RAW Wheels & Tires, a premier automotive retailer specializing in flexible rent-to-own wheels and tires with over 100 locations across United States, partnered with 1406 Consulting to transform their business from manual, paper-based operations into a modern, automated digital platform.
What began as a digital transformation project evolved into a multi-year strategic partnership. By implementing HubSpot CRM, automating lead response workflows, and consolidating complex system architecture, RAW went from processing forms in 3-ring binders to responding to leads instantly while increasing year-over-year sales by 40%.
Today, 1406 serves as RAW's long-term operational partner, providing ongoing strategic guidance, creative campaign support, and technical optimization.
RAW Wheels & Tires operates over 100 retail locations across the Southeastern United States, serving customers seeking flexible, rent-to-own wheel and tire solutions. When 1406 first engaged with RAW, the company was operating in a completely manual system that had become a significant constraint on growth.
Website inquiry forms were printed at each location and filed in 3-ring binders. Customer data was scattered across spreadsheets. There was no unified way to track inquiries, measure performance, or respond consistently. Each location operated in isolation, with no visibility into cross-location activity or customer patterns.
RAW knew they needed digital transformation, but they couldn't envision how a modern CRM like HubSpot could adapt to their unique, multi-location operational complexity.
A basic web form was the only measurable inquiry touchpoint, creating a bottleneck for lead capture and customer awareness.
Sales teams manually processed inquiries with no automation, resulting in response times that varied from hours to days.
Customer data, purchase history, and cross-location activity were invisible. There was no unified customer record or attribution tracking.
Without a centralized system, RAW couldn't deliver consistent messaging, campaigns, or customer experiences across touch points.
The manual infrastructure couldn't support growth. Adding locations meant adding more manual processes, spreadsheets, and inefficiencies.
We conducted a full operational and system review to understand RAW's unique challenges.
We identified opportunities for automation in lead intake and response, audited manual labor time requirements, and mapped the entire customer journey—from inquiry to conversion.
We built custom HubSpot workflows tailored to RAW's unique inquiry funnel, designed branding assets and outbound campaigns across digital channels, and integrated behavioral data into the marketing funnel for better segmentation.
Early in the relationship, RAW's complexity resulted in nearly 1,000 individual workflows, approaching HubSpot's system limit.
As the relationship evolved and HubSpot's technology advanced, we undertook a major consolidation project using HubDB tables and custom coded workflows, reducing the system from nearly 1,000 workflows down to just 5.
This dramatically reduced maintenance time: updates that previously took 500+ hours now take just 2.5 hours.
We integrated SalesMessage for real-time SMS lead response, implemented custom integrations to support future scalability (including site interaction tracking), and created seamless tracking across web, CRM, and outbound campaigns.
We transformed manual form processing into automated workflows, reduced response delays with SMS automation, and introduced consistent email and content systems for engagement and re-engagement across all locations.
Rather than a one-time implementation, RAW engaged 1406 for continuous strategic and operational support. This includes:
With automated SMS workflows and real-time lead routing, RAW now responds to inquiries faster than any manual process could achieve. Customers experience immediate acknowledgment—a critical factor in competitive automotive retail.
Through strategic consolidation and custom development, we eliminated redundancy and complexity. What began as necessary workflows became streamlined, maintainable, and scalable.
Time savings impact: System updates and maintenance that once required 500+ hours now take 2.5 hours per cycle - a 99.5% reduction in administrative overhead.
Email campaigns went from inconsistent performance (3% open rate) to high-performing, branded campaigns (20% open rate in 2024, 17% year-to-date). This measurable improvement reflects better segmentation, more targeted messaging, and consistent design.
By automating lead capture, improving response time, and creating consistent engagement campaigns, RAW captured more opportunities and converted more prospects into customers.
RAW leadership can make highly-informed, confident decisions with crystal clear visibility into:
RAW transformed from a collection of disconnected, manual processes into a unified, data-informed organization. Operations, marketing, and sales now work from a single source of truth.
The automated workflows, custom integrations, and creative strategy built by 1406 created a sustainable system that enables RAW to scale lead generation and customer response efforts across regions without proportional increases in manual labor.
What makes this partnership unique is its evolution. As HubSpot's technology matured and RAW's needs changed, 1406 adapted the solution by consolidating workflows, enhancing integrations, and expanding creative support. This is partnership, not just implementation.
By tying operations, marketing, and technology together, RAW is now positioned for long-term success. Now they are able to launch campaigns quickly, respond to leads in real time, measure success with confidence, and scale across new locations without reinventing their infrastructure.
Beyond Implementation: 1406 Consulting served not just as a one-time vendor or a hub-specific solution, but as a strategic operations partner for RAW. Our hands-on involvement in both systems architecture and campaign execution allowed RAW to evolve from a single-form system to a modern, automated, data-informed marketing engine.
Adaptability: The ongoing collaboration highlights 1406's commitment to partnership, agility, and impact. As technology and business needs evolved, we evolved with them.
Expertise: From custom workflow development to creative campaign design to strategic operational guidance, RAW benefited from a team with genuine expertise across multiple disciplines.
RAW Wheels & Tires went from processing inquiries in 3-ring binders to responding to leads instantly while increasing sales by 40% in the process. Your organization can achieve similar results.
Whether you're just beginning your digital transformation or looking to optimize existing systems, 1406 Consulting brings the technical expertise, creative capability, and strategic partnership approach needed to drive real, measurable results.
Contact us to learn how we can help you transform your operations and scale with confidence.