Debra Ellis is a business consultant, author, and speaker. She specializes in showing companies how to how to build better businesses by creating a strong infrastructure of marketing and service strategies. Her latest marketing guide, 31 Ways to Supercharge Your Email Marketing, is a practical resource for marketers seeking better results with minimal investment. Her engineering background provides statistical insight to finding actionable data that can be used to grow companies and reduce costs.
She is recognized as an expert in marketing from direct mail to social media, customer behavior, and strategic planning. Her expertise is often tapped by media sources including: The New York Times, CNN/Money.com’s Small Business Makeovers, Target Marketing, Multichannel Merchant, and MarketingProfs. Her marketing guides include 31 Ways to Supercharge Your Email Marketing, Social Media 4 Direct Marketers, and Marketing to the Customer Lifecycle.
Debra loves the art and science of multichannel marketing. She is a student and teacher of the methods that transform shoppers into buyers and buyers into lifelong customers. In 1995, she founded Wilson & Ellis Consulting, a boutique firm specializing in creating strategies that make channels and departments work together to optimize the customer experience. Since then, she has worked with over a hundred distinguished clients such as Costco, Edmund Scientifics, Jacuzzi, Ross-Simons Jewelry, and The Body Shop.
Prior to founding her firm, Debra was instrumental in the record growth of Ballard Designs, Inc. while serving as Chief Operating Officer. Today, she uses her experience and expertise to show executives how to successfully navigate marketing channels and integrate activities to profitably grow their business. Her practical approach maximizes the return on investment.
She can be reached via email at [email protected].
by Debra Ellis - The path to a successful business is never straight. There are forks in the road along the way that are…
by Debra Ellis - “The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words, “I did not have time.” ~…
by Debra Ellis - The battle lines between traditional marketing and social media were drawn in 1999 when The Cluetrain Manifesto was created. The…
by Debra Ellis - How do you win customers back after you’ve violated their trust with a massive security breach? Target seems to think…
by Debra Ellis - Contrary to popular belief, successfully growing a business requires more than social media updates and delegation. Magical thinking is replacing…
by Debra Ellis - Founders of successful companies are often asked the secret to their success. Their answers are dependent upon the individual’s area…
by Debra Ellis - Change is mandatory for corporate growth. Everything in the business has to evolve for a company to remain competitive in…
by Debra Ellis - Very few buzzwords stimulate the strong feelings and controversy associated with growth hacking. Every company needs sustainable growth to be…
by Debra Ellis - Email marketing is the best kept secret in small business. Even though it is one of the most effective and…
by Debra Ellis - Google is quietly testing a change to Gmail’s Promotion tab. The field test announced this week gives users the option…
by Debra Ellis - The first sign that things were changing on Facebook appeared a few weeks ago. There was a significant drop in…
by Debra Ellis - Did courtesy disappear with the twentieth century? It may not be gone, but it is certainly not as common as…
by Debra Ellis - People choose your business for a reason. It may be convenience, service, quality, the “in” thing to do, or a…
by Debra Ellis - Secret Service Special Agents assigned to a protective mission are prepared to lay their life down to fulfill their responsibility.…
by Debra Ellis - Customer retention is a company job. People often think that customer acquisition is a marketing function while retention belongs in…
by Debra Ellis - Customer retention is essential to companies offering renewal products. Most people don’t think about their insurance or banking until they…
by Debra Ellis - The day after Thanksgiving has been considered the biggest shopping day of the year for decades. It was the day…
by Debra Ellis - Once upon a time, pulling into a gas station meant that a uniformed attendant would dash out to pump your…
by Debra Ellis - Improving customer retention is the fastest way to more sales and profits. In addition to having a higher lifetime value,…
by Debra Ellis - Corporate missteps provide fodder for reporters and bloggers. There is something in human nature that makes it impossible to look…
by Debra Ellis - Viral videos get millions of views but do they really help companies grow? Contributions to the revenue stream are possible…
by Debra Ellis - The actions your company takes to resolve issues are much more important than the words you say. Ideally, solving a…
by Debra Ellis - Social media participation is a necessary part of an integrated marketing mix. Customers and prospects look for reviews and online…
by Debra Ellis - “…the report of my death is an exaggeration.” – Mark Twain Direct mail could borrow a page from Mark Twain’s…
by Debra Ellis - Change has long been the only constant in a world filled with technological innovations and adaptations. Marketers have grown accustomed…
by Debra Ellis - A few short months ago, two warning shots were fired by major email service providers. The first was Gmail’s announcement…
by Debra Ellis - Service quality is directly related to customer expectations. If people expect an exceptional experience, anything less is disappointing. If people…
by Debra Ellis - Retailers have two objectives this holiday season – getting sales and improving relationships. The objectives haven’t changed from past years…
by Debra Ellis - Successfully building a business requires resources. Companies with limited funds and staffing find generating consistent growth challenging. The ability to…
by Debra Ellis - The 10,000 hour rule popularized by Malcolm Galdwell’s book Outliers suggests that expertise takes 10,000 hours of practice in addition…
by Debra Ellis - Seasonal emails tend to be heavily promotional. They are overloaded with product shots, discounts, and deadlines. By the time the…
by Debra Ellis - Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay and the time will come that you have to…
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