Author: Michael Hinshaw

Currently I’m Managing Director of MCorp Consulting, a research, brand and strategy consultancy based in the San Francisco area. In this role, I spend my days (and some of my nights) working with organizations to understand, measure, manage, design and improve their customer experiences. Simply stated, we map the touchpoints between our clients and their customers, and make them better.

For over 20 years, I’ve been an executive, consultant and educator, guiding profitable growth for funded start-ups as well as global corporations. I’ve also been CEO of a publicly traded, fast-growth company, an adjunct professor of marketing at both undergraduate and MBA levels, and have served on public, private and non-profit boards as a director and strategic advisor.

My path has been markedly different than the typical consultant, which I believe has helped me – and those organizations and clients I’ve worked with– look at things from new and more creative perspectives.

Starting out as an art school grad with an MFA in design, I labored on the creative side of the advertising and communications business for years, working my way up the ladder of responsibility, getting to that “tipping point” where my artist friends posit that I dropped over to the dark side – the business of marketing.

Charged with financing, building and running what ended up being a publicly traded company with multiple offices in Canada and the U.S., I started asking the questions that ended up with me directing a consulting firm that improves customer experience:

• “How can you measure – and quantify – the value of a customer?”
• “From the businesses perspective, where should you invest to boost loyalty, driving retention, repurchase and referral?”
• “I need proof that the brand, marketing and media investments we’re making are driving value.”

The answers to these questions drove development of MCorp’s approach: Touchpoint Mapping, Brand Mapping and Loyalty Mapping, a series of proprietary analytical tools which we’ve tested, proven and improved over time.

In any case, I probably lost you at art school. Enough about me; I hope you enjoy my ramblings, and look forward to your comments, ideas and insights.