CASE STUDY:
The Back Office Company
Helping The Back Office Company Transform Lead Generation Through Strategic Service Focus and Targeted Search Advertising
Industry: Financial Services - Outsourced Bookkeeping
Campaign Type: Google Search Advertising
Case Study Timeframe: 4 Years (June 2021 - May 2025)
The Challenge
The Back Office Company, a specialist provider of outsourced bookkeeping services to small and large businesses across New Zealand, approached SME Growth with a unique situation: they had built a successful business through referrals and word-of-mouth, but had never invested in any form of advertising.
As their business grew, they faced several challenges:
Complete dependence on referrals for new client acquisition, limiting growth potential
No reliable, predictable method for generating new business enquiries
Uncertainty about how digital advertising could work for their professional services business
Need to understand which of their bookkeeping services would be most appealing to potential clients online
Our Approach
We implemented a comprehensive digital advertising strategy designed specifically for a business new to paid marketing:
Search Advertising Education: Helped The Back Office Company understand how search advertising could support their growth goals and provide reliable enquiry generation
Market Research and Testing: Started with their full range of bookkeeping services to understand which offerings resonated most with businesses actively searching for solutions
Performance Analysis: Continuously monitored which services generated the most enquiries and highest-quality leads from relevant businesses
Strategic Focus Development: Gradually refined campaigns to concentrate on the specific services that delivered the best results and lowest acquisition costs
Reliable Lead Generation System: Established a predictable, scalable method for generating new client enquiries beyond traditional referral channels
The Results
Over four years of partnership, our strategic approach delivered exceptional improvements across all key performance metrics:
Performance Evolution
Our partnership with The Back Office Company demonstrates the power of strategic focus and continuous optimisation in professional services marketing:
Year 1 (2021-2022): Introduced The Back Office Company to search advertising, establishing their first-ever digital marketing campaigns and creating a baseline for measuring performance against referral-only growth.
Year 2 (2022-2023): Achieved breakthrough results with 275% increase in enquiries and 167% improvement in conversion rate, demonstrating the power of targeted search advertising for professional services.
Year 3 (2023-2024): Continued optimisation delivered further 134% increase in enquiries and 104% improvement in conversion rate, establishing search advertising as a reliable complement to their referral business.
Year 4 (2024-2025): Refined targeting achieved enhanced conversion efficiency with 27% improvement in conversion rate, proving the sustainable value of strategic digital advertising for professional services growth.
Strategic Insights
The remarkable improvements were driven by several key factors:
Digital Advertising Introduction: By helping a referral-based business understand and implement search advertising, we opened up new growth channels while maintaining their existing strengths.
Reliable Lead Generation: We established a predictable, scalable system for generating enquiries from relevant businesses actively seeking bookkeeping services.
Service-Market Fit Discovery: Through systematic testing, we identified which bookkeeping services had the strongest market demand and focused efforts accordingly.
Professional Services Expertise: Our understanding of how businesses search for professional services enabled us to connect The Back Office Company with high-quality prospects at the right moment.
Client Testimonial
We have worked with SME Growth for four or five years and they have consistently kept our Google search advertising producing results. Honestly I don't really understand how it all works but thankfully they do and I have a lot of confidence they have our best interests in mind.
What I have learnt about marketing in the professional services sector is that no one thing works on its own, referrals are great, radio works for branding, a good website is vital but if your potential customers can't find you on Google then you're in trouble.
Daniel and his team have been great to work with in understanding our business needs.
Arran Finlayson, Managing Director
The Back Office Company
Ready to Transform Your Digital Advertising Results?
If, like The Back Office Company, your business could benefit from our strategic approach to digital advertising that focuses on measurable business outcomes, not just traffic, why not reach out to our team today.
