos and Warby Parker establish and grow their business into Silicon Valley success stories.
I was most recently the Vice President of Digital Marketing for Papa Gino’s Pizzeria and D’Angelo Grilled Sandwiches, a $300M/yr chain of local restaurants based in New England. As a member of the Executive Leadership team, I designed, built, and ran a successful digital marketing department for over 6 years, nearly doubling online sales during my tenure.
My work has been featured by top media outlets including Bloomberg, Huffington Post, Mobile Marketer, and more.
I became a small business digital marketing coach to share my industry knowledge with local business owners who need support, but don’t have the resources to hire a full-time marketing team. I provide the same knowledge, tools, and guidance that I’ve shared with top national brands for years, except I tailor it around the limitations of a small business owner.
With the proper tools and some guidance, I’ve helped businesses of all sizes to:
- Improve Online Visibility in Local Markets
- Grow Website Traffic and Generate New Leads
- Establish & Grow New Online Sales Channels
- Unlock the Potential of Data and Analytics
- Build Customer Loyalty through Personalized Digital Experiences
- Amplify Reach and Improve Engagement Across All Digital Channels
- Automate Manual Processes & Work Flows
Who I’ve Worked With
My Work in the Media
Professional Certifications
I like to get my hands dirty. By maintaining a hands-on knowledge of key industry tools, I’m able to provide guidance tailored to my clients’ level of technical expertise.
My Approach
DISCOVER
IDEA
DESIGN
DEVELOP
TEST
LAUNCH
The Secret Sauce
My approach to problem solving is rooted in logic derived from effective communication. There are four key pillars to my approach:
ACTIVE LISTENING
“The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.”
– Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Regardless of its complexity, it’s my belief that you cannot begin to solve a problem until you understand its constructs.
The foundation of my approach to problem solving is Active Listening – the process in which a conscious decision is made to listen and understand the context of a problem along with its variables. Rather than race to provide an opinion on a subject, an active listener instead asks follow-up questions and paraphrases the information they’ve received in order to confirm that both parties are aligned before moving on.
By exercising active listening, communication is greatly improved and this enables me to better understand the underlying issues and how they are related.
CRITICAL THINKING
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
– Socrates
I draw on the Socratic Method of critical thinking to question complex ideas and assumptions rather than accept them at face value. I seek to understand context and nuance in order to evaluate arguments and ideas more effectively.
Throughout my career, I’ve found that critical thinking and creativity go hand-in-hand, often empowering one other. Understanding a problem’s root cause and its constraints is often the genesis of new, creative solutions.
COMMUNICATION
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
– Albert Einstein
Verbal, nonverbal, written, visual, formal, informal. There are many ways to convey a thought or idea while in the pursuit of finding or implementing a solution to a problem.
One of my greatest strengths is the ability to untangle complex issues and decode them in a way that can be understood by both technical and non-technical minds.
This ability to communicate effectively has proven invaluable as I am able to deconstruct seemingly overwhelming projects and reassemble them into a set of digestible solutions with a roadmap and established action items.
EXECUTION
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
— Leonardo Da Vinci
I leverage technology to solve complex problems through a set of simple solutions. Whether it’s automating existing processes, designing new work flows, or building new solutions from the ground up, the goal is to keep things simple yet flexible enough to meet current and future needs.
Through the process of listening, critical thinking, and effectively communicating, the execution piece becomes much more efficient as expectations are aligned, potential roadblocks are minimized, and core needs are addressed up front.
Resume
WORK HISTORY
Jan 2020 – Current
Digital Marketing Advisor, Owner
Digital Handyman Solutions, LLC.
I started Digital Handyman Solutions as a means to help small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. My goal is provide small business owners with access to the same Digital Marketing knowledge, tools, and guidance that I’ve provided to top brands for over 15 years.
As an award-winning Digital Marketing Expert, I’ve worked with companies of all sizes. From Fortune 500 brands to startup e-commerce retailers, I help businesses get the most out of their online presence.
With the proper tools and some guidance, I’ve helped my clients to:
- Unlock the Potential of Data and Analytics
- Improve Search Visibility & Grow Website Traffic
- Build Customer Loyalty through Personalized Digital Experiences
- Amplify Reach and Improve Customer Engagement Across Owned, Earned, and Paid Media Channels
- Establish & Grow New Online Sales Channels
- Automate Manual Processes & Work Flows
Aug 2014 – Feb 2020
Vice President of Digital Marketing
New England Authentic Eats, LLC.
As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, I ran the digital marketing department and led the digital transformation efforts for two of New England’s most iconic restaurant brands – Papa Gino’s Pizzeria and D’Angelo Grilled Sandwiches.
Highlights Include:
- Spearheaded multi-million dollar project to design, build, and promote an all-new Papa Gino’s website and mobile app with a mobile-first design.
- Increased annual online revenue by over 60%
- Increased average online order value by over 20%
- Led a project to integrate discrete sales, marketing, and customer engagement databases into a Customer Data Platform. As a result, data could be pulled from multiple sources, scrubbed, and combined to create user-level customer profiles. Individual customers could then be targeted in real-time with personalized messaging across Papa Gino’s marketing channels.
- Streamlined digital acquisition strategy and implemented a personalized “new customer” communication experience which led to a 250% increase ($5.3M) in year-over-year new customer sales.
- Implemented dynamic database segmentation & marketing automation programs via email and text channels.
- Personalized communication based on guest behavior led to 350% growth in email open rate, 400% growth in email click through rate, and a 14x coupon redemption rate.
- Launched award-winning Text Marketing program, generating over 120,000 subscribers and over $2M in attributable revenue within its first year.
- Revamped Social Media presence to establish a consistent, authentic brand voice and personality across all digital channels.
- Revamped Loyalty Program and acquisition efforts to lower program costs while increasing perceived guest value and usage.
- 450% growth in monthly Loyalty Program enrollments
Aug 2010 – Aug 2014
Senior Strategic Account Manager
Aol./Huffington Post
I was responsible for the strategic and operational management of several key Aol./Huffington Post partnerships including Chipotle, Scholastic, Warby Parker, Bonobos, Keurig, and Nutribullet.
Highlights Include:
- Managed and provided optimization strategy on Chipotle’s million-dollar “Food For Thought” initiative on The Huffington Post. This yearlong program won Digiday’s “Best Content Marketing Program” award to honor brands that push the digital advertising space forward.
- Provided customer acquisition & retention strategy to upcoming e-commerce brands Bonobos and Warby Parker, helping in their journey to become two of Silicon Valley’s top apparel success stories.
EDUCATION
2013
Master of Business Administration
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduated with an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
2006
BA, Public and Private Sector Organizations
Brown University
Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public and Private Sector Organizations from Brown University in Providence, RI.
Business Skills
Critical Thinking
Reporting & Analysis
Problem Solving
Communication
Project Management
Digital Marketing Skills
CRM Strategy
Search Marketing
Email Marketing
SMS Marketing
PPC Advertising
Search Engine Optimization
Local SEO
Lead Generation
Technical Skills
Google Analytics
WordPress
Photoshop
Google Workspace
Excel
Office Hours
Schedule Time with Jesse
I offer free Office Hours to startups and small business owners looking for advice on establishing and growing their online presence. Bring your questions!
Below is a calendar with my availability – pick a date and time that work for you and let’s connect!
A meeting invite will be sent to the email address you provide.
Contact
Drop Me A Line
Have a burning question about Digital Marketing? Let’s connect!
Fill out the below form or if you’d prefer to set up an online meeting, select a day and time on my calendar that works best for you. I’ll send a meeting invite directly to your email!
Better Yet, Book a Meeting
Digital Handyman Solutions, LLC
Littleton, Massachusetts 01460
(978) 431-2260
Top Massachusetts Digital Consultant