The Challenge
When I started working with this home automation company, they were bringing in around R129 million/year and spending R126,000/month on SEO and paid ads. But they had major problems—starting with three suspended Google Ads accounts due to violations caused by previous mismanagement. Google was their #1 lead source, and without it, leads dropped fast.
To make it worse, their website was left incomplete after a failed project with another provider, their CRM system didn’t exist, and they were tracking leads manually in spreadsheets—causing confusion, missed opportunities, and wasted spend. Attribution was nearly impossible, and they couldn’t tell if marketing was working or not.
What We Did
1. Restored Their Ads
Over three months, I worked to unsuspend all three Google Ads accounts—one at a time—rebuilding their access and getting campaigns live again. We restarted ads with a R54,000 monthly spend, focusing on Home Automation, Home Theater, and Security, cutting wasteful campaigns like Performance Max.
2. Built Their Strategy & Budget
I audited their entire business, calculated a healthy marketing budget based on actual revenue and expenses, and set a budget of R468,000/month—including ad spend, SEO, print media, and managing two external vendors.
3. Created a Real CRM System
I led the setup of a robust CRM, imported all customer data, created lead workflows, and set up automated lead source tracking. For the first time, we could see which tactic generated which sale. This gave Hive clear insights, and stopped the uncertainty around marketing ROI.
4. B2B Lead Growth
Hive relied heavily on referrals from builders, architects, and developers, but had no system to grow it. I built a B2B lead strategy:
- Postcards, gift boxes to top builders
- Targeted B2B ads
- Contact lists from ZoomInfo/Apollo
- Email sequences
- In-person events
This increased B2B referrals and created new long-term revenue streams.
5. New Website Build
Their website was a mess—unresponsive, confusing, and not built for leads. I rebuilt it from the ground up, with clear navigation, mobile responsiveness, strong messaging, and fast load times, optimized for SEO and conversions.
6. Managed Multiple Vendors
Hive had two external providers. I took charge of managing both, ensured tasks were completed, budgets were tracked, and performance was reported, freeing up Hive’s leadership from micro-managing different marketing channels.
Goals Achieved
With a structured strategy, proper tracking, and better campaigns, Hive grew from 20 to 200 leads per month. With an average sale of R270K – R540K, they closed R15M – R28M monthly, finishing the year at R155M revenue, up from R129M—20% growth.
Marketing spend increased to R468K/month, but waste was reduced, profit margins increased, and for the first time, Hive had full visibility on their return on investment.
Overall
Hive had the right services, the right market—but no strategy, no tracking, and a lot of wasted spend. I stepped in to clean up the chaos, build a plan, restore key platforms, and set up systems that worked.
The result? More leads, more revenue, less waste—and a business that now knows exactly what their marketing is doing for them.
