I’ve been at TKG for over a decade, and this is one of the most common challenges we hear from manufacturers. It rarely comes as a direct question—instead, it sounds more like: “My customers never find me on the internet,” or “Our sales process is too complex for digital marketing to work.” While there are a few cases where a business’s target audience isn’t searching for their products or services online, most of the time, the data tells a different story. In this article, I’ll share a few success stories and outline the benefits a strong digital marketing strategy and web presence can bring to brands that sell through distributors or dealers.
In 2022, we began working with a Norwegian furniture manufacturer known for its high-end, modern recliner chairs—imagine Ikea, but with a premium focus on craftsmanship and quality. With around 400 dealers across the U.S., their goals were twofold: expand their dealer network and increase brand awareness stateside.
At the heart of those goals was a familiar question: “How can we drive sales when we don’t sell directly to consumers?”
We love growth-minded challenges like this—it’s what fuels the strategy work we do best. As we dug into their business model, target audiences, products and competitors, we identified two primary audiences: furniture dealers and end consumers.
Wait—didn’t they say they don’t sell to consumers? They did. But here was our hypothesis: by reaching potential customers through platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube—and directing them to individual dealers—we could deliver value in multiple ways.
Whether you’re a business leader or a consumer, you’ve likely encountered this scenario: You click on a paid ad—on Google or social media—expecting to learn more or even purchase a specific product. But once you land on the website, you’re met with something entirely different.
That’s exactly what was happening with this furniture manufacturer. They were offering co-op dollars to support dealer advertising efforts, but there were no guardrails in place. As a result, some dealers used those funds to promote competing furniture brands.
By taking direct control of their ad campaigns, the manufacturer was able to ensure co-op dollars were spent solely on promoting their own brand and products—preserving consistency and maximizing return.
When a company sends you something of value—like a quality lead—don’t you naturally feel more loyal to that brand?
In the world of distribution and dealer sales, your brand is one of many that a dealer may carry—sometimes even alongside your direct competitors. That’s why providing dealers with viable leads isn’t just helpful; it’s strategic. When you equip them with opportunities to close more sales, your brand stays top of mind—and earns a stronger position in their sales efforts.
We launched streamlined Facebook and Instagram ads using consistent creative, customized with each dealer’s name and logo. Since dealers had distinct geographic territories, there was no audience overlap—making the approach both efficient and cost-effective.
The results were immediate. Dealers reported increased foot traffic and sales, directly tied to the ads. Within a year, nearly 25% of the dealer network opted into the quarterly campaigns, with many expanding into Google and YouTube advertising as well.
The manufacturer experienced a 38% increase in sales that year—largely attributed to the success of these co-op campaigns.
As I mentioned earlier, this manufacturer had been providing co-op dollars without a clear sense of their impact. When we partnered together, we helped build a true co-op model: the manufacturer covered campaign setup and a portion of the ad spend, while dealers contributed the rest.
Initially, the manufacturer carried the bulk of the cost. But as dealers saw real results, they began requesting larger campaigns and investing more themselves. By year’s end, over $125,000 had been spent across campaigns—with the manufacturer covering less than half.
The key? Shared investment created shared success.
“People support what they help create.” – Dale Carnegie
This is a common—and important—question, especially when campaigns are driving leads to dealers. The answer depends on your ad platform, website setup and whether you use a CRM or ERP to track leads after they’re handed off.
The simplest way to measure success is to compare dealer sales before and after running co-op campaigns. That’s exactly what the furniture manufacturer did. They didn’t use a CRM, but still saw a clear uptick in sales among participating dealers.
If you're using tools like Google Analytics, you can also track form submissions and lead volume—then apply dealer close rates to estimate return on ad spend.
Co-op PPC campaigns are great for quick, cost-effective wins, but organic strategies—especially local SEO—can also drive long-term, high-quality leads.
Some businesses create dozens of location-based pages to target specific regions. This approach can help or hurt, depending on the quality of the content. If the pages are nearly identical, Google may penalize them for duplicate content. However, if each page contains at least 70% unique, location-specific information, it can significantly boost your organic visibility—no paid ads required.
A large semi-truck trailer manufacturer came to us with a problem: their sales reps were searching for their own trailers online, but outdated dealer websites were outranking the manufacturer’s site—and often featured competitor products. That meant potential customers could search for their brand and end up buying from someone else.
To fix this, we built optimized dealer landing pages and state-specific pages tied into their dealer locator tool. These pages not only reflected the brand’s quality and messaging but were strategically designed to rank in local search results.
Now, when someone searches for the brand near a dealer, the manufacturer’s website appears first. Leads from these pages are funneled directly to the appropriate dealer, helping support the sales process and ensuring the right trailers are front and center.
The result? A 25.5% increase in organic traffic and 145 additional leads passed to dealers in just a few months.
If your company sells through a distribution network, digital marketing isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s essential. By strategically targeting end consumers, controlling your brand narrative, making smart use of co-op dollars and leveraging SEO, manufacturers can strengthen dealer relationships and drive meaningful sales growth.
Curious how this could work for your business? Let’s start the conversation.