Dean Elkholy’s Post

Your customers see the cracks long before your dashboards do. Most of us treat operational checks (like mystery shopping) as just compliance. But for leaders, they are brand equity checks. When a brand's promise collapses—say, a confusing final step or a slow support chat—it instantly becomes a budget problem. Every customer lost to friction means your ad spend from yesterday was wasted today. The CMO's job doesn't stop at the ad. We have to walk the customer's path, unannounced, and confirm: Does the reality of the experience keep the promise we're selling? The fastest way to save marketing money isn't a sharper media plan. It’s ruthlessly fixing operational leaks and reinforcing service recovery where the customer feels the most pain. #CMO #MarketingStrategy #CustomerExperience #BrandFidelity #ServiceRecovery

Customer research feels complicated. It doesn't have to be. The biggest challenge isn't just finding data; it's knowing where to start. For any marketing team planning for 2026, there’s a more practical way to think about it. I use a simple, 3-layer approach to sourcing customer insights that builds from the inside out. It's flexible, efficient, and ensures you build your strategy on a foundation of real evidence. Here’s how it works 👇

The moment we lose people on demo calls: "You'll need to download your data and upload it to Stella." I can see it in their face. Interest drops. They wanted plug-and-play. They wanted automated syncing. They wanted convenient. I get it. Manual uploads sound like a step backwards. Like we couldn't afford to build the "real" feature. But here's what they're missing: Ask your current measurement platform: How do you account for spend from all other channels? What about promotions? Out of stocks? Seasonal shifts? Most can't. Because when data auto-syncs, the model doesn't know what happened in your business. It just sees revenue go up or down and attributes it to the test. Your Meta test shows negative incrementality. But you don't know if that's real or if it's because you ran a 30% off sale that week. You scaled YouTube and performance tanked. But you don't know if its because the channel stopped working or if your hero product had an issue. The data looks clean. The answer is wrong. At Stella, you can add all of this as controls. Promo schedules. Inventory disruptions. Spend from every other channel to isolate effects. That's what shrinks your iROAS range from "somewhere between 1.2x and 4.5x" to "2.1x to 2.8x." One of those is actionable. One of those is a guess with extra steps. Manual uploads aren't sexy. But they're what let you add the context that isolates the effects from your tested channel. You're not paying for measurement to be convenient. You're paying for it to be right. When you're reallocating half a million dollars, which one matters more?

Customer Service Isn’t a Department, It’s the Brand We talk a lot about digital strategies, big campaigns, and new tools. But at the heart of it all, one thing never changes: customer service. Because here’s the truth: 1-People don’t just remember what you sold them they remember how you made them feel. 2-A great ad might win attention, but great service builds loyalty. 3-In the age of digital noise, service is the clearest way to stand out. Customer service isn’t just answering questions or fixing problems. It’s listening, caring, and making people feel valued. And the best part? It doesn’t always take huge budgets sometimes it’s as simple as: 1-A quick, thoughtful response. 2-A genuine thank you. 3-Going one step further than expected. This week’s reminder: Technology can automate tasks, but authentic service is what keeps customers coming back. #CustomerExperience #CustomerSuccess #DigitalMarketing #BrandTrust

Google Business Profiles Are Changing. Dealers, Here’s Your Heads-Up! Key GBP changes: - The Q&A section is being removed (Nov 3, 2025), dealers will lose this helpful FAQ-style section. - Chat & Call History are gone. Lead data has disappeared. - Tighter service-area rules & live video verification are happening. You’ll need to prove your physical location and refine your reach. - AI-driven local snapshots & “Ask Maps” Google is shifting from static panels & may introduce AI-powered answers. - Reviews & proximity matter more than ever. In competitive markets, reputation signals now break the tie. Does Local Search Still Matter? Absolutely! - Most buyers search for “car dealer near me.” (or variants) - The local pack is the prime shelf space. - Reviews, photos, and local content influence both visibility and trust. - As AI-generated search results evolve, GBP and local relevance feed what AI shows shoppers first. 6-Point Dealer LSEO Checklist (that everyone knows yet so many still neglect) 1. Profile Accuracy: Confirm NAP (name, address, phone), categories, hours, attributes. 2. Review Health: Increase review volume & quality; respond to all feedback ASAP. 3. Photos & Posts: Consistently add great-looking quality pics. 4. Local Content & FAQs: Move helpful Q&A into site FAQs and posts. 5. Service Area Settings: Set it to your accurate market. 6. Tracking & Attribution: Use external call tracking & UTMs now that Google’s chat/call logs are gone. The Bottom Line: - Local search isn’t going away. - Your GBP isn’t just a listing, it’s the bridge between Google’s AI-driven search results and real shoppers ready to visit or call your dealership.

🌟 Key Statement in Marketing Analysis ⭐ "Once a user adds to cart, the funnel is pretty straightforward, However, knowing what a user did before they added to cart can be a really useful piece of insight to help you optimize the customer journey and encourage more users to enter into your funnel."

🤔 What if your Usermaven experience could be 10x faster, smarter, and more powerful? 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗶𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱. 🚀 Here’s what’s new: ✨ 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿: Cohort tracking, better filters, and more control, now right in the main menu. ⚙️ 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀: Mix & match AND/OR logic to define conversions your way. 📊 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: Export channel/source & paid ads data to CSV with ease. ⏱️ 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Trigger reports instantly for on-demand updates. 🛠️ 𝗕𝘂𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 & 𝗨𝗜 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀: Smoother, clearer, and more accurate data. No more waiting around for the insights you need 🙌

Campaigns come and go, but systems scale. Brands that build frameworks, not one-offs. Let's grow predictably. That means investing in consistent data, process, and decision-making. If your marketing depends on people rather than process, you're growing on borrowed time. #MarketingSystems #FractionalCMO #ScalableGrowth #BusinessStrategy #MEDYCHE

Had a client tell me yesterday: "I never know if this month will be good or terrible. It's like gambling." Sound familiar? Here's what 90% of business owners get wrong: They think inconsistent revenue is a "marketing problem" or a "sales problem." It's actually a DATA problem. Your Google Analytics is sitting there right now, showing you exactly why your revenue fluctuates like a yo-yo. But most people never look at the right metrics. Try this today: → Check how long visitors stay on your key pages → See what devices they're using → Compare engagement vs. conversion rates I guarantee you'll find at least one revenue leak within 10 minutes. The businesses crushing it consistently? They're not guessing. They're using their data to make decisions. Stop flying blind. Your bank account will thank you. What's the biggest revenue mystery in your business right now?

If your conversions lie, your strategy dies. Five years of hands-on tracking across many niches taught me the same lessons again and again. Do this ✅ 1. Track on each platform with its own pixel. Each algorithm learns best from its own clean signals. 2. Don’t rely on website auto events by default. Create custom events or test the auto ones across real cases like double submits, empty forms, retries, and slow connections. 3. Send offline conversions that reflect real business data. Qualified calls, opportunities, pipeline, closed revenue. 4. Optional for bigger spends. If you’re over $10K per month, verify platform numbers with an independent analytics tool. Avoid this ⚠️ • One pixel for everything or trusting autogenerated events from a single pixel setup. • Fire and forget tag installs. Always test edge cases. • Treating MQLs as the end goal when you can optimize for any stronger business signal. If you don’t have better data yet, MQLs are fine as a step ✅ Why it matters 🎯 Clean signals cut waste, speed up learning, and make creative decisions easier. Dirty signals reward the wrong clicks. BTW, What’s the most common tracking issue you still see in the wild?