Constant Contact - Best Executive

Company: Constant Contact, Waltham, MA
Company Description: Constant Contact®, Inc. is a leading provider of on-demand email marketing and interactive communications services for small businesses, associations, and nonprofits. Through customizable, easy-to-use tools, including email marketing and online surveys, Constant Contact helps all types of small organizations build stronger customer relationships, drive sales, and achieve success.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Executive of the Year - Computer Services

Nomination Title: Gail Goodman, CEO, Constant Contact

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since January 1 2008 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Smart. Steadfast. Relentlessly focused. Approachable. Calm. These are just some
of the words that come to mind when considering Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant
Contact. In today’s economic climate, attributes like this could not be more
valuable. Her employees, her customers and her prospects alike recognize
Goodman for what she is, a beacon of light in a difficult climate.   

Goodman’s every move is grounded in this one concept: Helping small
organizations to become successful. In 2008 she hammered home these core
fundamentals—it is all about the customer, knowing your customer is critical,
and thriving in a tough economy is more than possible. In 2008, in order to
expand the Company’s mission of helping small businesses succeed to a larger
audience, Goodman saw the Company partner with the likes of the Small Business
Development Center (SBDC), Intuit and SCORE—just three examples of its efforts
to reach more small businesses and entrepreneurs. She also helped to build
relationships with organizations such as SYSCO to put Constant Contact in front
of entirely new audiences.

Goodman recognizes that although her company is positioned well, that 2008 has
been tough on small businesses; therefore in order to help her customers with
the market realities they are facing, Gail and her team created new tools, such
as the Constant Contact MarketSmart newsletter, Constant Contact's free
downloadable guide, "Finding Opportunity in a Down Economy: A Back-to-Basics
Approach to Successful Marketing in Difficult Times,” and expanded hands-on
educational seminars - Constant Contact now has 11 small business marketing
experts located across the United States.

Over 2008 Goodman kept her focus steady, surpassing the 250,000 customer mark,
increasing sales by 70% over 2007 and achieving a cost of acquisition (COA) of
$304 for the full year 2008, consistent with the Company’s target of $300. The
Company hired 138 new employees in 2008, increasing the Company by 43 percent
and saw franchise business increase more than 100%. Goodman believes that there
will be further growth in the small-business market despite a deepening
recession, and she is leading her company accordingly.

Gail has also been featured in leading publications, including Fortune Small
Business, Entrepreneur, Small Business Technology Magazine, Inc. Magazine,
Christian Science Monitor, and Boston Business Journal. Her radio and TV
appearances include CNN, eBay Radio, and Small Business Advocate. She is also
an Entrepreneur.com small business columnist and she recently was acknowledged
for her success when she was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year®
2008 Award in the software category in New England. Also, Constant Contact was
ranked 180 on the Deloitte 2008 Technology Fast 500. Gail is a member of the
Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, a member
of the Board of Directors of HubSpot, and Chairman of the Board at Constant
Contact.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/887-Constant-Contact-CEO-Gail-Goodman-Marketing-in-a-Down-Economy  
http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2009/03/09/story8.html
http://www.innoeco.com/2008/11/this-weeks-column-gail-goodman-and.html
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/11/02/keeping_it_simple_for_the_customer/?page=1
http://www.constantcontact.com/about-constant-contact/press/press_2008_11_10.jsp
http://www.constantcontact.com/about-constant-contact/press/pr_2008_0701.jsp
http://www.constantcontact.com/about-constant-contact/press/Press_2008_0619.jsp

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:

A small business expert and visionary, Gail has revolutionized the way that
small businesses and organizations can effectively and affordably communicate
with their customers and members. Since taking leadership of Constant Contact
in April 1999, she has led the company to more than 250,000 customers worldwide
and its initial public offering in October 2007, when common shares of Constant
Contact began trading on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "CTCT." Gail
was the 2008 New England Regional winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of
the Year, and Constant Contact was ranked 180 on the Deloitte 2008 Technology
Fast 500.