Synergy - We Win When Our Clients Win
Founded in 2002 by Dr. Rachel Y. Talton, Synergy Marketing Strategy and Research, Inc is a full-service marketing consulting firm focusing on Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM). Synergy helps create loyal and profitable relationships with all corporate stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, strategic partners and the community at large. Our philosophy is that every stakeholder matters, and the key to stakeholder satisfaction is understanding trends, wants, needs and opinions in the marketplace.
At Synergy, we don't just talk about SRM; we discover what's necessary to achieve it and we share that with our clients. We conduct at least two pro-bono studies every year for local, regional and national nonprofits. Our talented team members sit on boards, get involved in the community and further their education to develop an intimate understanding of SRM, the region and the marketplace.
Headquartered in Northeast Ohio between Akron and Cleveland, Synergy's clients include the Akron Urban League, Alltel Corporation, Eaton Corporation, Kent State University, Key Bank, Life Line Screening, National City Bank and Stark Area Regional Transit Authority. You can read more about our commitment to our clients on the Testimonials page.
Our clients rely on us for:
- Stakeholder Relationship Management: customer insights, employee surveys and focus groups, community relationship, supplier relationship management, competitor insight
- Qualitative Market Research: focus groups, one-on-one interviews, observational research, mock jury trials and more
- Quantitative Marketing Research: phone and Web surveys, advanced analytics, competitive analysis, sales audits, etc.
- Secondary Research: media audits, communications audits, literature reviews, focus group recruiting
- Strategic Marketing Plans
- Training and Development Programs: customer service training, ethical conduct, diversity and inclusion
- Branding, Insight and Communications
In 2007, Synergy acquired DecisionPoint Marketing and Research, a Fairlawn, Ohio-based company specializing in qualitative research through focus groups. Akron General Hospital, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Jury Sync, Sherwin Williams, Time Warner Cable and other Northeast Ohio-based companies have benefited from DecisionPoint's expertise.
The merger of Synergy and DecisionPoint under the Synergy name creates a dynamic, multi-purpose and highly effective company that zeroes in on the needs of individual clients and their stakeholders. Synergy strives to raise the bar on the level of services provided in Northeast Ohio. The company's state-of-the-art focus group facility in Fairlawn is the ideal spot for communication between clients and stakeholders.
Synergy is a certified minority business enterprise.
If you're looking for a committed and creative team to help you build or strengthen your brand through ultimate customer and stakeholder satisfaction, the answer is Synergy.
Management Team
Dr. Rachel Y. Talton
President
Synergy Marketing Strategy and Research, Inc
Positive energy. Dr. Rachel Y. Talton has plenty of that. As Chairman and Chief Customer Experience Officer of both Synergy and DecisionPoint Marketing and Research, Rachel is constantly working with her clients, perfecting existing marketing research strategies and learning new methods for improving company-stakeholder relationships.
In only six years, Rachel has built Synergy into an award-winning firm that has exceeded all initial strategic goals: growth by acquisition, sales and community impact. Both she and the business she founded have gained the respect of the Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofits, universities, mid-size firms and government entities that have benefited from Synergy's expertise. Rachel takes pride in Synergy's philosophy of "excellence and service first."
Her strong background in marketing is impressive, but Rachel won't rest on her past experiences or achievements. Currently, she is studying for her Doctorate in Management at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. Her research interest is Stakeholder Relationship Management – the new frontier of corporate competitive advantage. This is just another way Rachel plans to add value to Synergy’s ever-expanding family of clients and strategic partners.
A graduate of the Cleveland Bridge Builders Class of 2001 and the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2005, Rachel believes in sharing her marketing professionalism with the community. She serves on the board of directors and chairs the marketing committee of Positively Cleveland, the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, and sits on the board of the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Zoological Society.
Rachel truly enjoys her work, but she relishes her leisure time. She can often be found spending quality time with her husband, family and close friends. She also likes international travel, which she'll have more time to pursue after she graduates from Weatherhead in 2010. Rachel's favorite color is electric blue, a fitting hue for a woman with lots of positive energy.
James M. Talton
Chief Operating Officer
Results-driven. From the executive suites and strategic human resource management circles to strategic planning and research management for global multinational firms, James M. Talton is an operations and human resource expert who gets things done.
As Synergy's Chief Operating Officer, James is responsible for staff management, strategic oversight of all client projects and business development. His interpersonal and relationship-building skills fit perfectly with Synergy's client-focused mission.
Before coming to Synergy, James served as executive vice president of human resources for Forest City Enterprises. He received a Bachelor of Science in biology and chemistry from Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tennessee, and a Master of Science in industrial and labor relations from St. Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
An avid football fan, James enjoys spending time with his wife and traveling the globe. His favorite color is blue. Professionally, James looks forward to helping Synergy expand to become the world's foremost consultancy on Stakeholder Resource Management and assisting the company in opening many focus group facilities.
Beth Fitz Gibbon
Research Lead
Beth Fitz Gibbon is an experienced, results-oriented business practitioner in strategy, marketing, and product development. She has consulted with and held senior management positions at Fortune 500 corporations, small and medium enterprises, and non-profits. As a business strategist respected for bottom line results, innovation and collaboration, she has global experience in various regulated and non-regulated industries, in consumer and business-to-business markets, with product and service firms in multiple distribution channels.
Her professional expertise includes strategic and tactical business planning, market research, alliance and joint venture management, strategic marketing, product design and development, market segmentation, branding, integrated marketing communications, new business development and supply chain management.
Fitz Gibbon is a doctoral candidate in Business Management at Case Western Reserve University, where her research focuses on the strategic outsourcing of Research & New Product Development. She holds an MBA in International Marketing from Emory University and a BA in English and Psychology from Rutgers University. She is an adjunct professor in Entrepreneurship and Business Management, and has studied executive negotiations at Wharton, Mergers & Acquisitions at Emory and at Price Waterhouse in Vienna, Austria; and participated in the International Colloquium on Business in Eastern Europe at Linz University in Austria and in Budapest, Hungary.
She is a participating member of the New Product Development & Management Association and The Academy of Management, and serves on a number of boards in an advisory capacity.
Melissa D. Johnson
Branding brilliance. Melissa D. Johnson has a proven track record of elevating the image of the world’s greatest brands. An entrepreneur, author and personal brand strategist, Melissa is an expert consultant offering training and networking advice to influential companies and individuals.
Procter & Gamble, the National Football League (NFL), Victoria’s Secret, Nationwide and Pepsi have all benefited from her expertise. She has also worked with artists such as Mary J. Blige, Common, and Shania Twain, as well as with politicians, pastors and executives. Simply put, Melissa enjoys branding the entrepreneur in anyone.
Melissa’s passion is to translate the new rules of the marketing world to others. She has been featured in or contributed to a variety of industry publications, national conferences, newsletters and TV shows, including the Wall Street Journal, Ebony Magazine, Black Enterprise, Monarch, InsideBrandedEntertainment.com and The Rosie O’Donnell Show.
Raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Melissa graduated cum laude from Otterbein College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations and a minor in business administration. She received her Master of Science degree from the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program at Northwestern University.
Melissa’s entrepreneurial spirit has inspired her to found two nonprofit organizations: R.E.A.C.H. (Remember to Extend a Caring Hand), a youth outreach program encouraging high school volunteerism, and Face 2 Face, Expressions in Mime, a Columbus, Ohio-based organization that fosters development through movement and music. Melissa has served as coordinator of the Indianola Middle School Program, a nationally recognized mentoring program in conjunction with Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Columbus.
Her upcoming book, Brand Me: Make Your Mark: Turn Passion Into Profit (Ambassador Press), offers a seven-step “brand blueprint” to package passion into a profitable life.
Armed with a perpetually sunny disposition, Melissa’s favorite color is yellow, and she’s stuck on bubblemint-flavor Orbitz gum. With all that she does, it’s no wonder that Melissa looks forward to her next vacation.