How a hardware showroom in Oakville went from zero partner leads to hundreds in 6 months

July 2025 - Ongoing

VK Hardware is a door and cabinet hardware company based in Oakville with a showroom that carries top brands alongside their own exclusive line, VK Hardware Concepts. They sell to both homeowners and the trade, but their growth focus was on the B2B side.

VK Hardware had built trade partnerships over the last few decades, but all of them came through word of mouth and existing relationships. There was no active channel bringing in new partners. They wanted to build a structured B2B program that would attract interior designers, contractors, architects, builders, and developers - and give them a reason to choose VK Hardware as their go-to supplier. The problem was that no one outside their existing network knew the program existed, because it didn't exist yet (beside word of mouth).

Over 9+ months of running paid campaigns alongside the partner landing page, VK Hardware has generated hundreds of trade partner leads at a cost per lead between $19 and $26. The pipeline consistently brings in 24 to 46 new partner leads per month, giving the sales team a steady flow of designers, contractors, and builders to follow up with. The campaigns have also gotten better over time - cost per click has dropped 56% as we've refined targeting and creative. VK Hardware has gone from relying entirely on word of mouth to having a system that actively brings new trade partners to their door every month.

VK Hardware had been working with trade partners for decades, but the program itself was never packaged in a way that could be marketed. They had the offerings and the relationships but what was missing was a clear structure that could be presented to someone who'd never heard of them before.

We took what they already had and expanded on it. We defined the program around three main benefits: exclusive pricing and discounts for trade partners, co-marketing and referral opportunities and dedicated account support. The goal was to make it easy for a contractor or designer to look at the program and immediately understand what's in it for them. We then wrote all the copy for the program - positioning it in a way that speaks directly to trade professionals and gives them a clear reason to sign up.

We built the landing page on WordPress, using VK Hardware's existing brand guidelines but taking our own direction on the design and layout. The page had one job: explain the partner program and get people to fill out the form. Every section was written and structured to move a visitor toward that form - starting with what the program is, who it's for, what the benefits are and ending it with a clear call to action.

The sign-up form feeds directly into VK Hardware's CRM. When a trade professional fills it out, the lead is captured automatically (no manual entry, no emails getting lost). The sales team can see who came in, when, and what type of professional they are, and follow up accordingly.

With the page live, we needed to get it in front of the right people. We launched paid campaigns on both Google and Meta, running a mix of static image and video creative across Facebook and Instagram. Initially, we found that Google Ads were burning a lot of budget without many quality results, we moved off of Google Ads and doubled down on Meta ads. This resulted in way better success and leads at a fraction of the cost.

We run two main campaigns. The first targets interior designers specifically - this is VK Hardware's strongest trade segment, so we gave it its own dedicated campaign with tailored messaging and creative. The second is a broader trade program campaign that targets contractors, architects, builders, and developers.

The targeting uses a mix of methods. We layer geographic targeting to keep it relevant to VK Hardware's service area, job title and interest targeting to reach people who actually work in the trade, and lookalike audiences built from their existing partner base to find more professionals who match the profile of people already buying from them.

On Meta, we run both lead gen forms within the platform and ads that drive traffic to the landing page. The in-platform lead forms capture people who want to sign up quickly without leaving Facebook or Instagram. The landing page ads are for people who need more information before committing - they can read through the full program, see the benefits, and then fill out the form when they're ready. Both paths feed into the CRM.

We've been continuously refining the campaigns over 9+ months - testing different creative, adjusting targeting, and shifting budget toward what's performing. That ongoing optimization is why the cost per click has dropped 56% and the click-through rate has increased 168% compared to earlier months. The ads are getting cheaper and more effective the longer they run.