How performance forecasting, CRM infrastructure, and enthusiast-segment targeting scaled DTC revenue across a highly complex 12-brand portfolio.
Client Profile
Automotive Performance Parts Co.
PE-Backed, 12 Brands, ~$150M+ Target
Engagement Focus
Embedded DTC Strategic Lead
2024 – 2025
Embedded via independent advisory as the strategic lead for a PE-backed automotive performance parts company. The organization had assembled a powerful portfolio with strong enthusiast communities and real organic reach.
The mandate: Turn that raw asset base into a measurable, scalable DTC growth engine. I led the DTC performance planning, overhauled the CRM strategy, built the Power BI measurement infrastructure, and directed a multi-phase SEO program across the entire complex digital ecosystem.
Spreading limited resources across 12 business units and 15+ sites simultaneously created "dispersed impact"—a little improvement everywhere, but no dominance anywhere. Furthermore, standard measurement tools were drastically undervaluing the company's biggest growth asset: its enthusiast audience.
Dispersed Impact & Blind Spots
Concentration & Attribution
PE ownership teams require visibility to make capital allocation decisions with confidence. This is a conceptual view of the infrastructure that made the ~$150M+ portfolio manageable.
Orchestrating 12 brands, 842K subscribers, and $150M+ in pipeline.
The strategic discipline of saying "not this site, not this quarter."
Filtering the massive aftermarket parts catalog down to the five product categories that drove the highest margin and recurring enthusiast engagement.
Selecting the top 10 brands out of the 12+ business units to receive dedicated paid media, SEO sprints, and CRM automation resources.
Isolating specific vehicle models (e.g., F-150, Wrangler, Wrangler JL) where the enthusiast communities were most active and easiest to penetrate.
Connecting HubSpot to DTC Revenue Data in Power BI.
Last-click GA4 attribution systematically undervalues CRM. It only gives credit if a user clicks an email and buys immediately. It ignores the massive downstream lift generated by simply keeping a brand top-of-mind for an enthusiast.
We built a bespoke program value model. By cross-referencing our 842K HubSpot subscribers directly against actual DTC transaction data, we proved that opted-in enthusiasts spent significantly more across all channels.
GA4
Last-Click
Power BI
Matched Data
The 5x15x20 framework allowed us to execute highly targeted organic sprints. We stopped trying to rank for generic automotive terms and built aggressive content clusters around specific enthusiast vehicle platforms and modifications.
Organic Growth Metric
30,000+
New Keyword Rankings Added
Why scaling a complex portfolio requires extreme focus and uncompromising data infrastructure.
Trying to grow 12 business units and 15+ sites simultaneously creates dispersed impact — a little improvement everywhere, no dominance anywhere. The 5×15×20 framework concentrated the effort where compounding was possible. In a portfolio with this much breadth, the strategic discipline of saying 'not this site, not this quarter' was as important as any individual tactic.
PE-backed organizations need to show returns at the program level, not just the channel level. Building a separate CRM program value model in Power BI—connecting HubSpot directly to DTC revenue data—was the move that shifted CRM from being viewed as an operational cost center to a documented growth asset.
A CRM program that treats enthusiasts like generic buyers fails. An SEO strategy that competes on generic terms rather than specific modification clusters wastes capital. The infrastructure we built allowed the business to finally leverage its massive organic reach into measurable DTC revenue.