Mike Sutcliffe

A results driven, self-motivated Head of Marketing and Ecommerce with over 22 years’ experience, educated to degree level with CIM and BA Honour’s qualifications. I have a unique combination of skills and wealth of knowledge not found in many candidates. These skills enable me to successfully bridge the divide between design, marketing and technology.

Experience of B2B and B2C markets, working both agency and client side with various SMEs and large organisations. I possess excellent problem solving abilities and thrive on streamlining processes and creating efficiency. I’m commercially savvy and place a strong emphasis on data driven insights and A/B testing to maximise sales and deliver sanity metric KPIs and ROI.

A strategic and analytical thinker with a proven track record for creating and implementing multi-channel strategies. Experienced in delivering bespoke development projects, utilising internal and external stakeholders to deliver real positive change. 

FLAVOUR WAREHOUSE LTD – GROUP HEAD OF MARKETING

Jan 2021 – Present

The Flavour Warehouse Group is the largest independent vape company in the UK with sales in excess of £110m. The leading international e-liquid manufacturer operating in over 80 countries worldwide, with sites in Blackburn, Woking, and Dusseldorf.

Directly responsible for £30m worth of ecommerce revenue over 9 websites (D2C/trade) and 2 Amazon accounts (FBM/FBA). Grew D2C ecommerce revenue by 43% in year one and Amazon sales by £2m within 12 months (the year following Covid and the previous best year ever).

On Vampire Vape, grew SEO/organic users by 27% YoY (ranking in top 10 for tracked keywords), affiliate revenue by 61%, automated email revenue by £100k+, YouTube subscribers by 4k.

Operating at board level, reporting directly to the owner, responsible for 21 direct reports including ecommerce, marketing, merchandising and customer service functions. Oversaw the acquisition of 2 companies and there BAU integration.

Responsible for new product launch campaigns of 5+ own brand labels.

Responsible for purchasing product setup, manufacturer/distributor communication, shipping, and pricing (landed costs), including liaising with trade customers regarding new product launches, partnerships, promotions/advertising, and branding.

Responsible for all branding and marketing activity, such as furniture solutions for retail and trade, tactical POS, CDUs, FSDUs, campaign merchandise, trade support and presentations for UK and International markets, SEO, content, PR, email, social media, influencers, affiliates (direct and network), permitted advertising, video, photography, exhibitions, trade shows, product pricing and promotions (including loyalty programs).

Marketing support for 20 retail shops, franchises and SIAS across the UK and Ireland. Launched Deliveroo as an additional revenue stream.

Launched new sponsorship strategy for leading sportsmen (Lindon Arthur and John McGuiness) and charities.

Created ecommerce roadmap/strategy for web and IT development, designed to improve functionality, UX and streamlining of operations and processes.

E H BOOTH & CO LTD – ECOMMERCE MANAGER

Feb 2017 – Dec 2020, Aug 2014 – Dec 2015

Booths is a premium independent supermarket chain with a reputation for local produce. Recruited as the company's first Ecommerce Manager to exploit new trading opportunities and introduce new revenue channels.

Produced and began implementation of comprehensive 4-year business plan for B2C ecommerce, providing clarity of direction, financial projections, and budget requirements. Presented to executive board for capex approval in 2018.

Operated in the role of Business Analyst and Web Designer on new C&C website which launched Oct 2019 (Magento 2 Enterprise), achieving 29% YoY sales growth (orders.booths). This also contributed to additional footfall contributing to Booths best festive trading period.

Project management and scoping of all web developments, problem solving, optimisation and technical improvements. Managing web development team, internal and external.

Oversee marketing tactics; email marketing, PPC advertising (SEM), SEO. Daily responsibility for website management.

Responsible for Amazon Vendor Central channel management and the Amazon Fresh partnership setup (2014-2018)

Managed and coordinated cross-departmental activities to support B2C and B2B ecommerce operations, forecasts and budgets, process guides and improvements, new product development, logistics, sales, and strategic planning of promotional activity.

Previously managed and enhanced functionality on 2 part-time festive sites to maximise conversions and sales.

Launched and managed hamper range on Notonthehighstreet to achieve sales growth objectives. Key stakeholder in Deliveroo, Everyday C&C, loyalty card relaunch and home delivery for the vulnerable projects.

Responsible for all online trading legalities and data protection policies (GDPR).

Key achievements

Directly managed Booths Hampers range, achieving 102% sales growth in 2017 on a modest budget, followed by 50% in 2018.

Scoped development improvements for customer databases; linked independent silos, de-duped, cleansed and implemented a consistent formatting and validation structure. Increased database by over 50% and cut costs by £14k p/a.

Discovered new opportunities to boost customer registration rates by 32.9%, improving reach and AOV.

Identified areas for operational improvement resulting in £100k savings p/a (2015).

BLUE WREN – DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER

Dec 2015 – Feb 2017

Blue Wren is a Preston based digital marketing and software development agency. I assisted businesses in a variety of industries to help them realise their potential, identify opportunities, and maximise performance.

Responsible for the account management of over 25 retained clients, with the aim of achieving high levels of satisfaction.

Met prospects, prepared quotes, and wrote proposals to win new business.

Created actionable marketing and business development strategies to meet agreed objectives and KPIs.

Project managed work across multiple teams and disciplines; design, marketing and development using Scrum methodology

Streamlined internal processes using technology to improve efficiency, communication, and teamwork.

Provided direct training, motivation, and support when and where appropriate to younger, less-experienced colleagues.

Key achievement

Achieved revenue growth targets of 40% within the first 9 months.

HEALTH SERVICE DISCOUNTS – ECOMMERCE & MARKETING MANAGER

Dec 2012 – Aug 2014

We Are Discounts (formerly Health Service Discounts) is an affiliate business, providing employee benefit schemes to closed user groups in the private and public sector, the largest of which is the NHS.

Project managed the redesign of both desktop and mobile websites and a bespoke offers and email automation system. Wrote specifications and usability stories (reducing agency costs), liaised with external development agency (agile methodology) and performed all user acceptance testing.

Solely responsible for the design and build of bulk, behavioural, transactional, automated, and triggered Silverpop 
emarketing for up to 17 million sends a month.

Planned and actioned website and email optimisation evolutionary and revolutionary testing with statistical significance.

Built queries and programs for behavioural remarketing, including cross domain tracking.

Extensive experience gathering data primarily from Silverpop and Google Analytics, building dashboards and writing
advanced segments using regular expressions.

Reported directly to the CEO and board of directors monthly with insightful analytical reports on web and email performance.

Solely responsible for all IT infrastructure (server migration, firewall, backups and analytics, database cleansing and migration, DNS, VPN, RDP, storage, DFP and exchange accounts).

Experience of proprietary Sitecore CMS and open-source Orchard CMS.

Online optimisation of customer journey using Optimizely and Qualaroo.

Key achievements  

Hands-on experience of SEO, keyword research using keyword planner and on-page optimisation. Increased search engine visibility 
by 130%.

Pivotal role in renegotiating contracts and directly responsible for savings of £144,000 in 2013 and £173,000 in 2014. Also involved in proposal and investigative work for an additional £200,000 of operational savings in first 12 months. This led to a yearly profit margin increase of 27%.

The new website increased member registrations by 47% (from 9.91% to 14.56%).

Reduced member opt-outs by 10% by implementing a snooze functionality.

Increased gross opens by 30% and clicks by 5% on the welcome email.

Increased revenue generated by insurance leads by 31%.

Increased member renewal data by 70%.

BT BUSINESS GROUP – HEAD DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER

dabs, BT Business Direct, BT Engage, BT Shop and BT Public Sector
Jan 2007 – Dec 2012

BT Business is one of the UK’s largest internet resellers of IT products and services with a turnover of approx. 800 million. BT operated 4 websites aimed at B2C and B2B audiences.

Responsible for the direct management and workflow of several design and marketing executives, ensuring achievement of objectives and deadlines.

Produced a variety of direct and digital marketing collateral such as catalogues, leaflets, internal sale incentives, emarketing, websites, articles, microsites, reskins, e-catalogues, affiliate advertising, social and more.

Worked closely with commercial category managers on writing and implementing bespoke vendor income marketing campaigns for international brands such as Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Samsung and more.

Direct reports into the consumer and commercial marketing managers.

Presented a strategic vision for the future of dabs.com to the CEO which incorporated a multi-channel redesign and rebrand of dabs.com.

Produced themed seasonal marketing plans and rate cards with estimated metrics based on previous year-on-year performance.

Liaised with the ASA, BT Legal and BT Branding to ensure strict company and legal compliance of campaigns.

Sole responsibility for the organisation, negotiation, management, and distribution of all printed literature, social and email 
marketing activities.

Responsible for all aspects of email marketing to over 2 million BT/Dabs retention and acquisition customers MoM, producing up to 9 emails a week. I assisted in product selection, promotions, written editorial, design and development.

Responsible for all client-side design and development of B2C and B2B desktop and mobile websites. Including Dabs eBay store, Acer outlet and branded microsites.

Solely responsible for the implementation and launch of social media marketing on Facebook and Twitter.

Single handedly designed and built the company blog and forum using WordPress and Vbulletin respectively. The forum attracted 3,000 registrations within the first six months.

Consulted with various agencies regarding email optimisation, website personalisation, SEO, social media, affiliate advertising and PR activities. Evaluated performance, ensuring value for money and achievement of targets.

Key achievements

Improved AOV and weekly revenue of emarketing campaigns by 10%.

Quadrupled Facebook assisted revenue over a 12-month period.

Without prior knowledge or experience I successfully designed, built and launched the Dabs blog and forum.

CARDCRAFT PLUS LIMITED – MARKETING MANAGER

Nov 2003 – Jan 2007

Cardcraft Plus was a small family run business, specialising in the art of papercrafts, within the niche market of homemade cards. Trading at the national craft exhibitions for over 10 years, they diversified to open a traditional mail-order business in 2002. During my time at Cardcraft Plus the company excelled to become one of the leading suppliers of papercrafts in the UK.

A respected and trusted senior staff member, I was the only non-family member to form part of the operational board. I am proud to say that I helped shape the future direction of the company and enjoyed the freedom of commercial decisions-making.

Built a marketing team from scratch in line with business growth and campaign success.

Produced marketing plans with both long and short-term objectives, ensuring internal resources were appropriately allocated to meet demand.

I assisted and supervised in the design and production of catalogues, supplements, copywriting, printing, signage, exhibition and events, photography, email marketing, banners and more.

Project managed, designed, and built an ecommerce website which operated at 25% of annual turnover (no agencies involved).

Solely responsible for branding, SEO and PPC advertising.

Jointly responsible for IT infrastructure and database management.

Presented weekly off and online sales and performance analysis, including project updates to board.

Solely responsible for the management, design, and production of all marketing activity. Charged with overseeing all online customer transactions, warehouse operations and order processing.

Designed a best-selling bespoke range of paper craft products for sale to both trade and public.

Liaised and negotiated with various suppliers, printers, and distributors across Europe. Attended meetings and events overseas, assisted in new product selection and initiated early conversations regarding exclusive product creation

Key achievements

Created from scratch a market-leading and successful brand identity providing much needed professionalism and continuity.

The business increased its revenue from £300,000 to £1.9 million in three years largely due to successful business and marketing initiatives created and implemented by me.

Produced a magazine advertisement in a national publication that generated over £50,000 gross profit.

BLACKPOOL PRINTERS LTD – GRAPHIC DESIGNER & STUDIO MANAGER

Feb 2003 – Nov 2003, Apr 2001 – Nov 2002

Learnt about all aspects of lithographic printing. This consisted of setting up artwork with cutting forms, spot UV, bleed, and spot colours, outputting to film and plate using specialised imposition software.

Responsible for consulting with customers, creating briefs, organising and delegating work to a team of 7 creatives.

PROFESSIONAL CIM IN MARKETING (LEVELS 4/5) - 2010 – 2012, Runshaw Business Centre, Leyland

CITY & GUILDS IN WEB DESIGN & HTML/CSS - 2002 – 2003, Blackpool and the Fylde College (part of Lancaster Uni)

BA HONORS DEGREE IN GRAPHIC DESIGN - 1997 – 2000, Blackpool and the Fylde College (part of Lancaster Uni)

BTEC IN GRAPHIC DESIGN - 1995 – 1997, Preston College

ADDITIONAL TRAINING - Sitecore CMS advanced user training, Silverpop Engage fundamentals, ISO 9001, Actinic CMS