Every business wanting to grow eventually discovers that intuition alone cannot sustain success. A structured, data-driven approach is essential. A study by MIT Sloan School of Management found that companies using data-driven decision-making had 4% higher productivity and 6% higher profits compared to those relying on intuition. To see this principle in action, consider Abdulbasyr Makhtibekov, marketing manager at Papin Garage with BBA and MBA background.He elaborated key steps to make the company he is working at be heard and, more importantly, noticed.
Step 1: Conduct a Comprehensive Marketing Audit
Start by evaluating your current marketing efforts:
1/Social Media: If you want to know what’s actually working in your marketing, tools like Sprout Social or Hootsuite can help. They make it easier to see which posts your audience engages with and where things might be falling flat.
2/Website Analysis: To understand visitor behavior, bounce rates, and overall engagement, use tools like Google Analytics. Looking at these patterns can help you figure out areas of your website that attract or lose customer interest, which you can then use to optimize user experience.
3/Competitor Research: Watching what your competitors are doing isn’t just about copying—it’s about learning. The best idea is to systematically review competitors’ social media accounts, websites, and marketing materials to identify their strongest strategies, such as storytelling methods or high-quality visuals. Also, track your competitors’ presence at industry events. And notice how people react to their posts, and see what events they show up at. All of this gives you clues on how to set your brand apart and spot gaps they haven’t filled yet.
“Ten years ago, we were making decisions by gut feeling and scribbling ideas in notebooks. Today, you open a dashboard and immediately see what’s working and what’s not. How people interact, what keeps them scrolling, what makes them click away,” Abdulbasyr explains.
When he joined Papin Garage, he conducted a thorough audit. Instagram reach averaged just 1500–2000 views per post with only 2–3% engagement. Website analysis showed visitors rarely stayed longer than a minute. Competitor analysis revealed that other garages frequently shared captivating project stories and actively participated in industry events.
Step 2: Engage Your Team and Customers for Insights
After the data analysis, Abdulbasyr spoke with mechanics, designers, and management at Papin Garage to identify strengths like craftsmanship and creativity. He also interviewed loyal customers, uncovering their desire for deeper storytelling around the vehicle customization process, leading him to emphasize authentic behind-the-scenes content.
It is a good idea to gather internal and external insights:
- Internal Insights: Speak to your team to identify your strengths and distinctive selling points. Surprisingly, you can hear very actionable ideas and really helpful insights. As Abdulbasyr puts it, “They say, a room full of minds is a room full of solutions. Sometimes a mechanic or a designer will say something in passing that turns into a brilliant marketing concept. You just have to listen.”
- Customer Feedback: Talk to your customers directly to learn what they really want and find out where you can do better. Plus, such behavior will position you as a client-oriented company. “It’s like in real relationships—if you want to understand what someone thinks or feels, just ask. At least that’s what psychologists say. The same goes for customers—open dialogue builds trust and often brings surprisingly valuable insights,” Abdulbasyr comments.
Step 3: Set Clear, Measurable Marketing Goals
Define clear objectives, such as:
- Improved social media engagement;
- Higher website traffic and longer average session duration;
- Increased lead generation;
- Greater brand visibility at industry events;
- Increased content sharing and post saves;
- Better conversion rates from marketing campaigns (e.g., ad clicks turning into inquiries or sales).
“Goals should be ambitious, but also realistic—no one wants to fly to the moon without a shuttle. Set targets that challenge you, but make sure you’ve got the tools to actually get there,” Abdulbasyr explains.
That’s why he set clear, measurable goals to keep track of how his marketing efforts were paying off at Papin Garage. He knew social media engagement needed a boost, so he set out to raise it from 2–3% to around 5% by the end of the year. To get there, he focused on improving the quality of content and also aimed to increase the average reach per post by 30–40%. Abdulbasyr also addressed the issue of low lead generation by setting a goal to increase monthly leads from an average of 8–10 to 12–15. Lastly, noting Papin Garage’s limited exposure at industry events, he planned participation in at least three major automotive events per half-year, ultimately enhancing brand visibility and generating new business opportunities.
Step 4: Implement Strategic Marketing Initiatives
Develop and execute a focused marketing strategy:
1. Establish a Consistent Brand Style
Standardize visual content by creating detailed brand guidelines, including consistent photography angles, lighting, color grading, and strategic placement of logos or watermarks. Abdulbasyr successfully introduced these guidelines at Papin Garage, resulting in instantly recognizable brand visuals.
Abdulbasyr emphasizes, “Your visual content should speak for itself. When someone scrolls through Instagram, they should immediately recognize your photos.”
2. Demonstrate Authentic Behind-the-Scenes Content
While working on the custom-made McLaren “Alice in Wonderland,” Abdulbasyr introduced a series of video stories and Reels that documented each stage of the customization process—from the artistic bodywork to interior detailing. After a series of such authentic, process-focused content, Abdulbasyr noticed that it resonated strongly with the audience and led to a 40% increase in social media engagement.
As Abdulbasyr recalls, “Can you imagine a supercar painted over with the images of playing cards, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts? Such customization would catch anyone’s eye and go viral. When you show the story behind it, people don’t just scroll past—they stop, watch, and share.”
3. Collaborate with Influential Content Creators
Partner with renowned professionals to elevate content quality and audience reach. Abdulbasyr coordinated collaborations with leading automotive photographers, significantly improving the content appeal and increasing sharing frequency across Papin Garage’s digital channels. “Of course, everyone knows how to tweak colors in a photo editor or catch the golden hour light at sunset,” he says, “but professionals see the shot before they press the shutter—and that difference shows in every image.” By involving skilled creatives, Papin Garage not only enhanced visual storytelling but also attracted wider attention from both followers and industry peers.
4. Active Presence at Industry Events
Regularly participate in major industry events, leveraging them to amplify brand visibility. Abdulbasyr arranged for Papin Garage to prominently showcase customized cars at events like Parkhaus1 Cars & Coffee and Das Renn Treffen, directly leading to new client inquiries and valuable business opportunities.
As Abdulbasyr recommends, “At each step review your marketing data and refine your strategies accordingly. It’s like cooking a good meal—you can’t just throw everything in and walk away. You have to stir, taste, and add the seasoning,” Abdulbasyr explains.
Abdulbasyr monitored performance monthly, quickly identifying what resonated most effectively with audiences and adjusting the strategy accordingly. This agile approach ensured continuous improvement and steady growth.
By staying curious, listening to the numbers, and making thoughtful adjustments along the way, Abdulbasyr achieved remarkable growth in key marketing metrics at Papin Garage. Social media engagement nearly doubled from the initial 2–3% to nearly 5%. Customer inquiries started picking up too — going from around 8–10 a month to 12–15. That meant more chances to turn interest into actual sales. Simple things made a big difference: behind-the-scenes videos, photo shoots with top photographers — all of it helped the brand feel more relatable and engaging. Abdulbasyr also made sure people saw Papin Garage out in the real world. He showed up at big automotive events like Parkhaus1 Cars & Coffee and Fort Lauderdale Cars & Coffee, which really helped get the brand in front of new people and opened the door to some great new partnerships.
As it is clear from the examples, the tendency to use data-driven marketing is ongoing and effective. Why not try it?
