£15m Fragrance Brand is Spending £3m on Meta & Only £70k on Google

A UK fragrance brand transformed from a modest market stall to a £15m powerhouse in just a few years.

Their journey showcases remarkable success but there are still so many significant missed opportunities in digital marketing!

Business Overview:

• Started as a humble market stall in Greenwich Market 15 years ago
• Pre-COVID: £500k revenue with just 5 staff members.
• Current: £15m revenue with 160 staff.
• Manufactures all products in-house. Keeping quality how they want
• Direct-to-consumer model with 75% repeat customer rate.
• Took a £50k bounce-back loan during COVID. Which changed everything

Their marketing strategy revolves heavily around Meta advertising, with an annual spend of £3m. This investment drives significant new customer acquisition, maintaining a healthy CPA of £11-12. However, their modest Google ads spend of £70k annually represents a massive missed opportunity.

Current Marketing Strategy:

• Meta ads: £3m annual spend.
• Google ads: Only £70k annual spend. A massive missed opportunity.
• Email marketing drives massive revenue.

Current Performance:

The brand has found its sweet spot with Meta advertising at £5k daily spend. Higher investment attempts led to diminishing returns – when pushing to £20k daily, their CPA doubled. Email marketing stands as their strongest channel, with 350,000 subscribers generating 75% of total revenue.

Critical Challenges:

• Over-reliance on Meta and email marketing creates platform risk
• Operations consume 95% of management time, limiting growth initiatives
• Google Ads and organic search remain largely untapped

Moving Forward:

The brand stands ready for next-level growth. Success demands action. Channels need diversifying. Tracking must improve. Strategy requires balance.

Key actions will drive success:

• Diversify marketing channels
• Fix tracking and attribution
• Optimise product content
• Balance marketing efforts

The path forward requires careful balance. Their operational excellence needs to be matched with marketing expansion.

Analytics enhancement through proper GA4 implementation would provide crucial insights into customer journeys. Meanwhile, their organic search potential sits waiting to be unleashed.

The brand stands at a pivotal point. Success demands diversification. Every channel presents an opportunity, but time and focus will determine which ones deliver the greatest returns. With the right strategy, this £15m brand could see significant growth in the coming years.

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