Rebuilding marketing from the ground up: how I helped a manufacturing business transform its marketing and supercharge sales

Turning fragmented marketing into a powerful consultative sales engine—with record engagement, bigger contracts, and stronger growth

The background

When I first started working with this manufacturing business, they were 50 years into their journey—but struggling to make marketing work for them. Despite a strong heritage and technical expertise, their marketing efforts were disjointed and reactive, with no clear strategy or way to measure results.

Their biggest concern? Heavy reliance on Google PPC ads that delivered lots of low-quality leads and little long-term value. It was clear they needed a smarter, more strategic approach that would attract the right kind of customers—and convert them.

The challenge

My goal was to turn things around and help them move from low-volume, inbound sales to a consultative selling approach that would attract and convert higher-value clients. But there were several hurdles to overcome. Their marketing was fragmented, with no consistent messaging or clear plan. The senior team simply didn’t have the time or headspace to steer things. And past efforts hadn’t delivered, which naturally made them hesitant to try something new.

We needed a clear, practical strategy that aligned with their business goals—and a way to bring it to life without overwhelming the team.

The solution

Over four years, I stepped in to provide strategic marketing leadership—building a structured, holistic approach that aligned tightly with their business goals.

Here’s how I did it:

Strategic audit & clarity

I started with a full sales and marketing audit to uncover what was working and where the gaps were. From there, I developed a clear strategy focused on high-margin products and profitable market segments.

A new sales process

I helped to build a new process for qualifying and following up leads, along with email templates, sales collateral and a compelling credentials pack. This gave the team the tools and confidence to convert enquiries into valuable clients.

Repositioning the brand

The brand needed a refresh to better reflect the business’s expertise and value. I oversaw the creation of a new brand positioning and brand identity and later a new prospectus that clearly communicated their strengths.

Digital overhaul

I led the agency pitch to find the right partners for a website redesign and SEO. Together, we identified new keywords to improve search visibility and fine-tuned campaigns to attract better leads.

Smarter social strategy

LinkedIn became a core channel. I developed a unified approach across the business—optimising staff profiles, delivering training, and creating consistent content. I also built tone of voice guidelines, a content calendar, and managed the delivery of blogs, newsletters and social media.

Marketing that measures up

To keep everything on track, I introduced a marketing measurement system tied to financial and sales data—with quarterly KPIs that clearly showed what was working and where to optimise.

The results

The results were transformative. Without having to focus on marketing, the leadership team could focus on bigger-picture priorities. Our new approach meant the business could finally reduce its reliance on ineffective PPC campaigns, while still maintaining stable traffic—and more importantly, attracting better leads.

Revenue and profit began to grow steadily year on year. We also saw a gradual uplift in average contract value, both from new business and existing customers.

On LinkedIn, the impact was remarkable. We created over 100 high-impact social posts, achieving a 20% engagement rate—far above the industry average of 2.5%. The business quickly moved from fourth to first place among its competitors for engagement, significantly boosting its visibility and brand awareness. In fact, social media became the fastest-growing source of website traffic.

This project is a great example of what’s possible when marketing is aligned with strategy, and when there’s a clear plan in place. With the right guidance and support, even long-established businesses can unlock fresh growth and put marketing at the heart of their success.

If you're looking to cut through the noise, improve lead quality, and build a marketing approach that truly delivers, don’t hesitate to get in touch so we can start discussing your marketing needs today. 

Want to see more real-world results? Read how I’ve unleashed the power of strategic marketing and used customer research to drive growth and improve service quality.