Real Results
Real hearth and patio dealers, real reporting-dashboard numbers, and what those dealers say about working with Alex — no cherry-picked screenshots. This is what a season looks like when your marketing is built around how your business actually works.
Case Study · Hearth & Patio Retail · Full Year 2025
Bromwell's is a 150-year-old, family-owned fireplace retailer serving the Washington, D.C. area — and a Crutchfield Marketing client since 2021. Most case studies show you a hand-picked 90-day window. This one shows every single day of 2025, straight from the campaign reporting dashboard.
A fireplace business lives and dies by its season. Bromwell's needed a steady flow of qualified buyers during the October–January rush — when every competitor is bidding on the same customers — without wasting budget in the slower spring and summer months, and without sacrificing the shoulder-season projects that keep installers busy year-round.
One XMO (Cross-Media Optimization) campaign, running continuously: AI-optimized Search Ads across Google and Microsoft Bing, backed by low-cost social that keeps the brand in front of homeowners between purchases. Budget automatically shifts toward whichever channels and keywords are producing real leads — so spend follows the season instead of fighting it.
Monthly leads, Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025. Source: LocaliQ campaign reporting for Bromwell's The Fireplace People.
| Month | Leads | Phone Calls | Clicks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 180 | 154 | 1,638 |
| February | 92 | 82 | 974 |
| March | 70 | 61 | 950 |
| April | 66 | 54 | 881 |
| May | 61 | 55 | 902 |
| June | 67 | 53 | 852 |
| July | 65 | 53 | 956 |
| August | 69 | 58 | 1,043 |
| September | 119 | 102 | 1,101 |
| October | 227 | 191 | 1,500 |
| November | 310 | 272 | 1,613 |
| December | 341 | 291 | 1,779 |
Of tracked calls connected to the store — 969 unique callers, and 54% of calls ran 2+ minutes. These are conversations, not wrong numbers.
Of search leads came from Microsoft Bing — a second search engine most agencies never even set up.
Of the year's 299,223 ad impressions came from social running on under 4% of the budget — cheap brand presence between purchases, while search does the converting.
The single busiest call hour of the week. Reporting this granular tells you when the phone needs a person on it.
"Consistently have as many qualified leads as we can handle. Alex always has a willingness to solve my problems… It truly feels as if Alex is part of our team."
— Rich Cartlidge, Owner, Bromwell's The Fireplace PeopleCase Study · Hearth & Patio Retail · First Season, Fall 2025
HomeFlame is a family-owned luxury hearth and patio retailer in North Carolina offering design, installation, and maintenance. As a newer Crutchfield Marketing client, their story answers the question every dealer asks: "How fast does this actually work?" Their campaign launched September 30, 2025 — right at the front door of fireplace season — and the first 90 days are below.
A luxury showroom doesn't want tire-kickers — it wants serious buyers, and it wants them during the season that matters. Launching at the end of September left no room for a slow ramp: the campaign had to capture October's fireplace-season demand from day one, in a market where established competitors had years of advertising history.
An XMO Search & Social campaign timed to the season's opening: AI-optimized Search Ads on Google and Microsoft Bing to capture ready-to-buy shoppers, a social layer for brand presence, and Facebook retargeting to stay in front of homeowners who'd already visited — with every lead flowing into Dash for fast follow-up.
Leads by month, Oct 1 – Dec 31, 2025. Source: LocaliQ campaign reporting for HomeFlame.
No ramp-up period. The campaign launched September 30 and produced 79 leads in October — proof that a well-built launch can meet the season instead of chasing it.
Search CTR: 1,638 clicks on 16,550 search impressions. Tight targeting means the ad only shows when it's relevant — and gets clicked when it shows.
Of leads were phone calls — 135 unique callers, every tracked call connected, busiest window Monday mornings. Exactly what a consultative showroom wants.
Homeowners reached by the mobile retargeting layer — staying in front of considered-purchase shoppers between showroom visits, on a small slice of the budget.
"Alex can show you how to stay ahead of the curve and how to outshine your competition in today's fast changing online world."
— Kevin Wood, K&T AssociatesCase Study · Hearth & Patio Retail · Launch Through First Fireplace Season, 2025
A fireplace and grill retailer with a steep seasonal swing — busy in winter, quiet in summer — wanted a strategy built around that curve instead of flat, year-round spending. The campaign launched in late May 2025, and what followed is the clearest picture on this page of what month-over-month optimization actually does.
When your winter is 5× busier than your summer, flat year-round advertising burns money in July and leaves demand on the table in November. This dealer needed spend that follows the curve — and a campaign that would be fully optimized before the season arrived, not still learning in the middle of it.
An XMO Search & Social campaign launched in late spring, giving the AI the summer months to learn which keywords, audiences, and times of day produce real leads. Budget held steady at roughly the same monthly level all seven months — the growth below came from optimization, not from spending more.
Monthly leads, campaign launch (late May 2025) through Dec 31, 2025. Source: LocaliQ campaign reporting. Client name withheld — this dealer hasn't opted into public attribution, but the numbers are reported exactly as the dashboard shows them.
| Month | Leads | Phone Calls | Cost per Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| June | 28 | 21 | $116.97 |
| July | 38 | 32 | $80.43 |
| August | 72 | 62 | $41.75 |
| September | 82 | 68 | $43.46 |
| October | 133 | 113 | $24.43 |
| November | 218 | 195 | $13.41 |
| December | 243 | 220 | $14.31 |
Cost per lead by the season's peak — down from $117 in the first full month. This is what the XMO learning curve looks like when it's given a head start before the season.
Of 712 tracked calls connected — 473 unique callers averaging 3 minutes 11 seconds, and 44% of calls ran 2+ minutes.
Of ad clicks came from mobile — where a shopper standing in a competitor's showroom does their comparison searching.
Leads arrived as phone calls (712), qualified website actions (90), and emails (14) — every one tracked back to the campaign, so nothing gets credited on faith.
Client Reviews
"Alex always has a willingness to solve my problems. What I like the most about his service is that he always replies within minutes. He makes us feel as if we are his only client. It truly feels as if Alex is part of our team."
"Alex understands my business and always seems to have good advice. He actually cares about me and my business and it shows!"
"Helped our business stay ahead of the curve in a competitive market."
Every campaign starts with a free look at the search volume and competition in your market — so you know what's realistic before you spend a dollar.
Book a Free Consultation
