SEO & Digital Marketing

SME Marketing Case Study: Our Work With A Family-Run Plastering Equipment Business by Will Williamson on 14-Oct-2024 12:30:00 SME business owners are often forced to wear many different hats, and in family-run businesses, this can include marketing , on top of customer service, financial admin, and HR, as well as delivering the business’s primary service. In this case study, we look at our ongoing work with a family-run plastering and rendering equipment business, explaining the issues they faced with marketing – common to many SMEs – and how we were able to help them. Customer background The customer is a specialist supplier of plastering and rendering machines, paint spray machines, liquid screed machines, and consumables, serving the construction sector across the UK. The company provides plant and equipment on both a hire and purchase basis. They also sell spare parts, carry out machine repairs, and offer a variety of servicing and maintenance packages. As a small, family-run business, one of the customer’s core USPs is personal and friendly service. The company is committed to giving their customers the best advice possible, and laying the groundwork for long-term business relationships. The challenge Before approaching JDR, the customer faced numerous problems and challenges with their marketing, such as: Not having enough time and people available to get everything done! The customer does employ a marketing executive in-house, but at the time she was on maternity leave, and no cover had been arranged. There was no defined marketing strategy: everything they did was very much ad-hoc. There was no system in place to carry out marketing activities smoothly and cost-effectively There was no measurement in place for what they were doing, so it was difficult to determine what was working, how much things cost, and what the ROI was from different activities. Objectives The customer had several goals from their relationship with JDR and issues they wanted to resolve. To start with, the company MD/business owner wanted to step back from the business and transition into retirement. However, he was unable to do so with where the company was at the time. They therefore wanted to put systems and processes in place for their marketing, business growth strategy , and their wider business operations. They also wanted to reach a specific turnover target. How we helped We recommended a full marketing programme including the following services: HubSpot Marketing Professional HubSpot setup, implementation, and full training Managed marketing automation and A-B testing for all content Annual website conversion review and ongoing website management Content development and support Ongoing search engine optimisation, including e-commerce product page optimisation Implementation and ongoing management of Google Ads (including Shopping Ads) Email marketing Call tracking Monthly reporting On her return to work, we worked closely with the customer’s marketing executive to develop a comprehensive SEO strategy, based on four new, really comprehensive pillar pages. One of these pillar pages is in the process of being turned into a downloadable guide to provide them with some awareness-level interest. Online enquiries and sales have also significantly increased following a successful Google Ads campaign (see below). Since starting the campaign in 2021, the business owner has successfully stepped back from the business to enjoy more relaxation and time with his family, knowing his business is being fully taken care of. Their marketing exec has also just gone on to have her third child (congratulations!) and has said she has every confidence that the marketing strategy will continue to build and grow in her absence. The business now understands the importance of ensuring they have maternity cover in place for their in-house marketer, and have appointed someone to take over during this time. Results and progress Let’s take a look at the customer’s results so far in some of the key areas we’ve been targeting: SEO and keyword rankings Between July 2021, when their programme started, and January 2024, the customer’s website had a 73% average increase in organic website traffic, from 2,588 monthly visits at the beginning, to 4,483 visits at the beginning of this year. (See the graph below. Traffic has continued to grow since January. In July 2024, website visits topped 5,200 per month. ) The number of keywords they ranked for has also increased. At the start, the customer ranked for 868 keywords, while they are now ranking for 1,643 keywords – an 89% increase in keyword saturation. Their average position has also increased by 9. 45 positions for each keyword, putting them in a strong position for a range of highly competitive and nationwide keywords. Content While the marketing executive was on maternity leave, the customer had no articles published on their blog for over six months. Since then, they have published over 100 new blog articles and now rank for 280 keywords as a direct result of their blog. The customer’s content has a great strategic direction, with a balance of SEO-targeted blogs , thought leadership pieces, and company/industry news. The customer now publishes a new blog article each week, with social posts linking back to these, and with all articles connected into topic clusters to present a cohesive online presence. Blog articles are a classic example of an evergreen digital asset. One of the blog articles that the customer published in April 2022 is still one of their best-performing pages even now, bringing hundreds of people to their website each month. This particular article has clocked up 7,700 views and is still going strong. Advertising Google Ads has been a core part of the customer’s marketing programme since coming on board with JDR. They had dabbled with Google Ads before but not gained many results. Over the first 6 to 12 months of their campaign, we extensively tested and measured different approaches, before arriving at the perfect solution for them in July 2022. Since then, Google Ads has been driving exponential growth for the business. Originally, the customer set a budget of £400 per month, which has been gradually increased over the past two years. In August 2024, this was upped to £2,000 a month, following a successful ROI time and time again. Between July 2022 and July 2024, the customer spent £18,860 on Google Ads, but generated over £100,000 in online sales, as well as over 400 phone call enquiries and countless form submissions they’ve had through their website during this period. For every £1 spent on advertising, the customer is now receiving over £5 in return. The customer’s success in online advertising has also had a dramatic impact on their overall website traffic. We’ve already mentioned the upsurge in organic traffic. When combined with traffic from Google Ads, the customer had a gross total of 14,582 visits to their website in July 2024, amounting to a 165% increase from where they were three years ago. The customer has been astonished by the growth, and even mentioned recently that had we told them where they would be now three years ago, they would never have believed us. Customer feedback The customer had the following to say about their time with JDR: “Starting our marketing journey with JDR could not have come at a better time, and their personal yet professional support has been so valuable for our company. Personally, I was transitioning from maternity leave back to my marketing role and working with Ellis at JDR has given my return to work even more purpose and direction. Ellis has been a fantastic help in making this transition and the new drive into digital marketing so seamless, and an exciting new venture for the business. ” Find out more To find out more about our work with small businesses and to discover how we can help you grow and expand your company, please contact JDR today by clicking here. Image Source: Canva Recent Topics Archive Recent Topics Inbound Marketing (SEO, PPC, Social Media, Video) (804) Strategy (348) Marketing Automation & Email Marketing (180) Sales & CRM (176) Website Design (156) Business Growth (145) Hubspot (123) Lead Generation (107) Google Adwords (97) Content Marketing (90) News (46) Case Studies (43) Conversion (43) Ecommerce (36) Webinars (30) SEO (22) Events (19) Video (17) LinkedIn Advertising (15) Video Selling (15) AI (13) Software training (13) Niche business marketing (11) The Digital Prosperity Podcast (10) Facebook Advertising (6) See all Archive August 2025 (12) July 2025 (14) June 2025 (5) May 2025 (19) April 2025 (15) March 2025 (13) February 2025 (13) January 2025 (8) December 2024 (2) November 2024 (4) October 2024 (21) September 2024 (4) August 2024 (8) July 2024 (14) June 2024 (16) May 2024 (25) April 2024 (15) March 2024 (18) February 2024 (5) January 2024 (10) December 2023 (6) November 2023 (10) October 2023 (13) September 2023 (12) August 2023 (14) July 2023 (13) June 2023 (14) May 2023 (15) April 2023 (13) March 2023 (14) February 2023 (13) January 2023 (15) December 2022 (13) November 2022 (6) October 2022 (8) September 2022 (22) August 2022 (15) July 2022 (13) June 2022 (16) May 2022 (14) April 2022 (16) March 2022 (17) February 2022 (11) January 2022 (8) December 2021 (6) November 2021 (7) October 2021 (11) September 2021 (10) August 2021 (7) July 2021 (7) June 2021 (4) May 2021 (4) April 2021 (1) March 2021 (3) February 2021 (5) January 2021 (4) December 2020 (7) November 2020 (6) October 2020 (5) September 2020 (9) August 2020 (18) July 2020 (17) June 2020 (17) May 2020 (10) April 2020 (21) March 2020 (24) February 2020 (21) January 2020 (12) December 2019 (23) November 2019 (12) October 2019 (14) September 2019 (16) August 2019 (15) July 2019 (13) June 2019 (6) May 2019 (8) April 2019 (4) March 2019 (2) February 2019 (2) January 2019 (2) December 2018 (3) November 2018 (24) September 2018 (11) August 2018 (9) June 2018 (3) May 2018 (6) April 2018 (14) March 2018 (12) February 2018 (16) January 2018 (15) December 2017 (15) November 2017 (18) October 2017 (23) September 2017 (19) August 2017 (28) July 2017 (27) June 2017 (25) May 2017 (18) April 2017 (17) March 2017 (16) February 2017 (17) January 2017 (14) December 2016 (21) November 2016 (27) October 2016 (25) September 2016 (16) August 2016 (20) July 2016 (19) June 2016 (14) May 2016 (20) April 2016 (24) March 2016 (22) February 2016 (28) January 2016 (27) December 2015 (28) November 2015 (19) October 2015 (9) September 2015 (12) August 2015 (5) July 2015 (1) June 2015 (10) May 2015 (3) April 2015 (11) March 2015 (14) February 2015 (15) January 2015 (12) December 2014 (2) November 2014 (23) October 2014 (2) September 2014 (2) August 2014 (2) July 2014 (2) June 2014 (7) May 2014 (14) April 2014 (14) March 2014 (7) February 2014 (2) January 2014 (7) December 2013 (9) November 2013 (14) October 2013 (17) September 2013 (3) August 2013 (6) July 2013 (8) June 2013 (4) May 2013 (3) April 2013 (6) March 2013 (6) February 2013 (7) January 2013 (5) December 2012 (3) November 2012 (2) September 2012 (1) See all Subscribe by email Share this Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Previous blog ← How To Boost Your Ecommerce Sales With Inbound Marketing! Next story Case Study: Specialist Technical Training Provider Doubles Website Leads & Hits Key Revenue Goal → You May Also Like These Related Blogs HubSpot Vs Sharpspring: Which Is Better For Marketing Automation? Marketing Automation & Email Marketing HubSpot Vs Sharpspring: Which Is Better For Marketing Automation? At JDR Group, we work with small businesses in the UK. We introduce them to advanced marketing automation software, which helps them: 15-Dec-2020 11:00:00 9 min read 5 FAQ’s When Considering Working With JDR Inbound Marketing (SEO, PPC, Social Media, Video) 5 FAQ’s When Considering Working With JDR If you’ve had a meeting with us, if you’ve had a proposal from us you may be considering taking the plunge and working with JDR Group – to have us bec … 08-May-2018 16:35:44 5 min read Building A Consistent Sales Pipeline: How To Avoid Famine And Feast In Business Building A Consistent Sales Pipeline: How To Avoid Famine And Feast In Business Famine and feast in business is a trend that used to have its place in the business world, but with a well planned marketing system this vicious cycle … 16-Feb-2016 16:30:00 3 min read Get Email Notifications