Chris Makara
I connect the systems marketing runs on.
Most marketing problems aren't strategy problems. They're connection problems: a website, a CRM, an analytics stack, an automation platform, and an agency running paid, none of them talking to each other and nobody owning the seams. I've spent 20+ years closing those gaps across enterprise, B2B SaaS, and agency environments.
- 20 + Years of Experience
- 150+ Websites Launched
Currently open to Director-level roles and select consulting engagements.
Experience
Founder & Principal, Marketing Operations & Digital Strategy
Ciked is my marketing operations and digital strategy practice. I work with nonprofits, B2B SaaS, and financial services organizations that need marketing to actually work: clean measurement, connected systems, and execution that ships.
I lead a distributed team of nine specialists across paid search, development, UI/UX, SEO, social, content, and email. I also partner white-label with agencies that need an experienced technical delivery partner for WordPress builds, migrations, and complex web work.
Clients include Lemonade Day, Avenue CDC, Butter Payments, iCUE, and various agencies.
Senior Digital Marketing Manager
Ordergroove powers relationship commerce for hundreds of brands and retailers including Dollar Shave Club, Unilever, L'Oréal, Walmart, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and The Honest Company.
I owned the end-to-end digital experience driving traffic, engagement, signups, and product usage, shaped digital marketing strategy in close partnership with the campaigns team, and led the company website rebrand from strategy through launch.
Senior Digital Marketing Analyst
Joined as an eBusiness Analyst and promoted to Senior Digital Marketing Analyst.
Insperity is a publicly traded company providing HR services to America's small and mid-sized businesses since 1986. I owned digital analytics, SEO strategy, paid search vendor management, and the reporting the executive team ran on.
Founder
Bulkly was a bootstrapped social media automation and scheduling SaaS for marketers, agencies, and small businesses. Bulk creation, evergreen recycling, and an AI content layer across Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky.
I built it because the existing tools were overpriced, bloated, or didn't actually automate anything. As sole owner I ran product, acquisition, content, pricing, support, and growth.
I wound the product down in 2026 once unit economics reached breakeven, with a phased plan covering customer migration, financial close-out, data retention policy, and revocation of third-party credentials. Knowing when to stop is part of running something.
What I Excel At
Capabilities
Marketing Operations
The unglamorous work that makes everything else function: clean data, connected systems, defined process, and reporting leadership can actually trust. Usually I get called in because nobody owns the space between the tools.
Marketing Automation
Lifecycle programs that run themselves: nurture sequences, behavioral triggers, lead routing, and segmentation that stays accurate as the underlying data changes. Built in HubSpot, Encharge, and ActiveCampaign.
SEO & AI Search Visibility
Technical SEO plus the newer problem: staying visible when AI Overviews answer the question and nobody clicks through. I rebuild content strategy around the intent that still converts.
Analytics & Attribution
Building measurement that reflects reality. Event design, server-side tracking through the Measurement Protocol and Conversions API, and attribution you can defend in a board meeting.
Digital Strategy
Deciding what to do and what to stop doing. Channel mix, roadmaps, budget allocation, vendor management, and the executive reporting that makes the case. Twelve years of it inside a publicly traded company and three years at a SaaS startup.
Conversion Rate Optimization
Finding where a funnel actually leaks, which is rarely where people assume. Landing pages, forms, and checkout flows, diagnosed against real behavioral data rather than opinion.
Marketing Tech & CRM Integration
Connecting the CRM, the website, the automation platform, and the analytics stack so data moves without anyone re-keying it. Salesforce, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and custom middleware when an off-the-shelf connector doesn't fit.
Paid Media & Google Ad Grants
Paid search and paid social, including nonprofit Ad Grant programs. Recent work includes a $480K a year Grant program run at a 14:1 return on management fee, and a 56% cut in cost per acquisition through query hygiene.
Web Development & Migrations
Websites that hold up. WordPress and Multisite, platform migrations, accessibility to WCAG 2.2 AA, and the redirect and tracking work that keeps rankings and measurement intact through a launch.
Testimonials
He doesn’t just “run campaigns”; he builds systems that expand reach, deepen engagement, and strengthen brand positioning — all while respecting budget and capacity. What makes Chris stand out most, though, is his heart for mission-driven work. He gets what it means to operate in the nonprofit world with a for-profit mindset: efficient, effective, and always impact-focused.
Simply put, Chris delivers results and peace of mind — a combination that’s hard to find and even harder to let go of.
Nicole Cassier
I've worked with Chris at several companies now. He's a top-knotch team member with exceptional technical skills and a data-driven mindset. He was instrumental in helping overhaul my company’s SEO/AEO strategy, leading to more visibility and, more importantly, more pipeline. I can’t recommend Chris enough.
David Cross
Chris is the epitome of a team player who continuously offers strategic insights and advice to help the organization elevate its brand. Chris is a well-rounded executive leader with the vision, expertise, and passion to drive and implement results.
Amanda Pascale
Portfolio
Pricing
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Quis ipsum suspendisse ultrices gravida.
- Brand Design
- Web Development
- Advertising
- Photography
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Quis ipsum suspendisse ultrices gravida.
- Brand Design
- Web Development
- Advertising
- Photography
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Quis ipsum suspendisse ultrices gravida.
- Brand Design
- Web Development
- Advertising
- Photography
