Melissa Lepore

Business Intelligence Analyst

Sales Strategy Manager

Growth Marketing Manager

Chicago, IL, US

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Experience

Customer Analytics

Engagement

Collaboration

Consumer Behavior

Leadership

Business Planning

Data Science

Cross-functional collaboration

Data Management

Available for hire fromNegotiable

Contracts

Customer-Centric Growth Expertise | Data and Loyalty Strategist | GTM & Digital Innovation Advisor

I help emerging brands and mid size organizations unlock customer value, scale innovative solutions, and drive responsible growth by aligning business goals with data, insights, and human-centered strategy. With 15+ years of experience in customer engagement, loyalty, and data strategy, I can bring my understanding of Fortune 500 brands and smaller brands alike to deliver measurable impact in regulated environments, competitive industries, and complex customer marketplaces. My Approach: I lead with curiosity and collaboration—working across technical and non-technical functions to uncover customer and business needs. I align insights with strategy to design 1:1 engagement programs, data ecosystems, and experimentation frameworks that enable continuous learning, optimization, and innovation. This approach fosters customer trust, stronger connections, and sustainable growth—compounding into meaningful relationships, brand loyalty, and long-term business value. My Expertise & Focus Areas: Go-To-Market Strategy & Execution, Customer Engagement, Loyalty & Retention, Data Strategy & Program Design, Cross-Functional & Stakeholder Leadership, CRM, Personalization & Segmentation, Predictive Models, Behavioral Data & AI for Marketing, Experimentation & Test-and-Learn Frameworks, Omnichannel Marketing & Digital Transformation, Trust-Based Business Practices & Responsible Growth. My Values: Prioritize Understanding, Engage Authentically, Listen Empathetically, Test and Analyze Scientifically, Grow Responsibly. My brand credentials: Caesars Entertainment, Hyatt, Jimmy John’s, Peet’s Coffee, and GSK Let’s connect to explore how I can help unlock customer value and lasting competitive advantage.

Projects

Loyalty Program Launch | 4M+ Members in Year 1

📌 SITUATION: A fast-growing national QSR brand (2,800+ franchise locations) needed to launch its first-ever digital loyalty program, CRM system, and mobile ordering app—all simultaneously. The brand partnered with a loyalty and CRM technology provider to design and deploy the loyalty program and campaigns. 🚧 OBSTACLES: Simultaneous launch of four major consumer platforms: loyalty, CRM, digital app, and ordering system No existing infrastructure or internal experience in CRM, loyalty, or direct marketing. Aggressive growth goals, tight profit margins, and low tolerance for error. Dispersed franchise model with complex operational and technical integration. 🛠️ACTIONS: Year 1 Led CRM and Loyalty Strategy Across Multiphase Launch Defined behavioral-based lifecycle strategies and engagement playbooks Implemented a staggered CRM campaign rollout aligned with regional operational and technical readiness Developed CRM and loyalty education tools for the brand team using data storytelling to surface wins and pain points Designed a data-driven, test-and-learn campaign framework to uncover behavioral patterns tied to onboarding, foundational visits, and promotional engagement. Partnered with client and internal teams to prioritize high-impact testing points and accelerate a learning agenda across messaging, offers, and audience strategies 📈RESULTS: 🚀 Key Outcomes Within 12 Months 4 M+ total members enrolled, including 2 M+ active members Completed national rollout by month 6, activating CRM journeys, digital channels, and a performance measurement strategy. Extracted key behavioral insights that fueled expanded personalization, segmentation, and reward optimization. Achieved industry-high open rates (upwards of 35-40%), and industry-low unsubscribe rates, supporting sustained engagement. Established a shared internal “language” around loyalty and segmentation, enhancing executive understanding of customer trends.See More

VIP CRM Optimization | 30% Faster Return Visits |

🧩 Situation: Caesars’ VIP program assigned 250K high-value customers to a casino host. After a corporate acquisition, the company needed to scale its 1:1 engagement while stabilizing CRM infrastructure across 50+ properties. 🚧 Obstacles; CRM platform instability 100% turnover on VIP team Siloed operations between marketing, IT, and executive leadership 🛠 Actions: Mapped and improved CRM and segmentation logic Partnered with engineers to decrease list generation from 2 days to 6 hours Developed business requirements for CRM migration to Salesforce Trained property teams and elevated VIP reporting 📈 Results: 30% decrease in average time to next VIP visit Reduced operational friction and improved reinvestment targeting Became trusted SME across marketing, ops, and ITSee More

Patient Support Program | Journey Optimization & CX Design

SITUATION 📌 Market Entry Challenge: Client launching injectable biosimilar treatment in a competitive market with expiring competitor patent Strong Brand Position: Client well-positioned with prior product launches Competition Focus: Primary competitor known for robust patient support with 1:1 nurse educator outreach Agency Partnership: Agency of record tasked with developing all program communications OBSTACLES 🚧 Complex Partner Ecosystem: Success dependent on coordinated stakeholders (financial, pharmacy, field reps, providers, nurse educators) Data Infrastructure Gaps: Unclear responsibilities for data management and partner interdependencies Program Design Limitations: No internal benchmarks Incomplete partner relationships Limited healthcare provider/field rep integration Constrained budget (<1 year to launch) ACTIONS 🛠️ Comprehensive Analysis: Conducted assessment of competitors, touchpoints, assumed processes, and pain points Customer-Centric Framework Development: Mapped lifecycle stages for healthcare providers and patients Established goals, strategies, and key events for each stage Outlined requirements and dependencies to achieve success outcomes Strategic Guidance: Provided focused recommendations on program requirements at each lifecycle stage End-to-End Journey Mapping: Created comprehensive patient pathway from initial treatment to ongoing support RESULTS 📈 Launch Optimization: Designed cohesive 1:1 patient support program for injectable treatment, identifying critical 1:1 touchpoints Risk Mitigation: Idented gaps in negative-impact treatment and customer experience scenarios Data & CRM Requirements: Translated journey insights into actionable CRM requirements for effective communication and monitoring Partnership Scope: Identified business and data integration requirements for specialty pharmacy and financial partners to differentiate service Data Efficiencies / Enterprise Value: Championed customer data efficiencies See More

Work History

Owner / Partner / Consultant (Remote)

CUSTOMER CATALYST SOLUTIONSDeliver customer-centric strategies, CRM ecosystems, and analytics frameworks for diverse industries. • Casino Solutions: Designing data-driven casino marketing solutions, including lifecycle segmentation models, reinvestment strategies, and audience prioritization frameworks to support campaign targeting, retention, and revenue optimization. • Healthcare (Pharma Client): Optimized launch design of a 1:1 patient support program of an injectable treatment through end-to-end journey mapping. Results drove CRM requirements and mitigated risk of negative-impact treatment and CX scenarios. • Luxury Restaurant: Created a cross-functional engagement strategy for a luxury restaurant brand, identifying customer data gaps and recommending an enterprise data warehouse solution to unify loyalty and operational data. • Healthcare Startup: Led strategic planning for a healthcare startup, delivering funding-ready communications and content to support a new national patient safety curriculum.

Education

University at Buffalo

Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Marketing

University at Buffalo

Bachelor's Degree, Bachelors Science - Business Administration - Finance

Ithaca College

Undergraduate studies

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