Colby Dix
P.O. Box 617 West Dover, VT 05356
802.275.5003 | colby@vermontgeeks.com
Summary of Qualifications
Innovative and insightful CREATIVE MARKETING / NEW MEDIA professional with a track record of successfully leveraging emerging technologies and social platforms. A multi faceted individual with many talents and lots of creativity. Aggressive problem solver and versatile team player possessing strong creative and design skills. Flexible, professional and knowledgeable in group workspaces. Hands-on leader and motivator, value conscious and a diligent planner. Accustomed to meeting deadlines and handling multiple projects; dynamic problem-solver, fearless in the face of adversity, fulfilling priorities, I get the job done.
Areas of Expertise
General Management / Entrepreneurship: including business plan development and metric tracking, cash flow management, capital expenditure planning, cost structure and pricing, production forecasting and budgeting, employee & freelance supervision, P&L, overhead reduction analysis, banking relations and negotiations. Creation of brick and mortar retail spaces, staffing, recruitment and scheduling, and bottom line awareness.
Project Management: from project definition with stakeholders through implementation and completion including identifying requirements, work breakdown, scheduling, time and resource management, budgeting, issue resolution, quality control, and executive and administrative reporting.
Account and Relationship Management: including developing new clients, managing and maximizing existing intracompany and external client relationships, handling complex customer inquiries and interactions, responding quickly and consistently to customer needs, handling high risk customers and increasing customer retention and satisfaction.
Strategic Brand Positioning: including defining short and long term objectives, conducting industry and competitor analysis, interpreting market data to provide strategic brand direction, defining and allocating budget, developing and implementing strategic marketing plans and channels, analyzing performance metrics, reporting results, and maintaining knowledge of marketing trends, developments, and best utilizations.
Digital and Social Media Marketing: including creative strategy-development and execution, website-development, social media lead generation, outreach and communications, implementation of Facebook marketing campaigns, and maximizing benefits of Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and other social media platforms. In-depth knowledge of SEO, SEM, email marketing, video, and mobile media campaigns.
Print and Online Advertising: including developing advertising campaigns, ad concept/design/layout/proofing/copywriting, impact analysis and revision, supervising and directing print and online creations with outside agencies, researching and developing media targets, maintaining awareness of industry trends, assessing competitors' advertising strategies, negotiating contracts, monitoring and optimizing paid search campaigns (AdWords and Facebook), and tracking campaign effectiveness and revenue.
New Business Development: including creating new concepts and strategies to increase revenue, creating new revenue streams and identifying new market opportunities and evaluating growth potential, fail fast/fail cheap development style, risk/opportunity analysis, formulating proposal strategy, final editing and pitch presentation, and developing new channel campaign strategy.
Business Experience
CEO/Owner, VERMONT GEEKS, West Dover, VT • 2007 – present: a full service IT & marketing firm with a 360 approach to promotion & branding combined with PC repair and networking specialists.
Responsibilities include daily management of all staff, projects, timelines and clients. Hands-on development of marketing and tech services. Dedicated effort from startup to growing a successful business. From the newly hired employee to the FedEx guy, the first big client to the unknown walk-in, I am the primary face and provider for the company.
To increase online presence, created blog style repository of helpful tips and basic fixes for the casual user, increased the profile of twitter and facebook interactions and maintained current design standards on all websites. Result: a measurable increase in page views, likes, friends and followers, while keeping all sites search engine and mobile relevant.
To better satisfy client needs, identified a niche market of Joomla/Drupal driven websites that lacked in proper maintenance and marketed directly to those companies. Result: increase in business and job stability for talented employees.
To increase brand awareness, offered free and paid training seminars to local businesses teaching the values of effective internet marketing with small classes and one on one instruction to network with potential new clients. Result: marked increase in client list for our 360 marketing services.
To acquire new revenue streams, identified key areas of need in the region, hired and trained staff to service tablet and mobile devices. Expanded this repair offering by marketing to local college campuses. Result: increase in monthly revenue and positive job creation.
To increase revenue and expand existing business, analyzed trends, identified unsatisfied municipal needs, segmented market, developed channel specific campaigns and strategic relationships. Result: successfully acquired major contracts with municipal offices in four neighboring towns netting positive income and secondary customers as well.
To exceed client expectations, developed processes and brand communication strategy, collaborated closely with the client, served as creative lead for all new accounts, supervised production schedules and monitored overall creative quality as well as consistency across media. Result: developed strong design solutions fulfilling business objectives, creating effective and powerful branding.
To reduce production expenses, utilized cost efficient freelancers in place of additional full time employees or outside agencies, negotiated favorable contract terms, and continuously monitored expenses against budget forecasts. Result: reduced payroll expenses by 9%, 12%, and 23% since the first year in business.
CTO/Internet Sales Manager . SONIC CIRCUS, Harmonyville, VT • May 2005 - Jan. 2007: A top provider of professional recording equipment to the recording industry.
Responsibilities included target online marketing campaigns, email blasts, and print advertising. Phone and internet based sales, and daily maintenance of a medium sized network.
To acquire new customers, developed and designed a new CRM website with the customer in mind, adding bold graphic design elements and inclusion in emerging social media environments. Result: a dramatic increase in internet based sales and leads.
To increase sales, implemented CRM platform, created communication strategy, segmented audience, and created various email and SMS campaigns. Result: increased sales by increasing web traffic by over 200% in less than two years.
To increase brand exposure, coordinated and supervised the development of new media communication strategies, targeted press release and email campaigns, designed new media concepts, and planned and executed special events at industry trade shows. Result: increased brand and product exposure.
To maximize sales through increased lead quality, developed Google AdWords and direct industry specific email campaigns specifically focusing on conversion and click-through rates. Tracked results and continuously optimized performance. Result: significantly improved overall lead quality.
To increase company-wide efficiency, installed and maintained a server environment with shared resources for necessary departments, organized and catalogued image resources in a searchable database. Result: significantly improved the speed and ease of daily file/resource sharing.
Education and Training
Berklee College of Music. Boston, MA. Music Production & Engineering – B.A. Cum Laude, May 1996
Greenfield Community College. Greenfield, MA. Liberal Arts/Classical Humanities - Associates Program
Whitingham High School. Jacksonville, VT. Advanced studies, College level prep, Valedictorian 1993
Personal Information and Interests
Accomplished entertainer, comedian, multi-instrumentalist, avid home chef, brilliant amateur photographer, ardent reader (HHGTTG is a favorite), hockey fan, casual gamer, and wine enthusiast.