This is one of the earliest clients we’ve ever worked with—actually, one of our most ancient ones. At that time, I was still trying to build a digital marketing studio with two friends. That studio didn’t last, but the memories and the effort poured into this project still mean a lot to me. Now, I’m running my own studio, and although there’s so much I could say about that path, let’s just stay focused on this case for now.

The Starting Point

When we first began working with this client in March 2023, she had been in consumer electronics market (selling earbuds) for many years but didn’t have a team—no marketing support, no in-house talent—just a product and a website.That website, by the way, had cost her a lot. She’d hired an agency before us, and that agency kind of scammed her. So, understandably, she was extremely cautious and skeptical when working with us. But we’re not frauds. We care, and we do the work.

At that time, I was still in the early stages of building my consumer electronics brand building expertise. There was absolutely no sales data. The domain had been sitting there for years, but no real growth. I remember clearly: the very first month we stepped in, the monthly sales were only $500. It wasn’t a lot, but at least it was something. Compared to all the years with zero sales, it felt like we were finally lighting a small spark.

At the time, we didn’t even run full-scale ads—just around $50 a day on Google. We focused mainly on the foundation: rebuilding the website based on deep market research, improving every little detail, including terms and conditions, SEO structure, and all the boring but crucial parts. This wasn’t just a shop; we were focused on consumer electronics brand building from the ground up.

Strategy & Strength

Her product is in the consumer electronics space—an incredibly competitive area. Just putting your product out there without a strong brand? It doesn’t work anymore. But here’s what gave us confidence: she was the supplier of her competitors. The big brands out there were buying from her. That meant she had control over quality and pricing, and with the right branding, she could dominate her niche.

So, we went all-in on a consumer electronics brand building strategy.

Growth & Results

By August 2023, monthly sales had reached around $13,000. We were only running a couple of ad campaigns—mainly Google Ads and a basic Facebook campaign. Our Google Ads return was impressive: ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) reached 3, meaning every $1 spent brought in $3. Facebook didn’t perform as well, mostly due to limitations in creatives and content restrictions. Still, organic traffic began growing steadily. From just $80 in organic sales in March to $1500 in August. That growth was a good sign the website, product, and strategy were working together organically.

The Turning Point

But things changed. Around September or October, the client decided to take the project in-house. She handed it over to someone in the U.S. who felt he could do it better. He reworked the entire website from scratch because, in his words, our version was “stupid.” Ironically, they kept running the exact same Google Ads campaigns we had built. She even told me, “Our ROAS is higher now, more than 3. So we think we can do this ourselves.”

And we all know what happened next.

You change the structure. You break the flow. The ecosystem we built—brand, SEO, ads, data structure—all got disrupted. According to the data we’ve seen, the performance didn’t last much longer. Things went back to zero. All that effort over half a year unraveled in just weeks. The Domain Rating (DR) of their website has dropped drastically—from 18 to just 5!

Reflection

It still feels like a pity to me. This was the very first project I took on when I started building my own digital marketing studio – FS Digital. And I gave it everything. I think if we had continued working together up until now (it’s already 2025), her consumer electronics brand would be in a totally different place—probably a leader in this small niche market.

I know why this happened. In China, many agencies operate in a way that leaves clients disappointed. They take on too many accounts, make big promises, and deliver little. Clients feel the pressure and take projects back in-house—but in-house teams often lack the experience across multiple cases to develop the instincts needed to see long-term data patterns and pivot effectively.

I haven’t been in this business for a very long time, but I care. I research. I learn every single day. The market shifts fast, and we need to grow with it. I still hope one day we can work with her again. I still believe in her brand building.

A Vision for the Future

What I want now isn’t to get more clients just for the sake of it. I want to work with people who believe in long-term growth. I don’t want to be another agency with flashy PPTs and empty promises. I want to build partnerships, not just pipelines.

There are many great products here in China. We have the logistics, the quality, and the drive. I don’t think we should be ashamed of our position in the global market. We just need to build something real—something with legacy.

That’s what I’m trying to do. Thanks for reading!