The last couple of years have been a total whirlwind for the founder of Lakeland Verandahs, Russell Milburn, who has seen his UPVC decking and fencing business enjoy a meteoric rise and be put on course for national domination of the sector.
Established in 2008, it was only two years ago that Russell approached DigitalKOG to help him grow his business.
In the first instance, we developed a new retail website for the company, specifically targeted at the residential market, and managed its social media and PPC accounts to promote the brand to consumers.
The tactics deployed by our LEADOLOGISTS™ worked and had a very noticeable impact, as Russell explains:
“Within the first 12 months, DigitalKOG more than doubled my turnover, making 2019 a record-breaking year for Lakeland Verandahs.
“It was a really encouraging start to our partnership, but little did I know that more new ground was about to be broken.”
Sales volumes in the opening couple of months of 2020 remained pleasingly buoyant, before Britain was brought to a shuddering halt by the pandemic.
The ‘Stay-at-Home’ order made householders’ outdoor spaces indispensable; people had never been so reliant on their gardens and patios to get a break from their four walls, making it inevitable that many homeowners would look to enhance them with products like decking to get more out of them.
We identified this early on, encouraging Russell to strike while the iron was hot and rely on the power of digital marketing to pounce on this deluge of demand for decking, which, as it turned out, continued through until the close of the year.
“Unlike a lot of marketing companies, DigitalKOG doesn’t just spend all of your budget each month. They advise you when it’s best to increase and decrease your budget to maximise the best returns on your investment.
“DigitalKOG urged me and gave me the confidence to sustain my marketing spend and even increase our budget during the pandemic, which resulted in our company benefiting greatly from our competitors’ more cautious budgeting strategies.
“In December 2020, historically our quietest month of the year, we received more than 11 times the usual amount of enquiries that we had for the equivalent period the previous year. I even had to employ more sales staff to cope with the amount of appointments they generated for us.”
Overall, £4 million worth of orders were racked up in 2020, up by £1 million compared to Lakeland’s ground-breaking 2019.
So, what next? Huge expansion plans.
With the North West market well and truly conquered, Lakeland Verandahs launched a UK-wide franchise network at the beginning of 2021.
DigitalKOG created a dedicated franchise website and has been running a paid and organic advertising campaign to support this and generate franchise leads.
Russell wants around 35 to 40 regional operations, and the way things are going, that target will be accomplished in no time. The franchise is growing, FAST!
Nine Lakeland outlets have already started trading in areas including East Anglia, Northern Ireland, Northern Scotland and The Midlands, and deals for several other franchise openings are close to being finalised.
Everyone who opens a Lakeland Franchise can tap into our lead generation capabilities.
”Projected sales of £1.2m for each franchisee by year three was the initial estimate we made. That now seems a conservative estimate and could be achieved within 12 months, such is the volume of sales being fostered by DigitalKOG’s team of LEADOLOGISTS™ for each of our existing franchises."
Russell MilburnLakeland Verandahs
We don’t believe it will be long before Lakeland Verandahs can rightly call itself Britain’s leading UPVC decking and fencing supplier, and even at that point, ourselves, and Russell, will pursue further growth opportunities.
Just think. Two years is all it has taken for us to propel Lakeland Verandahs to such dizzying heights. Who’s to say we can’t do the same for your business? Russell believed in us, and so should you.
