Hartley Roofing
From feast-or-famine referrals to a steady pipeline of 40+ qualified leads every month — paid advertising transformed how Hartley Roofing does business.
Over-reliant on referrals with an inconsistent enquiry pipeline and no digital lead generation.
The core problem wasn't quality — Hartley Roofing's work spoke for itself. The problem was reach. During storm seasons or after a spell of bad weather, the phone would ring constantly. But in settled weather or the quieter winter months, work dried up and the team sometimes had days with nothing booked in. Dave was spending his own time chasing up old contacts and relying on referrals that could take weeks to convert into actual bookings.
There was also a competitive pressure problem. Several larger roofing contractors in the area were running Google Ads and appearing at the top of search results for emergency roof repair, guttering, and fascia work. Dave's business didn't appear until page two or three, meaning that the customers most ready to buy — those with an active roof problem right now — were going elsewhere by default.
Hartley Roofing has operated across Rotherham and the surrounding South Yorkshire area for over twelve years, building a solid reputation for quality workmanship on everything from emergency repairs to full re-roofing projects. Owner Dave Hartley ran a lean, skilled team and had never struggled for work during busy periods — but the quiet months were genuinely difficult, and planning ahead was nearly impossible when the phone could go silent for weeks at a time.
Key Problem
Over-reliant on referrals with an inconsistent enquiry pipeline and no digital lead generation.
We launched targeted Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns promoting emergency repairs and seasonal roof checks to local homeowners.
We built a performance-focused paid advertising strategy specifically designed around the buying triggers for roofing work. Rather than generic brand awareness, every campaign was built to intercept homeowners at the moment they had a problem — or to create the prompt to act before a small issue became an emergency. We segmented audiences by property type, homeowner status, and proximity, targeting within a 12-mile radius of Rotherham.
Campaign creative was built around trust and urgency. We used before-and-after project imagery, direct-response copy highlighting free quotes and same-day call-outs, and short video walkthroughs of completed jobs. Seasonal campaigns — "Winter Roof Check", "Storm Damage Repair" — created hooks that drove relevance and click-through. We continuously A/B tested headlines and creative, optimising toward cost per lead rather than click volume.
Campaign Architecture & Audience Targeting
We built out three distinct campaign types — emergency repair, scheduled maintenance, and seasonal re-roofing — each with tailored audience segments targeting local homeowners by postcode cluster.
Creative Production
We produced a suite of static and video ad creatives using Dave's own job photography, turning real completed projects into compelling social proof that drove enquiry.
Lead Form Integration
We set up native Facebook Lead Ads with instant notification to Dave's phone, ensuring every enquiry was followed up within minutes rather than hours.
Performance Optimisation
Weekly campaign reviews and ongoing creative rotation kept cost per lead below £10 throughout the engagement, with the best-performing months hitting £8 per qualified enquiry.
Before Bee Viral vs after.
Real numbers. Real progress. Here is exactly what changed and when.
Campaign architecture built — three audience segments, creative brief agreed, ad account structured
First campaigns live; static and video creatives deployed across Facebook and Instagram
First 22 qualified leads received; CPL tracking confirmed at under £15
Creative rotation based on performance data; CPL optimised down to £8 on best campaigns
40+ leads per month consistently achieved; Dave hires additional crew member
Seasonal campaigns running year-round; full booking diary maintained through quieter winter months
- Generated first 22 leads within the opening two weeks of campaigns going live
- Cost per lead dropped from £24 in month 1 to £8 by month 2 through systematic creative testing
- Emergency repair campaign achieved a 9.4% click-through rate — over 4× industry average
- Dave was able to turn down jobs for the first time in the business's 12-year history
- Business hired an additional crew member driven entirely by the new lead volume
- 6× return on ad spend maintained consistently across four months of activity
What we achieved together.
Hartley Roofing consistently receives over 40 qualified enquiries per month through paid social, compared to an average of 6-8 referral leads before the campaign.
Through rigorous creative testing and audience refinement, we achieved a cost per qualified lead of just £8 — well below the industry average for trades advertising.
For every £1 spent on advertising, Hartley Roofing is generating £6 in revenue — a return that has allowed the business to take on an additional crew member.
Within six weeks of the first campaigns going live, Dave's phone had changed completely. He went from checking whether he'd have enough work next week to turning down jobs because his schedule was full. The consistency of the lead flow meant he could plan his team's workload weeks in advance, reduce downtime, and start quoting on larger contracts with the confidence that the pipeline would stay full.
The 6× return on ad spend figure is the one that matters most to Dave — for a business that had never spent money on advertising before, the idea that every £100 in ads generates £600 in invoiced work was transformative. Hartley Roofing has since hired an additional labourer to handle the increased workload, and they're now running year-round campaigns with full-season booking diaries.
The Bottom Line
The business had grown almost entirely through word of mouth and recommendations from estate agents and property managers. While that foundation was valuable, it left Hartley Roofing entirely dependent on others for new enquiries. Dave had tried boosting a few Facebook posts in the past but saw little return and written off social advertising entirely — until he got in touch with Bee Viral.
I'd given up on Facebook ads after wasting money boosting posts years ago. Bee Viral showed me how to actually do it. I've had to hire someone new just to keep up. The leads are consistent, they're local, and the quality is good. It's completely changed how I plan the business.
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