Known for creating world-class customer experiences, Schultz will be key in launching Customer Blueprint™, an all-in-one application that transforms how residents live and engage in communities
NEW HOPE, Pa., June 15, 2023 – Retail industry veteran John Schultz has joined Cecilian Partners as Head of Merchant Loyalty & Retail Partnerships as the firm prepares to deliver an industry-first lifestyle app for master planned communities. With his hiring, Cecilian’s Technology & Innovation Team now boasts a remarkable leadership trio of Schultz, CTO Tom Krueger, and VP of Loyalty Strategy Heidi Birchall.
“This team brings a depth of experience in retail consumer technology that’s unmatched in the proptech space,” said John Cecilian, Jr., co-founder and CEO of Cecilian Partners. “John, Heidi, and Tom bring together the tech, consumer, and retail perspectives that will make Customer Blueprint™ a uniquely successful lifestyle app for community residents and businesses.”
Krueger has an extensive career in software engineering and product management with brands such as Kohl’s, Microsoft, and Sur La Table, while Birchall has led the development of loyalty programs and apps for some of the biggest international names in hospitality. Schultz rounds out the trio with decades of expertise in retail strategy and customer experience. Most recently, he led the retail division for Tommy Bahama, overseeing more than $250 million in retail revenue while managing the throughline among e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retail, and food and beverage.
Customer Blueprint is designed to transform how residents experience and interact with the events, amenities, and services in their community, while providing community developers and businesses a modern solution for building and managing customer relationships. The technology combines a best-in-class mobile app, fully responsive website, resident engagement platform, and community management tool.
Using the website and mobile app, community residents will be able to connect and engage with their fellow residents, stay up to date with local happenings, and carry out day-to-day interactions such as confirming attendance to an event, reserving a community facility, or submitting a maintenance request — all from their device of choice.
On the backend, Customer Blueprint allows community administrators to manage the app’s content and features, view and engage with detailed user profiles, and send targeted marketing communications. A built-in loyalty and rewards function provides developers and community-based businesses a means to enhance resident engagement and drive revenue.
Phil Worland, Cecilian Partners’ co-founder and CSO/EVP, explained Schultz’s critical role in delivering the new product.
“Customer Blueprint is plugged into an ecosystem of partners — developer, builder, and retail — that need a way to understand and engage with community residents on an individual level,” said Worland. “John’s deep understanding of retail companies and consumers can help synthesize this incredible technology, blending smart personalization with a delightful and compelling user experience.”
Customer Blueprint is currently being piloted at three of the largest master planned communities in the U.S., with a full release planned for Q4 of this year. With the addition of this platform, Cecilian Partners’ technology portfolio continues to transform the new home value chain, from land to lots to homes to residents, by digitizing the end-to-end land and property development process and delivering a better, faster customer experience at every point in the customer journey.
About Cecilian Partners
Since 2019, Cecilian Partners has sought to bridge the digital divide between homebuilders, community developers, and home buyers with its patented technology platform. The firm’s property development software, 3D mapping technology, and data management solutions simplify the complexities of placemaking for builders and developers while offering interactive experiences that transform the customer experience for home buyers. Cecilian Partners collaborates with land developers and homebuilders across the U.S. who aspire to modernize their digital footprint and ease everyday pain points associated with building and buying homes. For more information, visit cecilianpartners.com or our LinkedIn Company Page.