From Dead End Domain to 8x ROI Sales Machine

How a Strategic Website Launch Delivered 8x ROI for Liberty Boat Group

"Our Boats. Your Memories."

Overview

Hubrig Crew Marketing partnered with Kirby Consulting to help Liberty Boat Group, a Freedom Boat Club franchisee with multiple locations across the east coast of the USA, transform their digital presence and drive boat sales. By developing a comprehensive brand strategy, building a custom Shopify website with integrated data management, and executing targeted paid media campaigns, the project delivered exceptional results.

In just 2.5 months from requirements to launch, the team created a complete digital ecosystem. Within the first five months of operation, the website delivered an impressive 8x return on investment and increased sales volume by over 50%.

8x Return on Investment
50%+ Sales Volume Increase
665 Qualified Leads Generated
2.5 Months to Launch

Background

Liberty Boat Group is a Freedom Boat Club franchisee with multiple locations across the east coast of the USA. The Freedom Boat Club franchise operates under brand standards that require franchise organizations to buy and sell boats based on specific requirements. In this case, the franchisee needed to sell 80 boats in 2025 to support the outgoing fleet.

Previously, the Liberty Boat Group domain pointed to a dead end site with no sales functionality. The team needed to build an entire brand, digital infrastructure, and go to market strategy from scratch to meet their aggressive sales targets while maintaining cross promotional opportunities with the Freedom Boat Club membership program.

From Concept to Launch in 2.5 Months

  1. Brand Design
    Defined brand platform with co branding guidelines for Freedom Boat Club
  2. Web Requirements
    Finalized website requirements and content development priorities
  3. Website Build
    Developed website with integrated data feeds and complete content
  4. Launch!
    Website and Paid Search campaigns went live

Before the engagement, Liberty Boat Group faced several critical digital marketing challenges:

  • No Digital Infrastructure: The Liberty Boat Group domain pointed to a dead end site with no sales capability, lead capture, or brand presence.
  • Aggressive Sales Targets: Franchise requirements mandated selling 80 boats in 2025 to support the Freedom Boat Club fleet turnover.
  • Manual Listing Process: Without integrated systems, listing boats required significant manual effort across multiple platforms with no centralized management.
  • Fragmented Brand Identity: No established brand guidelines or cross promotional strategy between Liberty Boat Group boat sales and Freedom Boat Club memberships.
  • No Lead Management: Prospects had no clear path to inquire about boats, and there was no CRM system to track and nurture leads.

Hubrig Crew Marketing and Kirby Consulting developed a comprehensive four pillar strategy:

  • Build the Brand Strategy: Defined brand position, established brand guidelines, and outlined opportunities to cross promote between Liberty Boat Group and Freedom Boat Club when appropriate.
  • Launch Digital Presence: Built and launched a custom Shopify website to support lead generation for boat sales and cross promote Freedom Boat Club memberships. Matured social media presence to reinforce premium brand positioning.
  • Create Go to Market Assets: Developed marketing collateral to support boat sales across digital channels in support of brand awareness, consideration, and sales conversion.
  • Implement CRM for Lead Management: Integrated a complete lead management system with automated workflows, welcome emails, and digital brochure delivery.

The strategy was executed with precision and speed, going from web requirements to MVP launch in just 2.5 months:

  • Shopify Platform Development: Built a custom website leveraging master data management from a Fleet Management Tool, enabling automated boat listing updates with pricing, photos, and specifications.
  • CRM Integration: All form submissions, calls, and texts are automatically logged in the CRM with immediate lead nurturing workflows.
  • Paid Media Activation: Launched Paid Search on site launch day, with Paid Social already active to promote Marketplace listings and key BoatsGroup listings.
  • Freedom Boat Club Integration: Incorporated high level Freedom Boat Club information to enable cross promotional opportunities and increase membership awareness.

The Transformation

Before: March 2025

Liberty Boat Group domain pointed to a Liberty Boat Group branded page on BoatTrader, a DNS redirect to a third party listing site.

Limitations: No brand control, no analytics, no lead capture, no UX customization, no SEO value

After: June 2025

Custom Shopify website with boat listings, CRM integration, automated data feeds, Freedom Boat Club promotion, and full lead management.

Capabilities: Complete control of analytics, advertising, UX, basic SEO, lead collection, and 24/7 automated sales engine

Integrated Data Flow

Inventory Feeds

Boat data feeds from inventory management tool including all details, pricing, photos, and sale status

Auto Updated Listings

Central inventory management feeds the website ensuring listings are always up to date automatically

Multi Channel Capture

Prospects submit leads via form, call, or text; all automatically logged in CRM

Automated Nurturing

Lead receives welcome email and digital brochure instantly, sales team notified

Results & Impact

(5.5 months post launch)

42K Total Website Users
57.8K Total Site Sessions
5.3K Returning Users
665 Qualified Leads
1:27 Average Time on Site
3 Pages per Session

8x Return on Investment

Website Build & Maintenance
✓
Paid Search & Social
✓
ROI Delivered
8x

For every dollar invested in website development and digital advertising, Liberty Boat Group generated eight dollars in return, proving the power of an integrated digital strategy.

Owner & Executive Team Feedback

Sales volume have increased over 50% since implementation of the new marketing strategies. That timeframe not even being a full calendar year has our team thrilled to see the growth to come in 2026. The clean aesthetics, modern design and ease of use have all been brought up as contributing factors in choosing to do business with Liberty Boat Group.
Launching the Liberty Boat Group website was a game changer. We went from concept to launch in under 90 days: fast, efficient, and highly effective. With Airtable and CRM automation, listings update in real time and leads are handled instantly. The site is a 24/7 sales machine, not just an online catalog.
Through the creative and tenacious work of Kirby Consulting and HCM, Liberty Boat Group has dramatically increased quality lead generation, resulting in 50% more sales since the marketing strategy was launched. This project is the clear blueprint for marine industry marketing excellence.

Conclusion

The Liberty Boat Group case study demonstrates the transformative power of a comprehensive digital strategy executed with speed and precision. By building a complete brand platform, developing an integrated website with automated data flows, and implementing targeted paid media campaigns, Hubrig Crew Marketing and Kirby Consulting turned a dead end domain into a revenue generating sales machine.

The results speak for themselves: an 8x return on investment and a 50%+ increase in sales volume, all achieved within months of launch. The integrated approach of combining brand development, website technology, CRM automation, and paid media created a sustainable digital ecosystem that continues to drive results.

For marine industry businesses looking to replicate these results, this case study illustrates the importance of building owned digital assets that provide complete control over analytics, user experience, lead capture, and cross promotional opportunities. The right strategy transforms your website from an online catalog into a 24/7 sales engine.

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