Inbound Marketing Case Study: UK Freight Forwarder No Longer Reliant On Outbound Sales Alone

This client is a growing freight forwarding business, offering road, sea and air logistics across the UK and internationally. 

But when we first started working together, growth was heavily reliant on outbound activity. Almost all new business came from cold calling, referrals, or public sector portals. 

Inbound enquiries were virtually non-existent. There was no clear marketing strategy, limited visibility online, and no reliable reporting to show what was working. Their website existed largely as a credibility check for prospects they were already speaking to, not as a lead generation tool.

With an ambitious goal to grow turnover and reduce reliance on outbound selling, they chose to work with us to put a proper inbound marketing and CRM-led growth system in place.

We designed a tailored digital marketing programme focused on generating qualified inbound enquiries, improving lead quality, and aligning their marketing activity with clear commercial goals.

Since starting the programme, the impact has been significant:

• Inbound leads have grown from virtually zero to consistent, high-quality enquiries
• Over £200,000 in new revenue has been generated directly from website and inbound marketing activity
• Search visibility has increased dramatically across commercially valuable freight and logistics keywords
• HubSpot is now being used as a central system to manage, track and report on marketing and sales performance

A Tailored Digital Marketing Programme

After conducting a competitor, keyword, and business analysis, we designed a tailored marketing programme that included:

• Marketing Strategy - We developed a plan to attract their ideal customers, including customer profiling and research into keywords and competitors to create a content and conversion strategy.
  
• SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) - Ongoing SEO was also provided to achieve high organic rankings on Google.
• Content Marketing - We wrote, published, and promoted regular blog articles across social media.
• Email Marketing - News, case studies and blog posts were sent to their email database to stay in touch with past enquiries and customers.
• Lead Generation - We applied several Conversion Rate Optimisation strategies to the website and also created PDF guides to use as part of online lead generation.
• HubSpot Sales Hub Onboarding - We provided training and optimisation of their Sales Hub, and have now trained the team on how to use it to manage their sales process, quotes and more.
• Access to JDR's Exclusive Video Training Hub - With training videos on sales, social media, video and much more.

The Results

Here are some of the key marketing achievements:

Content That Attracts And Converts

Strategic content has played a central role in the programme. Blog articles and service pages now do the heavy lifting for SEO, while downloadable guides act as conversion tools to capture enquiry details.

One key resource alone has generated multiple qualified enquiries and directly contributed to new sales, proving the value of content-led lead generation when it is planned and executed properly. 

As a result, their average keyword rankings have gone up consistently, as per the chart above.

Search Visibility And Keyword Growth

With this improvement in keyword rankings, their search engine visibility has improved dramatically:

• Rankings have moved from deep, non-visible positions into page one for key freight and logistics search terms
• They now rank across more than 100 relevant keywords, with multiple high-intent terms appearing in the top 10 results
• Mobile visibility has grown from zero tracked keywords at the start of the programme to strong page one positions

From Zero To 5-10 Inbound Leads Consistently

When we started, inbound enquiries were effectively non-existent. The website generated little more than brand validation for outbound prospects.

Today, inbound leads arrive consistently through organic search as a result of the content and SEO work. But it's not just that, they also generate leads from paid traffic and downloadable resources. Importantly, these are relevant, commercially valuable enquiries from decision-makers, not low-quality or irrelevant requests.

This has reduced pressure on outbound activity and created a healthier, more balanced pipeline.

Better Use Of HubSpot And Clearer Reporting

HubSpot is now used as a central system rather than just a contact database.

It now clearly shows:

• Where all leads come from
• Which channels drive revenue
• How enquiries move through the pipeline
• What marketing activity is delivering ROI

This visibility allows clients to make better decisions, invest with confidence, and keep marketing and sales aligned.

£200,000+ In Revenue Directly Attributed To Inbound Marketing

Over the past two years, inbound enquiries generated through the website and supporting campaigns have resulted in more than £200,000 in new business - so far.

These wins came from prospects who found the website through Google searches, engaged with the content, and then made contact already informed and motivated. This has shortened sales conversations and improved lead quality compared to cold outreach.

Wider Business Benefits

Beyond leads and revenue, the programme has delivered additional benefits:

• Improved credibility with larger, higher-value prospects
• Clearer positioning in chosen market sectors
• A scalable marketing system that supports future growth
• Less reliance on time-intensive outbound activity

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Since 2004, we have developed a marketing system designed to help you get more leads, build and market to a database and, ultimately, get more sales.

To start the ball rolling, request a FREE review of your current website & marketing or book a call with one of our experts to see how we can help your business.