We partnered with a local brick-and-mortar butcher store who was spending thousands on Facebook lead generation ads with very little return on investment.
Our first goal was to stop them from bleeding money and refocus from online lead generation to local lead generation.
Results At A Glance
- 40% revenue increase in 8 months
- 95% customer satisfaction rate
- 85%+ opt-in rate at point of purchase
- Built an engaged email list of 1,200+ customers with near-zero acquisition costs
- Word-of-mouth referrals driving customers from neighboring suburbs
Phase 1: Assessment
We looked at how Facebook ads were performing:
- Client was running lead generation ads offering discount vouchers
- They were spending over $1K per month
- ROI was about -75%
Final decision: Turn Facebook ads off (for now).
Phase 2: Building a Local Lead Generation System
Setting up a local lead generation system was aimed at getting every single person who walks through the door to come back. We decided to swap from initially offering a discount voucher to complete strangers, to offering a voucher to people who have already made a purchase.
We set up:
- A QR code placed at the cash register
- A database for storing leads
- An automation to capture lead details and send them an email
Here’s how the process worked:
When a customer purchases meat, they’re asked if they want to receive some great recipes specifically for that meat. Over 85% respond with “yes.” They scan the QR code, which opens a form to quickly fill out with name, email, and the type of meat they bought. By the time they get home, an email is waiting for them with 3 different recipes and a voucher for their next visit.
What this achieved:
This made customers feel good about the store and gave them a reason to return with the voucher.
Within 3 months:
- Repeat purchase rate hit 67%
- Revenue increased 15%
- Customers started telling their friends about the experience
Let’s face it—almost no local brick-and-mortar store is doing anything like this. So their friends drove from different suburbs to see how it works. Revenue went up again.
Phase 3: Building the Complete Nurture System
We built a newsletter automation to continue building trust and giving customers reasons to return.
What we automated:
- A weekly newsletter researched and written by AI (continuing to provide value)
- Vouchers for different occasions (birthdays, holidays, seasonal specials)
Results:
- Open rates averaged 42% (vs. industry average of 20%)
- Click rates on recipe links: 28%
- Voucher redemption rate: 61%
Phase 4: Strategic Facebook Ads Revival
We turned Facebook ads back on, but this time with a completely different approach. Instead of cold lead generation, we focused on building warm audiences with valuable content.
The new strategy:
We ran engagement ads with great content and a CTA to comment for a voucher. Instead of paying for leads, the client was paying for engagement—which is pennies on the dollar.
The automation we built:
- Linked Manychat to the ads to automate the entire process
- Everyone who commented was contacted via Messenger automatically
- The Messenger automation asked for their email
- The system connected with an automation to send the email to the client’s email provider and drop it into a nurture campaign
- A voucher was emailed
What this achieved:
The client continued building their email list, but the cost of acquisition dropped from $8-12 per lead (old ads) to $0.40-0.80 per lead (engagement ads + automation).
Over 4 months, they added 800+ new subscribers to their email list at minimal cost.
The Bottom Line
This butcher went from:
Before:
- Losing money on Facebook ads ($1K/month, -75% ROI)
- No retention system
- One-time customers who never returned
- No email list
After:
- 40% revenue increase in 8 months
- 1,200+ engaged email subscribers
- 67% repeat purchase rate
- Customers driving from neighboring suburbs
- Low-cost list building via strategic Facebook ads
The Investment:
- Phase 2 setup: QR system and email automation
- Phase 3 setup: Newsletter automation
- Phase 4 setup: Facebook ads + Manychat automation
- Ongoing: AI-written weekly newsletters
What They Got:
- A retention system that converts 85% of in-store customers to email subscribers
- Automated nurture keeping customers engaged and returning
- Word-of-mouth growth from exceptional customer experience
- Strategic paid ads that build audiences instead of bleeding budget