Custom pre-fab home manufacturer, Tamlin International Homes approached us about digital transformation to help streamline and modernize their digital marketing and sales operations. Even though they already had a strong brand and industry reputation, they were tracking much of their sales and marketing activity in spreadsheets and email through disconnected platforms. This fragmented system limited both scalability and insight into performance, especially as Tamlin continued to grow.

Project Scope

Tamlin’s goals included migrating their email marketing operations from Mailchimp over to HubSpot to integrate with a new HubSpot CRM, gaining better visibility into which Google Ads campaigns were driving meaningful results, and ensuring proper tracking and attribution across digital channels. They also wanted to leverage their extensive content library to improve SEO, establish a consistent social media presence to increase brand visibility, and stay top of mind with contacts throughout their long sales cycle.

Our Approach

RFDM’s priority was to implement a new HubSpot instance and establish a sales and marketing tech stack. Once implemented, we applied our proven digital marketing framework—Get Found, Look Good, Stay Top of Mind—to create a full-funnel marketing and sales program tailored to Tamlin’s unique business model and audience.

HubSpot Implementation: A Foundation for Scalable Growth

We began by implementing HubSpot Sales Hub and Marketing Hub to centralize Tamlin’s sales and marketing efforts in a single platform. We created custom fields in HubSpot to support segmentation and automation. Next (after some data hygiene), we migrated all existing contact lists from Mailchimp.

Following this, we imported all existing sales data on companies, contacts, and deals into HubSpot, aligning deal stages with Tamlin’s sales process. We also integrated HubSpot with Google Ads, Google Tag Manager, and Tamlin’s social media accounts. This ensured that all activities in the contact journey could be tracked and reported on in the unified system.

We then created branded email templates that Tamlin could use for autoresponders and their seasonal newsletters. These templates served as the foundation for a scalable, repeatable email marketing workflow, beginning with automated follow-ups for leads who downloaded plan books or requested a welcome package.

To ensure Tamlin’s team could use HubSpot effectively, we provided in-depth training on both Sales Hub and Marketing Hub. This covered everything from pipeline management to email automation. We offered 30 days of post-launch support and worked closely with their team to develop lead follow-up workflows that aligned with best practices in sales enablement. We collaborated with Tamlin executives to build reporting dashboards within HubSpot, utilizing both out-of-the-box and custom reports to deliver real-time insights into campaign performance and sales outcomes that they could easily access and analyze.

Getting Found for Prefab Home Design

Tamlin had existing Google Search campaigns running in multiple regions, but lacked clarity on which efforts were generating high-quality leads. We began by auditing the campaigns and assessing their performance. After identifying the two areas with the highest engagement and most conversion potential, we reallocated the majority of their ad spend to those markets.

Previously, Tamlin was only tracking page views as conversions in Google Ads, which didn’t provide a full picture of lead quality. We updated the conversion goals to include more meaningful actions, such as form submissions and phone calls. To support this, we implemented CallRail, which enabled us to track the source of inbound phone calls—whether from paid ads or the website—and to review call recordings to assess the quality of leads.

We restructured the campaigns using single-keyphrase ad groups, with each group linked to a dedicated, SEO-optimized landing page that aligned closely with the ad content. We tailored these pages to match the geographic focus of each campaign, ensuring that prospects saw relevant project photographs and messaging tailored to their specific location. After optimizing performance in the initial two regions, we expanded into new territories using the same strategy.

To complement paid efforts, we also built an organic content strategy focused on their Learning Centre. Working closely with Tamlin’s internal experts, we developed a series of educational articles and case studies that showcased their deep industry knowledge and client success stories. We optimized these pieces for high-volume search terms, helping Tamlin capture more organic traffic from prospective homeowners searching for prefab and custom timber frame homes.

Results

By auditing and rebuilding their pre-existing search campaigns, we were able to more effectively distribute ad spend, focus on the highest-performing regions and keywords, and generate higher-quality leads. We updated Tamlin’s conversion goals in Google Ads to reflect meaningful business outcomes, and phone calls and form submissions are now correctly attributed to their sources. This provides the team with valuable insight into return on investment (ROI).

Our tight ad group structure, with a single keyword per ad group, helped us determine which keywords performed best in each region. We were also able to adapt the initial West Coast campaigns to other regions across North America with success. This resulted in nearly $4 million in opportunities in the pipeline over a year, as well as hundreds of contacts across key target areas in Canada and the United States.

Looking Good to Prospective Clients

To further our efforts at digital transformation for custom home providers, we next considered how best to make Tamlin look good to prospective clients. Recognizing that Tamlin had an exceptional library of project photography, we leveraged these assets to develop a robust organic social media strategy across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We established a weekly posting cadence that showcased completed homes in beautiful locations, highlighted different architectural features, and shared behind-the-scenes moments from Tamlin’s design and build process.

To enhance engagement, we also produced short-form videos that introduced various home plans, explained the benefits of building with Tamlin, and explored the craftsmanship behind their timber frame structures. These videos helped diversify content across all platforms while increasing reach, particularly on Instagram, where we developed a hashtag strategy to expand Tamlin’s visibility.

Later, when Tamlin was working with a third-party contractor to refresh their website, we provided SEO guidance to ensure that the new site maintained and improved its search rankings. We reviewed and refined the new site’s copy, developed keyword targets, and supplied page-level metadata, including title tags and meta descriptions.

Results

With a consistent posting schedule and professionally branded visuals, Tamlin’s social media presence has improved significantly. Prospective clients now encounter their brand across multiple platforms and touchpoints through organic means and display retargeting, reinforcing trust and interest in their services throughout the buying journey. 

Staying Top of Mind in a Long Sales Cycle

The process of designing and building a custom home can span months, and some people take years to decide if they are ready to create their own home. It was essential for Tamlin to maintain ongoing engagement with potential clients. To support this, we launched a Canada and US-wide display retargeting campaign using AdRoll. This campaign served branded display ads to website visitors and plan book downloaders, reinforcing Tamlin’s presence during the long consideration phase.

We also supported Tamlin’s quarterly newsletter program. We did this by creating professionally designed email layouts and helping develop content to showcase seasonal updates, new home designs, and project milestones. In addition, we added UTM tracking to all email links, which allowed Tamlin to measure email campaign effectiveness and track engagement back to specific leads and opportunities.

Results

With a consistent posting schedule and professionally branded visuals, Tamlin’s social media presence has improved significantly. Prospective clients now encounter their brand across multiple platforms and touchpoints through organic means and display retargeting, This reinforces trust and interest in their services throughout the buying journey. 

Using HubSpot for Digital Transformation for Custom Home Providers

The HubSpot implementation provided Tamlin with a centralized system for managing sales and marketing activities across international regions. Their team now tracks leads from all sources in one place and uses a structured pipeline and workflows to ensure quick and consistent follow-up. HubSpot’s custom dashboards and reporting tools provide clear visibility to both the sales and executive teams into what’s working and where to optimize further.

Strategic Digital Growth for Tamlin Homes

Our work with Tamlin International Homes shows how companies in the BC construction and building materials industry can modernize their sales and marketing operations without losing the values that make them unique. By aligning CRM, paid media, organic content, and social engagement under one cohesive strategy, we helped Tamlin lay the groundwork for scalable, sustainable growth.

In high-trust, long-sales-cycle industries like home plan design and manufacturing, getting found is only the beginning. We helped Tamlin not only attract new leads but also nurture them over time, showcase their expertise with authority, and close the loop with sales enablement and marketing automation. With the right tools, training, and content in place, Tamlin is now better equipped to expand its presence in key markets and convert brand interest into tangible business outcomes.

If you’d like to learn more about digital transformation for custom home providers, please contact us!