We help you get clear about one thing–the value you bring.
Every good value maker needs a good clarity creator. That’s us.
Our method. Our attitude. Our POV.
The guiding principles about the work we do.
No newbs.
All our strategy engagements are led by seasoned executives who’ve operated and served on the boards of several technology and manufacturing companies. We ramp up quickly on your market challenges because we’ve seen it before, hundreds of times.
Keep score.
Your brand is invaluable. Not immeasurable. So we’ll create a system for you to keep score, every bit as much as you do any critical asset on your balance sheet.
Stay real.
There may be many unknowns, but not every unknown needs to be answered. That’s why we focus only on the most critical assumptions–those with economic impact if we don’t get them right–and devise the least-cost method to get solid input.
Make stronger.
Think of your brand as a repository of the trust your customers have in you to solve their problem. When your brand is strong with large deposits of trust, you move through the selling process more quickly, you get more referrals for business, and you grow faster. Now, think of us as strength trainers for your brand.
No farms.
There’s nothing like talking directly to customers and prospects, getting face-to-face with the issues most important to them. We never farm that out to research firms.
Stay urgent.
Time to market is important. So, we engage with a sense of urgency. You’ll see us ramp up fast, structure tight meetings with your team, and deliver actionable outcomes right out of the gate.
Leary Gates
Leary can’t help it. He’s mysteriously drawn to the complex and seemingly impossible. He may be the one of the few strategic marketing pros that started his career as a rocket scientist. Ask him why and he’ll tell you it was because astrophysics seemed like the most challenging degree at the University of Colorado where he attended.
After a short stint working under contract to NASA, Leary found himself helping to advance the state of the art in supercomputing, working as a software engineer for industry leading Cray Research. It was there, ironically, that he discovered his taste for the complex could be applied to business.
So, for the last 25 years, he has advised companies on corporate and market strategy. The more complex the challenge, the better. He’s worked with tech start-ups and Fortune 100 companies including Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Accenture, and a host of leading middle market technology and manufacturing companies on market development, buyer behavior, and sales engagement strategies.
In addition to writing about strategy on this site, he writes regularly about business strategy at the Strategic CEO Substack.
Ryan Gates
It's not just what you say... it's how you say it. And that's where Ryan comes in. He loves helping our clients find the best way to convey their message that creates engagement.
When he's not helping our clients implement digital engagement strategies, he's researching and tinkering with the latest technologies to create engagement.
That's why, for more than a decade, companies like Target, Accenture, Voya Financial and a others have sought his help. He knows his stuff. And he loves to share what he knows with those who appreciate building meaningful customer interactions.
Corky Hall
.png)
Corky is one of the most likable brand guys on the planet. That’s why, for over 30 years, he’s been advising such clients as Nestle, Great Clips, Jack Links, Schwan's and the Seattle Seahawks. And he’s been sought by a variety of B2B clients such as: Ecolab, Tennant, Taylor Corp. and the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA).
Previously, Corky was owner of U.S. Communications, which grew into the second largest promotional marketing agency in America and served Fortune 500 clients such as: P&G, Apple, Kraft, Quaker, MasterCard, Coca-Cola Foods, Hasbro and Pizza Hut. He was recognized nationally as a leader in promotional marketing and for pioneering major licensed property tie-ins, including representing George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. How’s that for name dropping?
Mike Swenson
Mike helps companies map their products and capabilities to customer needs in markets and understand the market landscape of competitors, acquisition targets, potential partners and channels. He uses focus groups, executive interviews and surveys to help companies hear the voice of the customer (VOC). What do customers expect? What would please or surprise them? What do they fear or avoid? What new products or services might they be willing to purchase?
Mike has led research in a boutique consulting firm, served as an industry analyst and consultant at IDC for the supercomputer market and biotech industry, helped build CIO Magazine’s CIO Executive Council, as well as doing hands-on implementation of natural language processing technology for an award winning, venture-funded startup. He currently delivers analytic systems and business diagnostic instruments through SimpleBenchmarks LLC and serves as Executive Director with the non-profit, IT Ally Institute.
Jacob Makielski
Forgive the cliché, but Jacob wears a lot of hats at Coefficient. Every agency has one, don’t they?
Some of his work at Coefficient includes leading our Google Ads and SEO efforts, writing copy, working in CRMs, light development, building automations, and more. Jacob has a broad range of capabilities and is always eager to learn something new.
He’s a problem solver at heart. Often that means he’s double checking that our automations and tracking integrations are functioning properly - sometimes obsessively. When something isn’t working as expected or there’s a new technical problem for a client, it falls into Jacob’s domain.
Helen Krohn
Helen is a self-described perfectionist with a flare for design. She discovered this at a very young age when her family would continually seek her input on how to visually put things together. That led her eventually to pursuing a degree in design and to the doors of Coefficient where she gets to playfully construct powerful illustration and imagery that convey a client’s brand promise.
While she turns the creative cranks purposefully, she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Anyone who’s ever worked with designers knows how rare and refreshing it is to find one who truly loves their work, yet doesn’t kill you if you don’t.
Subscribe to our monthly digest.
We'll never send spam and you can cancel anytime.