How a 4-Person Marketing Team Grew Website Traffic 400%

In this episode of The Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Jillian Childs, VP of Marketing at Turntide Technologies. Turntide designs, manufactures, and engineers electric motors, power electronics, and battery systems for OEMs across construction, motorsports, marine, and agriculture industries. With a lean marketing team of four targeting multiple industries with complex regulations, Jillian has built a revenue-focused marketing engine that drives results through strategic trade show investments, educational webinar programs, and high-quality content. After operating as a one-person marketing team for 18 months, she assembled her current team and turned on all marketing channels in January 2025, resulting in 400% growth in website traffic and significant pipeline generation. Topics Discussed Building a revenue-first marketing strategy with a lean team across multiple industries Allocating 50% of marketing budget to trade shows and measuring ROI Creating educational webinar programs that convert engineers without being salesy Launching 75+ articles of technical content to establish thought leadership Navigating the challenges of paid advertising on LinkedIn and Google Managing global trade show calendars with standardized booth sizes for budget efficiency Coordinating integrated product launch campaigns across engineering, legal, and product teams Growing from a one-person marketing department to a fully functional remote team Lessons For B2B Tech Marketers Allocate Half Your Budget to High-ROI Channels, Even If They Seem Old School: Turntide dedicates 50% of their marketing budget to trade shows because they deliver the highest ROI for lead generation and revenue. They attend 13-15 shows globally per year, targeting tier-one industry events and increasingly niche, industry-specific shows in marine, off-road, and motorsports. Rather than chasing trendy digital channels, Jillian doubles down on what actually drives deals. Make Webinars Work By Keeping Them Educational, Not Salesy: Turntide runs monthly webinars that have become their most successful lead generation channel by deliberately avoiding sales pitches. Their engineering team leads deep dives into product specs, cybersecurity, and power electronics—essentially giving engineers peer-to-peer technical education. They intentionally avoid mentioning Turntide and focus on solving real problems their audience faces, which builds trust and generates qualified pipeline. Standardize Trade Show Logistics to Maximize Budget Efficiency: Rather than customizing booth sizes for each show, Jillian maintains consistent space dimensions across all 13-15 annual trade shows. This allows them to reuse graphics, ship the same trade kits, and work with the same agencies depending on region. The standardization dramatically reduces costs while maintaining professional presence at every event. Build a Trade Show Strategy Matrix Around Four Key Variables: Turntide evaluates trade shows based on: (1) which industries they're trying to penetrate most, (2) what product launches are planned, (3) which channel partners they can leverage for exposure, and (4) what geographic gaps exist in their revenue strategy. This framework helps them choose between tier-one broad shows and tier-two industry-specific events. Launch Content at Scale to Drive Traffic Growth: After assembling her team, Jillian launched "Current and Wave" on Turntide's website—a dedicated content hub featuring 75+ articles of thought leadership around electrification, engineering, and industry trends. Combined with their website redesign, this content strategy contributed to 400% growth in website traffic over 15 months by establishing Turntide as a technical authority. Protect Your Team From Organizational Noise: As a marketing leader at a startup, Jillian filters out the chaos, shifting priorities, and organizational turbulence so her remote team can focus on executing their quarterly plans. She holds weekly one-on-ones with each team member, weekly team calls, and quarterly on-site strategy sessions with clear actionable plans. This structured approach keeps the team focused on revenue goals despite startup volatility. Test Digital Channels But Don't Be Afraid to Walk Away: After extensive testing, Jillian concluded that Google Ads and LinkedIn advertising don't deliver ROI for Turntide—even having a Google rep tell her it wasn't worth the spend. She discovered LinkedIn's targeting is deliberately confusing, with entire budgets getting consumed by unqualified clicks from students when targeting countries like India. Rather than continuing to pour money into underperforming channels, she reallocated budget to proven channels. Use Press and Communications as a Multiplier for Product Launches: With a small team unable to deep-dive into specific industries, Turntide uses "air coverage" across multiple sectors through strategic PR. They announce major customer partnerships, new product launches, and company milestones in tier-one media and trade publications, amplifying their reach beyond what their team size would normally allow.   //  Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.  Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM