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How Tara's Fleet Repair Business Accelerated with Blaze
Most small services businesses think they need large marketing teams to compete with industry giants. Tara Harter proved that with the right tools, even a mid-sized fleet repair company can outpace competitors worth hundreds of millions.
The Industrial Marketing Challenge
As Employee Success and Brand Manager at Fleet Repair Solutions, Tara faced a classic logistics business marketing dilemma:
- Non-existent social media presence across platforms despite $30M/year revenue
- Competing against $500 million industry giants
- Limited marketing resources (a two-woman team)
- Handling HR responsibilities alongside marketing
- Rapid company growth requiring brand awareness to match
"I was hired for both marketing and HR. I hired 110 people last year alone and we're on track for another 50 this year," Tara explains. "On the operational side, we're taking over territories quickly. Now we needed our advertising and brand awareness to match that growth."
Building a Digital Presence from Scratch
Instead of hiring expensive agencies, Tara created a scalable social media system with Blaze:
- Content Consistency Framework
- 5 posts weekly across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram
- Two-month content calendar planned in advance
- Brand voice templates for consistency
- Focus on introducing their newly redesigned brand
- Workflow Optimization Process:
- Consolidated posting across platforms
- Collaborative review system
- Efficient approval workflows
- Time-saving batch creation
"It's been night and day. We have everything. We have the calendar planned out almost two months in advance.”
The Results: Numbers That Matter
Within just two months, their systematic approach delivered remarkable ROI:
- Instagram engagement: +17% week-over-week
- Post engagement rates: 60-70%
- LinkedIn performance: +90-104% over larger competitors
- Facebook reach: 3,227+ accounts from zero presence
- Website traffic: Significant increases from social referrals
The Real Impact: Beyond Just Numbers
The most powerful outcome wasn't just metrics – it was transforming marketplace perception in a competitive industry:
"Now I can go places and say 'We're Fleet Repair Solutions' and they're like 'Yeah, we know you guys. You're the ones with the camo on the trucks,'" Tara shares. "That's huge when you're competing with companies 10-20 times your size."
"Our engagement has increased 17% just in the last month. Our posts, our engagement on our posts are anywhere from 60 to 70%. That's mind boggling when you think we never even had an Instagram.”
Key Lessons for Industrial Businesses
Tara's experience highlights three critical insights:
- Start with social: Build digital presence before expensive trade shows
- Focus on consistency: Regular posting trumps sporadic high-production content
- Leverage technology: Use AI tools to multiply limited marketing resources
The Work-Life Effect
Most importantly, better systems meant better work balance: "I work two days a week, so time saving is very important," Tara explains. "With Blaze, I can manage our social presence and have time for other priorities. It's like a warm blanket - when I'm completely stressed out, I can just climb in and know it's going to take care of everything."
Her advice to other industrial businesses? "The cheapest and easiest way to build brand awareness is through social media. We've gotten huge results – absolute, positively huge results."
