Facebook and Google Ads for a B2B Window Distributor: Revenue from €5M to €21M
B2B window distributor case study: how to market a distribution and manufacturing business online
€2,000,000 in additional annual revenue from Facebook and Instagram ads aimed at owners of installation companies and owners of retail window dealerships.
Overall, the company grew from €5,000,000 to €10,000,000 in annual revenue thanks to a better strategy, better campaigns and a good working relationship with the client.
Read on if you want to know how we did it.
The client’s situation
The client, a German window distributor operating in the B2B market, was struggling to acquire customers effectively. Despite a solid market position, the traditional marketing methods that had worked in the past had stopped delivering.
As a result, the company had to change its marketing strategy. Traditional methods, such as printed catalogs, combined with a small sales team, could not keep up with a modern market. Customers were increasingly looking for information and products online, and traditional marketing was no longer enough. The company had to adapt to the new reality by adopting modern tools and strategies to win new customers.
The company had tried to modernize by outsourcing Google Ads campaigns to a local agency. The results were disappointing. The Google Ads campaigns did not meet the client’s expectations. Ad costs were high and the return on investment left a lot to be desired. The local agency could not target the campaigns properly, which led to low conversion rates and poor use of the ad budget.
All of this put the company at a turning point. Traditional marketing had stopped working, and the modern solutions offered by local agencies were falling short. The company needed a partner with the right experience and tools to carry out a real marketing transformation.
First contact with adsfox
The relationship with adsfox was initiated by an adsfox partner, Timm Uthe from Austria (his website: https://www.touchpointconsulting.at/), who was supporting the window company’s online marketing and, knowing adsfox’s track record, was determined to get social media campaigns running for this company.
(Even though he knew they did not sell directly to consumers.)
Over six months, the company and Timm used adsfox marketing consultations three times to make sure they really needed social media advertising. The consultations confirmed that, given the existing website traffic, it would be worth launching at least remarketing campaigns.
”Our customers are not on Facebook”
The window distributor’s board was skeptical about Facebook and Instagram as platforms for acquiring B2B customers. They did not believe their customers were there, because their customers were owners of retail dealerships, not “regular Facebook users”.
What convinced the board
Winning the trust of a very conservative German company for an agency from Poland was extremely difficult, and it would not have happened without the trust they already placed in Timm Uthe, who had worked with them before. On top of that, after each marketing consultation with adsfox, they understood the point of these activities better.
In the end they understood that every person who visits their website (even from one of their printed brochures) would later see their ads, not only on Facebook and Instagram but across thousands of websites and apps in the Meta ad network.
adsfox’s experience and recommendations convinced the board that this was the right partner for the transformation they needed. A new chapter began for the company, with the goal of implementing modern, effective marketing methods to meet the challenges of today’s market and keep growing.
What we implemented before the campaign launch
At first, the client hired us only to run social media ad campaigns. To launch them, we first had to configure the right tools on the client’s website.
One of the most important steps was implementing the Facebook Pixel, which is essential for tracking user activity and measuring campaign performance. In this case, we configured Pixel events that measured registrations in the dealer system. Together with the client we defined this as the focus of the campaign, because that is what mattered most to them.
(If you are curious about the codes and events we install on client websites, here is the list of standard Meta events that adsfox specialists use, with a description of each event. Remember: without this in place, it is a waste to spend even a single dollar on Facebook or Instagram ads.)
Next, we scheduled an online meeting to add payment methods and configure the Meta ad accounts directly on the CEO’s own profile.
(At adsfox, clients always receive and keep full access to every asset we configure for them. We want the client to be able to use the work we have done even if, for whatever reason, they decide to end the engagement. We believe this is the only honest way to operate. We know that at least 40% of the clients who come to us from other agencies have trouble recovering their assets, which in critical cases can even force a change of domain.)
These procedures cover everything from payment setup, through targeting settings, to advanced remarketing options. Our team closely monitors every stage to make sure all elements are configured correctly and ready for launch. Meta’s advertising tools offer a wide range of options for precise targeting and campaign optimization.
A correct Meta account setup involves as many as 45 separate steps, for which we at adsfox, as a Meta Business Partner, have dedicated procedures.
Building the campaigns
Next, the employee the CEO assigned to work with us received a few questions from his account manager about the types of windows on offer and the company’s competitive advantages, which were needed to create and write the ads.
Thanks to the answers from the client’s employee, every adsfox specialist involved in the project (the Facebook Ads specialist, the copywriter and the graphic designer) had first-hand information about the company.
Based on the information gathered, website data and the business database the client had been buying (for mailing catalogs), adsfox specialists built the Facebook ads campaigns. We work the same way in every project we run as a Facebook ads agency.
The process included several key stages:
- Market segmentation: We identified the market segments the ads should target. These included owners of installation companies, retail window dealers and interior finishing specialists. Each group had specific needs and expectations that we had to account for in the campaigns.
- Ad creative: Our copywriter, working with the designer, created engaging ad content. The copy was tailored to each target group, highlighting the key benefits and competitive advantages of the products.
- Campaign setup: The Facebook Ads specialist configured the campaigns in our dedicated client dashboard. We used a range of ad formats, including image, video and carousel ads, to engage the audience as much as possible.
- Remarketing: We also implemented remarketing campaigns to reach users who had visited the client’s website but had not converted. Remarketing turned out to be an extremely effective tool for increasing conversions and bringing customers back to the site.
- Testing and optimization: The campaigns were monitored continuously. Analytics tools let us track results and make changes in real time. We tested different ad variants and optimized them for the best results.
Budget, copy and campaign structure
In the very first month, using the client’s customer list and lookalike audiences, with an ad budget of about €1,000, we generated 12 qualified dealer registrations in the client’s system. The cost of acquiring them (€83 per lead) was many times lower than the cost of the catalogs mailed across Germany.
In the second month we tripled the budget, adding generic (prospecting) campaigns and a separate remarketing campaign.
After just 3 months, the client found that 30% of all registrations in its system came from the Facebook ad campaigns.
Based on those numbers, the CEO decided that Facebook and Instagram were where he wanted to spend more and more money. However, looking at the campaign results and the forecasts for a bigger budget, we decided to cool the client’s expectations and explain that it would be far better to fix his existing Google Ads campaigns than to add budget to Facebook ads.
The client hesitated, because the owner of the agency he had been working with was a close friend, the agency was located near their German office, and the CEO liked to drop by for coffee. He had never actually met an adsfox employee in person (only on camera).
In the end, plain business math won, and he decided to start by purchasing only a Google Ads campaign audit from adsfox.
Google Ads audit
The audit revealed that the Google Ads campaigns were not only set up carelessly, without following Google’s best practices, but were also aimed at consumers and at keywords related to buying windows directly (which was not even possible with our client’s company).
The analysis showed numerous gaps and configuration errors that significantly hurt performance. One of the biggest problems was targeting consumers and direct-purchase keywords. Our client’s company did not sell directly to consumers, so these campaigns were completely off target. Effective advertising requires a deep understanding of the client’s business model and target audience, which had been completely overlooked here.
On top of that, the German agency was not measuring website conversions at all. Without analytics tools, it was impossible to evaluate or optimize the campaigns. Search advertising should always include accurate result tracking so that continuous optimization is possible.
From our perspective, the client’s ad budget was being wasted, because the fundamentals needed for effective targeting and tracking were missing. The audit results were unambiguous: we needed to take full control of the Google Ads campaigns to improve their performance.
After reviewing the audit, the client decided to work with us across the full scope.
The transformation
Taking over the Google Ads campaigns required a comprehensive approach and many changes.
First, we rebuilt the Google Analytics accounts from scratch. This was necessary to ensure accurate tracking of website traffic and user behavior.
Next, all ad campaigns were set up completely from zero. We ran a thorough keyword analysis to select the terms that best matched the client’s business model and reached the right audience. Our team of specialists prepared an entirely new campaign strategy.
We monitored results regularly and optimized on an ongoing basis. Our analytics tools and dedicated client dashboard allowed precise tracking of every campaign, and our specialists could adjust the strategy continuously to maximize performance. Results began to improve almost immediately, confirming that the changes were right.
The ad budget was split as follows:
- Google Search Ads: 65%
- Google Display: 5%
- Facebook and Instagram ads: 30%
Initially we started with a total budget of up to €5,000 a month.
Results of the advertising campaigns for the window distributor
Today the monthly budget is €15,000.
In the first year, we doubled the client’s annual revenue (from €5,000,000 to €10,000,000).
In the second year, it grew by another €7 million.
In 2023, due to a slowdown in the German market, the client’s revenue grew by (only) €4 million, reaching about €21 million a year.
The split of the ad budget between Google and Meta ads remains unchanged, but in January 2024 we added Bing Ads (Microsoft Ads) campaigns with an additional budget.
One of the key campaigns for the client turned out to be the one built around “manufacturer” keywords, even though the client is not a manufacturer but a distributor (of windows made in Poland).
Facebook remarketing also proved very helpful, and we estimate that it has directly generated about €4,000,000 in revenue for the client so far.
We are now also encouraging the client to completely rebuild the website, because we know that with the same budget, a better site would deliver even better results. This is the same approach we take in our web design agency work: the site is part of the campaign’s performance, not a separate project.
What’s next for the campaigns
Our engagement with the client is ongoing, and we continue working on the campaigns to keep up with changing market conditions and drive continued sales growth. Facebook and Instagram ads, combined with Google Ads campaigns, have delivered excellent results. In 2024 we plan further expansion, including mobile and video ads, which have the potential to extend the reach of the campaigns even further.
Want similar results in your industry? Book a consultation and we will check what can be improved in your campaigns.
Related adsfox services
We can run a campaign like this for your company as your Facebook ads agency or Google ads agency. If you want to first check where your budget is leaking today, start with a digital marketing audit, and organizing and grading lead quality is covered by lead generation optimization. See results from other projects in our case studies. Broader B2B lessons are collected in our marketing tips.
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