How Grow My SME Built a High-Performance Lead Generation System for a Competitive Finance Brand

Buddy Loans operates in one of the toughest digital environments — the UK loan industry, where CPCs are high, competition is fierce, and trust determines conversions. Before working with Grow My SME, the brand had traffic but lacked the systems needed to convert borrowers consistently or scale lead acquisition.

To fix this, we deployed a full-funnel lead generation and automation ecosystem built for financial services. Our strategy combined high-intent SEO, precision Google Ads targeting, segmented Facebook/Instagram campaigns, behavioural email nurturing, CRO-driven landing pages, and trust-based social proof.

In just 90 days, Buddy Loans transformed from inconsistent lead flow to a predictable application engine — driven by automation, audience segmentation, and conversion-optimised funnels.

What We Fixed

• Fragmented marketing channels with no retargeting

• Lack of trust signals in a credibility-driven industry

• Manual follow-ups leading to missed opportunities

• Underperforming landing pages and forms

• No structured email nurturing or segmentation

The System We Built

• SEO + content authority for competitive financial keywords

• Google Ads with high-intent targeting and cost-efficient retargeting

• Meta ads with form-based lead capture and LLA-based scaling

• CRO-enhanced landing pages with trust badges and multi-step forms

• Email + CRM automation with lead scoring and instant follow-ups

• Social proof and educational content to reinforce borrower confidence

90-Day Performance Outcomes

• 312% increase in qualified leads

• Leads grew from 18 → 74 per month

• CPL reduced from £41 → £17

• Lead-to-application conversion rate up from 0.9% → 4.0%

• CPC dropped 42%

• 60% of total applications driven by paid traffic

• £8,000+ in new monthly application revenue

• 70% reduction in manual follow-up workload due to automation

Why This Worked

Because we didn’t just generate traffic — we built an integrated financial marketing ecosystem where every step aligned with borrower psychology.
Ads matched page intent.
Content built trust.
Automation ensured instant follow-ups.
Social proof validated credibility.

This system continues to generate high-quality leads predictably and at scale.

Client Testimonial

“Grow My SME transformed our lead generation. We now have a predictable system that generates high-quality applications consistently, and automation ensures no opportunity is missed. Our growth in just 90 days exceeded expectations.”
— Marketing Director, Buddy Loans