
Richard James
Verified Expert in Marketing
Marketing Expert
London, United Kingdom
Toptal member since August 27, 2024
Rich is a senior digital marketer with a track record of helping multinational and startup businesses achieve profitable growth and more satisfied consumers. He achieves results by analyzing customer needs to define strategy and building relationships to execute projects. Rich is a self-starter with a creative approach and a bias for action who inspires by acting authentically and with integrity.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Analytics
- Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
- Digital Marketing
- Growth Marketing
- Loyalty Programs
- Marketing Attribution
- Performance Marketing
- eCommerce
Work Experience
Head of Digital
Rat & Boa
- Delivered over 650% sales growth, reaching eight figures in GBP, by defining a comprehensive marketing strategy and building a team to execute the vision.
- Designed and launched a loyalty program to boost retention, increasing customer lifetime value by 30% and returning customer rates by 15% to 54% across four Shopify stores. Membership grew by 60%, and the VIP tier expanded by 131%.
- Increased revenue from email marketing by replatforming to a new email system, implementing customer segmentation, and launching automated campaigns.
- Achieved operational efficiency equating to roughly £1 million per full-time employee.
- Proposed and designed an annual customer insight survey, resulting in eight key findings and four customer segments that impacted business strategy across product portfolio, sales, marketing, and customer service.
- Grew revenue from social media by implementing a paid media strategy and optimizing content. Increased paid social revenue from £0 to £6.2 million annually.
- Negotiated and renegotiated contracts with vendors and suppliers, seven of which resulted in discounts for Rat & Boa worth over £90,000.
- Reorganized the digital team’s processes using Agile methodologies, introducing Trello and TeamGantt to support six-month forward planning, clear task ownership, and a single source of truth for project plans.
Customer Experience Manager
Sony Mobile Communications
- Promoted to senior manager to lead and set the direction for the customer experience team.
- Delivered an analysis of Xperia handset users in Europe, segmenting customers and mapping their preferences. The study proposed 13 recommendations for eight teams, and the findings were used in operator negotiations with Telefonica and EE.
- Implemented a restructuring plan to shut down a customer experience team of nine colleagues, including consultants, offshore teams, suppliers, and sub-contractors, and kept the team motivated and on schedule through this challenging assignment.
- Transferred technical and functional knowledge successfully for customer analytics, web analytics, SEO, and UX to stakeholders in Sony Europe and product marketing colleagues in Sony Japan.
Strategic Insight Manager
Sony Mobile Communications
- Promoted to manage a strategic insight team of analytical consultants, suppliers, and subcontractors comprising six team members.
- Coached the team and acted as a point of escalation. I also became experienced at integrating subject-matter experts into wider teams at Sony.
- Built an internal data management platform (DMP) solution for segmentation, resulting in over 90% reduction in cost per handset sale, and collaborated with teams in Japan, Sweden, the UK, and Germany to deliver the project.
- Acted as the cross-functional marketing stakeholder for a joint project between Sony HR and the senior leadership team. I trained in project management, strategic planning, and presentations.
- Reworked a web analytics framework into a commercial offering based around "site leads" for partner negotiation.
- Updated the strategic insight team to measurable and actionable procedures, adopted Agile methodologies to deliver better prioritization and tangible team KPIs, and moved from self-assessed NPS to a count of successful projects delivered.
- Secured buy-in with teams in Europe and Japan for data-driven strategies. Recommendations leveraged methodologies such as A/B testing, CRO, text mining, ML-based clustering, and automated reporting.
- Introduced concepts such as attribution modeling, statistical significance, and quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Global Program Manager
Sony Mobile Communications
- Won the Sony CEO award for innovation of the Xperia Lounge application, including delivering over 40% of CRM sign-ups in key commercial markets via the application.
- Program-managed the UEFA Champions League cross-functional team, delivering a global brand campaign to sell the Xperia Z5 for use by local sales teams. The proposition was successfully sold exclusively to Vodafone Europe.
- Devised and managed a best-in-class content campaign utilizing the Sony Mobile sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, acquiring 18-35 male users and reaching seven million users globally.
- Researched and delivered feature requests and then worked with development teams to build and test app and web-based functionalities to support mobile sales and marketing strategies.
- Managed partnership marketing across music, sports, and gaming with partners including Spotify, Sony Music, VEVO, Konami, Pepsi, Nissan, UEFA, Adidas, TIDAL, and PlayStation.
Digital Marketing Executive
Adecco Group
- Launched three websites and a mobile site in 12 months as part of rebranding projects delivered in partnership with product teams based in Switzerland, India, and Spain. These sites delivered a conversion rate of 1.2% on total traffic.
- Produced communication plans and targeted content, including blogs, advertising copy, and social media and email campaigns. The Modis blog was then shortlisted in the "Best Business Blog" category for the UK Social Media Communications Awards 2013.
- Filmed and edited interviews with the CEO of Adecco for use at the annual company awards ceremony.
Project History
Rat & Boa Marketing Strategy
https://www.ratandboa.com/Led the design and execution of the digital marketing strategy and plan, resulting in a 650% revenue increase and a 74% AOV increase.
I analyzed the existing marketing data and ranked channels in order of performance. I then implemented a marketing plan to optimize and scale these channels, focusing on sales and delivering ROI from marketing. The plan included migrating the email marketing system to enable better automation and segmentation of our email base and launching nine automated email and SMS flows. The plan also included launching paid advertising campaigns on Instagram and Facebook, incrementally focusing on acquiring new customers.
The result has been a profitable ad strategy that successfully scaled by 370% over two years and a 4.1 ROAS. As the company has grown, I've also scoped roles and built a team to deliver the marketing strategy. Growth has been steady since channel optimization; revenue increased by 650%, and AOV grew by 74%.
Rat & Boa Loyalty Program
https://www.ratandboa.com/pages/membersLed the design and launch of the company's loyalty program, increasing LTV by 30% and the returning customer rate between 15% and 54% across the four Shopify stores. The membership base grew by 60% and our VIP tier by 131%.
The project's objective was to increase revenue per customer by increasing average order value and purchase frequency, delivering a retention strategy with tangible value and a luxury feel. We wanted "money can't buy" experiences for our customers, including co-designing new dresses rather than solely discounts. I sourced our loyalty software provider, designed a three-tier loyalty program, and scoped several new loyalty-based email flows. I also worked with the directors on the brand name and the developer and UX designer on the onsite implementation.
The result was a 30% increase in revenue per customer and a 15% to 54 % increase in the returning customer rate across the four Shopify stores. In the first 18 months, we grew our loyalty membership base by 60% and our VIP tier by 131%.
Sony Mobile UEFA Champions League Sponsorship Campaign
Program-managed a cross-functional team of sales, marketing, and IT experts to deliver a best-in-class campaign we successfully sold exclusively to Vodafone Europe.
The campaign included access to match highlights, exclusive content, and a score predictor game where you could play against friends or other Xperia fans for a chance to win tickets to matches. In four months, 1.6 million people viewed the predictor, and we reached 250,000 engaged players. Examples of the video content, including collaborations with brands such as Nissan and Konami, are available.
Rat & Boa Customer Segmentation
Led and delivered a segmentation project based on eight key findings and key customer segments, which impacted business strategy across product portfolio, sales, marketing, and customer service.
We have run the survey every year since 2019, and NPS has increased every year since then. We have delivered key insights and actions across the product portfolio, sales, marketing, and customer experience.
Sony Mobile Loyalty and CRM program (Xperia Lounge)
I program-managed three workstreams for the Sony Mobile Loyalty and CRM program (Xperia Lounge). The program won the Sony CEO award for innovation because it generated over 40% of CRM signups and drove $8 million in incremental sales.
Establishing the mobile CRM application as a key marketing platform. Reaching over 10M monthly active users. 140% increase in the number of campaigns within the first 6 months.
I leveraged exclusive Sony content to achieve B2B handset sell-in and B2C awareness and sales targets, overachieving target by 36%.
I managed partnership marketing initiatives, including Spotify, Sony Music, VEVO, Konami, Roland Garros, Nissan, UEFA, Adidas, TIDAL, and PlayStation.
I managed the CRM aspects of the programs, feature requests, CRM lifecycle marketing, CMS, CRO, A/B testing, and reporting analysis.
I worked cross-functionally at Sony with stakeholders in EMEA, Japan, Sweden, the USA, and MEA. I built relationships and collaborated to achieve our shared goals.
Education
High Flyers Program in Business Administration
Alliance Manchester Business School - Manchester, England
Bachelor's Degree in Archaeology
University of Manchester - Manchester, England
Certifications
Certificate in Executive Coaching Practice
Full Circle
Google Analytics Certification
Negotiation Training
The Gap Partnership
IDM Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing
Institute of Data & Marketing (IDM)
Skills
Core
Digital Marketing, Digital Marketing Strategy, Marketing Budgeting, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Email Marketing, Channel Strategy, Campaign Management, Content, SMS Marketing, Performance Marketing, Content Marketing, Marketing Automation, Social Media, Customer Segmentation, Agile Marketing, A/B Testing, Marketing Research & Analysis, B2C Marketing
Platforms & Tools
Google Analytics, Triple Whale, Klaviyo, CRM Systems, Content Management Systems (CMS)
Other
Analytics, Loyalty Marketing, Analysis, eCommerce Strategy, Customer Retention, Loyalty Programs, Team Leadership, Marketing Attribution, Customer Experience Management, eCommerce, Growth Marketing, Public Speaking, Strategy, Negotiation, Contract Negotiation, Sales Growth, Microsoft Excel, Shopify, Personalization, Qualitative Research, Web Analytics, Critical Thinking, Communication, Business Administration, Meta Ads, UX Analysis, Program Management, Stakeholder Management, Customer Acquisition, App Design, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Survey Development & Analysis, Machine Learning, Partnership Marketing, Sports, B2B Marketing, Project Budget Management, Remote Team Leadership, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Hiring, Data, Content Optimization, Email Marketing Strategy, Customer Insights, Data Analysis, Trello, Project Management, Process Improvement, Customer Experience, Team Management, Strategic Planning, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Mentorship & Coaching, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Interviewing, Change Management, Qualitative Analysis, Project Planning, Strategic Planning & Execution, Quantitative Analysis, Customer Data Platform (CDP), Sales & CRM Platforms, Mobile User Acquisition
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