What I do for Michigan companies
Most growth problems are misdiagnosed as awareness problems. The budget goes to reach, the number does not move, and the conclusion is that more reach is needed. In my experience the binding constraint is usually somewhere else: price perception, a channel that is too narrow, a trust gap, a sales model that does not scale, or a leaky bucket that no amount of acquisition can fill. The work is finding which one, then moving it.
- Fractional chief marketing or growth officer. A few days a month, owning the growth number with your leadership team, for companies that need senior judgement without a senior salary yet. How the fractional arrangement works.
- Go-to-market for a launch or a new category. Positioning, pricing, channel design and the launch sequence, built for the market you are actually in rather than the one the deck assumes.
- Pricing and positioning. Pricing is positioning, not a spreadsheet: the price tells the customer what you are before the copy does.
- Retention and unit economics. Acquisition cost has risen faster than most budgets. Retention is the real growth engine, and it is usually the cheapest lever nobody is pulling.
- Brand strategy and marketing communications. Positioning, brand launches, integrated campaigns and thought leadership, from an agency-side start at Asiatic (JWT) to launches and awareness programmes at population scale. More on brand and communications work.
- Building the B2B sales engine. Turning an unstructured stream of corporate deals into a managed account system with targets, playbooks and people.
Proof, not promises
Three engagements that show the pattern. Each one opens the full case study.
Why a dual-market operator is an advantage in Michigan
Most of my operating record was built in Bangladesh, a market where budgets are thin, trust is scarce and every growth mechanism has to work without the safety net of a large ad spend. That is the discipline Michigan mid-market companies actually need: frugal innovation as a design philosophy, and the dual-market operator's edge of having seen the same problem solved two different ways. I also carry a public-health degree, which matters more than it sounds for any company selling into healthcare, wellness or regulated categories.
Who this is for, and who it is not
It is for founders, CEOs and boards of Michigan companies between roughly one and fifty million in revenue who need a growth strategist who has operated, not only advised. It is for healthcare, health-tech and consumer companies that need commercial rigour from someone who understands their category. It is not for companies looking for an agency to run ads, and I will say so on the first call if that is what you need.
Start with a thirty-minute call
Bring the number you are trying to move. I will tell you what I would look at first, and whether I am the right person to look at it.
Questions people ask before we talk
Do you only work with companies in Michigan?
No. I am based in Redford, Michigan and work on site across metro Detroit and Ann Arbor, and remotely with teams anywhere in the United States and in Bangladesh, where I built most of my operating record.
Is this fractional CMO work or project work?
Both. Fractional engagements run a few days a month over a quarter or more; project engagements are scoped around one question, such as a go-to-market plan, a pricing decision or a retention diagnosis.
Which industries have you led growth in?
Fintech, e-commerce, consumer technology, telecom, education and healthcare, over 17 years, including a Samsung flagship launch recognized No. 1 globally and a marketplace category built to No. 1 in two and a half months.
How is a growth consultant different from a marketing agency?
An agency sells execution in a channel. I diagnose which constraint is actually holding growth back, whether that is price perception, channel, trust, retention or the sales model, and then build the plan and the team to move it. Sometimes that means less spend, not more.
What does the first month look like?
A growth diagnosis: your numbers, your funnel, five to ten customer conversations, and a written read on the single lever most likely to move the number, with a plan you can run with or without me.
Md Shafaat Ali Choyon (also written Shafaat Choyon) is a growth, marketing and public-health strategist based in Redford, Michigan. MBA, MCIM, MPH and CHES®. Founder of HSREP, a health-system resilience platform. The same body of work, presented for other needs: growth marketing, Bangladesh, fractional CMO, Michigan, brand and communications, health communication, digital health, population health, fractional COO and CMO, health. Bangladesh readers: বাংলায় পড়ুন.