Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 28.08.2026 
YBM Agency has been named the winner of Best Local Marketing Campaign 2026 at the US Agency Awards for its work with Granite Depot Asheville, helping the business recover from a significant drop in revenue and improve the quality of its incoming leads.
CEO Sofia Stannard and the YBM Agency team took a performance-driven approach to the challenge, looking beyond lead volume to understand what was actually affecting revenue. The team focused on qualified local demand, a cleaner customer journey, and better tracking rather than simply chasing more inquiries.
Within 30 days, revenue returned to 100% of its baseline, and ROI reached 11.4x.
The Problems Standing in the Way
The business was not simply dealing with a slow sales period. It was getting inquiries, but too many were not useful. Some came from outside the 30-mile service area. Others came from people who did not have the right project, budget, or timing.
This created pressure on the sales team. More calls and forms did not mean more revenue. The business needed better-fit customers, not just more names in the pipeline.
A website change had removed the clearest route for customers to contact the showroom. This meant that even interested visitors could struggle to take the next step.
Paid media was still sending traffic, but the organic foundation was weakening. At the same time, parts of the conversion path were not working as they should.
These issues were connected. Traffic, website structure, lead quality, and sales follow-up all affected each other. The real problem was not one channel. It was the full path from search or ad click to real revenue.
The Strategy That Changed the Trajectory
YBM reviewed paid campaigns, organic traffic, website behavior, and lead flow together. This made it easier to see where prospects were being lost and which channels were producing the wrong type of inquiries.
The team restored direct contact options, rebuilt the content and advertising approach around the Asheville service area, and routed every inquiry into one CRM. That gave the business one place to review lead quality, response, and outcomes.
Paid media spend was reduced by 60%, and the team deliberately accepted 40% fewer leads in favor of higher-quality prospects.
That decision worked because the old system valued volume too much. A showroom does not grow from unqualified inquiries. It grows from the right people, in the right area, with the right need.
The localized marketing strategy focused on homeowners who could realistically become customers. It helped the business stop wasting time on poor-fit leads and start measuring what mattered.
This campaign stood out because it showed how disciplined local targeting can change business performance quickly. It was not built on more spending. It was built on better diagnosis, better tracking, and sharper decisions.
