How a £600 test budget delivered £1.9 million in sales.
A case study on entering a new market through insight-driven, hyper-targeted marketing.
£600
Initial ad spend
£1.9M
Total new business
316,567%
Return on investment
The client
A UK-based heritage furniture designer specialising in high-end, durable pieces for community and worship spaces.
The challenge
Breaking into America.
The company had a game-changing product: the UK's first stackable pew, designed to help multi-use worship spaces become more flexible and community-focused. While a success in the UK, the American market was an unknown entity.
The challenge I was given was to test the viability of launching in the US, specifically targeting churches in New York State, with an extremely limited initial test budget of just £2000. I needed to discover if I could reach the right people and if the message would resonate, without wasting a single penny.
The solution
Insight-led, hyper-targeted execution.
Instead of a broad, expensive marketing blast, I focused on deep, human-centric research first.
Identifying the true decision-maker: My research revealed that the key decision-makers for church furnishings weren't always the clergy. They were often women, aged 55-65, who supported the clergy and managed the church's multi-use space.
Finding them where they are: I discovered that the most effective place to reach this specific demographic was Facebook. It was the digital equivalent of the community noticeboard.
A small, smart bet: With this insight, I devised a highly-targeted Facebook ad campaign. The £600 test budget was used to speak directly to this persona, highlighting the key benefit: creating a flexible, accessible space without the physical strain. With the goal being to refine the ad, ramping up spend on the ads that worked.
The results
Explosive growth and extreme ROI.
The results from this small, insight-driven campaign were explosive and exceeded all expectations.
£600,000 in direct sales: The initial £600 ad spend directly generated £600,000 in orders from US churches.
A serendipitous £1.3M contract: By placing sample pews in key New York churches, the product was discovered by a global search engine’s redesign team working nearby. This led directly to a £1.3 million contract to furnish their New York cafeterias.
Total impact: This single, £600 strategic test that I devised and executed resulted in £1.9 million in new business, and saved £1,400 of my marketing budget.
Return on investment: For every £1 spent in this campaign, I delivered £3,166.67 of sales - a 316,566.67% return on investment.
My key takeaway
"This project proved that a large budget is no substitute for deep customer understanding. By investing in research to find the true decision-maker and speaking to their specific pain points on the right platform, even a tiny budget can unlock monumental, and sometimes wonderfully unexpected, results. It’s a powerful reminder that B2B discovery can often happen in the most human, B2C-focused channels."
Enough about other startups.
Let’s talk about yours.
My approach is collaborative, hands-on, and focused on results. If you're a purpose-driven founder obsessing over growth but not sure how to get it, I'd love to hear your story and help.