HEM Automotive
Multi-Channel Growth & Business Systems
Marketing, website, advertising, content, inventory visibility, and growth systems for an automotive repair and sales business.
Implementation Focus
What I implemented
Owned marketing execution, website strategy, paid acquisition, content systems, brand touchpoints, and early customer retention strategy for an automotive repair and sales business.
Problem
HEM Automotive had no structured marketing system, limited retail customer visibility, no consistent digital acquisition flow, and no customer retention process. The business relied heavily on existing dealership relationships and needed a stronger way to attract local customers, showcase services, and support its expansion into vehicle sales.
Approach
Built a multi-channel growth system connecting a custom website, lead capture paths, vehicle inventory visibility, Facebook and TikTok content, Google Ads, manual call attribution, and physical brand assets. The work focused on increasing visibility, creating repeatable content rhythms, and identifying future retention systems.
Outcome
Established a repeatable marketing and content system, increased local visibility, supported paid acquisition, created digital inventory visibility, and manually tied ad-driven calls to roughly $20K in revenue impact.
Constraints
- No CRM or automated attribution system was available.
- Customer data was incomplete and not consistently captured.
- Marketing and operational changes required stakeholder approval.
- Internal workflow and customer experience improvements were identified but not fully implemented.
- Execution was handled primarily as a solo contributor across marketing, strategy, and web systems.
Tradeoffs
- Prioritized visible marketing execution over deeper internal workflow changes.
- Used manual attribution because automated tracking infrastructure did not exist.
- Focused on content and paid acquisition while customer retention systems remained future-state.
Ownership
What I owned
Execution Breakdown
How the work was implemented
Website & Lead Capture System
Built a custom website that served as the central conversion point for service information, quote requests, customer contact, hiring interest, and vehicle inventory visibility.
Service Information
Created structured service pages and breakdowns so customers could understand what the shop offered before calling or visiting.
Quote & Contact Forms
Added form-based pathways for customers to request quotes or contact the business.
Hiring Funnel
Included a resume submission flow for potential employees.
Vehicle Inventory Visibility
Supported the shop’s expansion into vehicle sales by adding public inventory visibility to the website.
Content Strategy & Execution
Created a repeatable content system across social channels using rotating content pillars and consistent posting.
Posting Cadence
Posted on Facebook multiple times per week with original content to maintain visibility and engagement.
Content Pillars
Rotated between educational content, behind-the-scenes shop content, team highlights, vehicle showcases, and promotional content.
Engagement Insights
Observed that team-focused posts, birthday posts, and behind-the-scenes content generated the strongest engagement.
Paid Acquisition & Optimization
Managed Google Ads and refined campaigns based on performance and call behavior.
Keyword Optimization
Actively refined keywords and negative keywords to reduce irrelevant traffic and wasted spend.
Manual Attribution
Tracked inbound calls manually and tied ad-driven calls to revenue where possible.
Revenue Impact
Manually connected ad calls to approximately $20K in revenue lift, with likely additional impact that could not be fully tracked.
Brand Presence
Extended the business identity beyond the website through physical and digital brand assets.
Digital Assets
Created branded social content, website copy, and promotional graphics.
Physical Assets
Created shirts, vehicle stickers, magnets, flyers, and banners to support recognition outside digital channels.
Customer Retention Strategy
Designed future-state retention ideas that would have moved the business from reactive customer acquisition into structured lifecycle marketing.
Reactivation
Recommended contacting customers who had not returned in several months.
Post-Service Follow-Up
Recommended following up after visits to check customer satisfaction and support review generation.
Lifecycle Touchpoints
Recommended birthday discounts, anniversary offers, service reminders, and customer appreciation campaigns.
Customer Experience
Recommended thank-you notes, goody bags, and other high-touch experiences for higher-value repairs.
Workflow
System flows
Marketing Acquisition Flow
- 1Content and ads created awareness across Google, Facebook, TikTok, and the website.
- 2Customers either called directly or visited the website.
- 3Website visitors reviewed services, submitted forms, or viewed inventory.
- 4Inbound calls were manually tied back to campaign activity where possible.
- 5Campaign performance informed future content, keyword, and ad adjustments.
Website Lead Flow
- 1Customer lands on the website.
- 2Customer reviews service information or vehicle inventory.
- 3Customer submits a quote/contact form or calls the shop.
- 4The shop follows up manually.
Planned Customer Retention Flow
- 1Customer completes a repair or service visit.
- 2Customer data is captured consistently.
- 3Follow-up message is sent after the visit.
- 4Customer receives reminders, birthday/anniversary offers, or reactivation messages.
- 5Shop maintains ongoing relationship instead of waiting for the customer to return on their own.
Results
Impact and outcomes
Structured Marketing System Created
Established a repeatable content and advertising system where none previously existed.
Local Visibility Increased
Improved the shop’s online visibility through a custom website, social content, Google Ads, and branded assets.
Revenue Impact Tracked
Manually tied ad-driven calls to approximately $20K in revenue impact.
High-Engagement Content Patterns Identified
Found that human-centered content, team updates, birthdays, and behind-the-scenes posts created the strongest engagement.
Future Systems Roadmap Defined
Identified the need for CRM workflows, customer retention, lifecycle marketing, structured data capture, and customer-facing service visibility.
Visual Proof
Screens and artifacts
Website & Lead Capture
Screenshots showing the custom website, service pages, contact flow, and vehicle inventory visibility.
Content Strategy
Examples of social content used to build visibility, trust, and engagement.
Paid Acquisition & Optimization
Google Ads screenshots showing campaign performance and excluded keyword optimization.
Brand Assets
Physical brand touchpoints created to extend the business identity beyond the website.
Reflection
What I learned
What worked
- Consistent posting created ongoing visibility.
- Google Ads became more effective when negative keywords were actively refined.
- Human-centered and behind-the-scenes content performed better than generic promotional content.
- The website created the foundation needed to support paid acquisition and vehicle inventory visibility.
What I’d improve
- Implement CRM and customer data capture earlier.
- Align marketing with internal shop operations from the start.
- Build structured follow-up and retention campaigns sooner.
- Create stronger attribution systems instead of relying on manual tracking.
- Formalize customer experience workflows around communication, post-service follow-up, and review generation.
Key takeaway
HEM demonstrated that growth work is not just marketing execution. It requires connecting acquisition, customer experience, internal workflows, data capture, and retention into one operating system.