B2B advertising targeting service stations and paint shops in 5 countries

Preparing to launch advertising

Since we couldn't directly influence this, we focused on our part of the work — setting up analytics and events in the funnel, including alternative conversions: leads, emails, phone clicks, etc. After that, we started registering accounts in Google Merchant Center. Since there were five websites, we had to repeat all the steps for each country: domain verification, connecting Google Tag Manager, creating new containers, setting up analytics, and testing all events. We carefully checked the correctness of each event to avoid errors during data integration.

The situation with Google Merchant Center turned out to be even more complicated: for each site, we had to create a separate seller account, confirm ownership of the domain, and only then connect the feed. As a result, we ended up with five independent feeds, one for each country. After uploading the feeds, we had to manually check the moderation of all products — names, descriptions, images, links, categories, errors, and compliance with country requirements.

When all this was ready, we started creating advertising accounts. We could have combined everything into one account, but the client insisted on separation, as advertising in each country was paid for by different legal entities, in different currencies, and with different budgets. Therefore, we had to create five separate advertising accounts. Each one had to specify its own payment profile, currency, time zone, set limits, and link everything to the appropriate Merchant Center.

Ad campaigns started

After that, we started working on campaigns. On the one hand, product campaigns have similar configuration principles regardless of the country, but we decided to take a detailed approach. Together with the client, we agreed on a list of product categories that we would promote: paints and varnishes, accessories, auxiliary products, as well as some consumables for car services.

In the first stage, we launched product campaigns (Shopping Ads), dividing them into category groups. We separately tested dynamic campaigns based on feeds to understand which products had the greatest potential in terms of clicks and CTR. At the same time, we launched search campaigns for the most conversion-friendly categories, such as “body repair paint,” “car painting,” “paint and varnish equipment,” etc.

As a separate step, we created banner ads for remarketing to bring back users who had already visited the site but had not completed their registration or order. These campaigns also had to be duplicated for each country, as each had its own domain and, accordingly, its own remarketing audience.

Gradually, we began to see results: despite the small amount of traffic, the CTR of product ads was quite high (2.8–3.1% on average), and the cost per click (CPC) was lower than expected for the B2B segment. This is because competition in the niche of paint and varnish materials for service stations is not so high, especially in the Baltic States and Central Asia. However, the volume of traffic remained limited — the niche is narrow, and the main goal of the campaigns was not so much direct sales as increasing brand awareness and attracting new regular customers.

After preparing the websites and feeds, the next stage was to launch campaigns by category and product type. This meant that we had to advertise not only individual products, but also search results with filters or category pages so that users could see the entire range in the right direction.

Together with the client, we approved a list of main categories. These were mainly car painting equipment used in service stations, as well as all the necessary materials for the painting process itself. On the one hand, the client could buy a complete paint kit — an entire paint shop or booths — and on the other hand, order auxiliary materials: paints, solvents, measuring containers, spray guns, brushes, etc.

Before launching the ad campaign, we had to do a lot of preparatory work. Formally, we could have collected keywords in one country, translated them automatically into other languages, and launched the campaigns that way, but this would have contradicted the principle of quality marketing. Therefore, we took the difficult but correct path — we collected semantics manually in each country, focusing on local search habits and wording.

After that, each ad, all extensions, additional links, and texts were translated into five languages: Lithuanian, Latvian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian. This took a little longer than planned, because we had to not only translate the text word for word, but also adapt it to the local context and preserve the exact meaning of technical terms.

Two weeks later, we successfully launched all five advertising accounts and ten campaigns (search and product). The first results were, frankly, mediocre. As expected, the main reason was that the funnel on the website was too complicated. A user who wanted to buy, for example, a can of paint, had to go through a lot of mandatory steps — registration, email confirmation, entering a tax number, etc. This is acceptable for B2B partners, but for new customers, it is practically insurmountable.

We offered the client an alternative conversion path: adding a simple way to contact them. For example, users could leave their phone number for a callback or simply call a manager directly without going through the entire registration process. For products where the check reaches several thousand euros (for example, paint booths), this is especially important: the buyer wants to clarify details, ask questions, and get advice.

Together with the client, we set up dynamic call tracking to not only track clicks on the phone number, but to really understand which ad the call came from. We also visually enhanced the display of the number — we added it to the top menu, footer, and product cards so that it was always in the user's field of vision.

The result was immediate. Conversion grew from 0.25% to 1.5%, i.e., six times. Yes, a call is not yet a sale, but it is already contact with genuine interest that can be worked with: call back, clarify, offer the right set of products. Moreover, such calls often led to an increase in the average check, because the manager could advise the customer and offer additional products necessary for working with paint — primers, solvents, filters, etc.

Key point

In summary, if you have a complex funnel on your website and a technically complex product that cannot be purchased impulsively, focus not only on online purchases but also on direct contact. The ability to call, ask questions, and receive advice can significantly increase conversion rates and brand trust. Even if it is an online store, personal communication still plays a huge role in the B2B segment and often becomes a decisive factor in purchasing.