Overview
Gateway Exteriors has been helping Missouri homeowners protect and improve their homes since 1982. The family-owned company serves St. Charles County, St. Louis County, and the surrounding
region, handling everything from siding and replacement windows to custom decks, sunrooms, and home additions.
With decades of hands-on craftsmanship and a W-2 workforce, Gateway Exteriors had built a reputation the old-fashioned way: through referrals, repeat customers, and word of mouth. What they had not built was a digital presence that matched the quality of their work. Their website was years out of date, and their lead pipeline was anything but predictable.
The Challenge
Before partnering with Hibu, Gateway Exteriors was relying on word of mouth to keep the calendar full. It worked, until it didn’t. Leads came in waves rather than steadily, and there was no reliable system to smooth out the slow periods. Their website, built years earlier, was no longer doing them any favors. Homeowners searching for siding contractors and replacement windows in their area
were finding competitors instead.
The team knew they needed a new website and a real digital strategy. What they were not sure about was whether the investment would justify the cost. For a company that had always been careful with its budget, that question mattered.
The Hibu Solution
Gateway Exteriors decided to move forward with Hibu after a strategy session that gave them confidence in the plan and the people behind it. The combination of a clear roadmap, a local presence from their Hibu representative, and the involvement of their Hibu rep, Marie, in walking them through the approach made the decision feel right. As they described it, they valued the honesty and responsiveness of the team from the start, along with the ease of communication and transparency that carried through the entire process.
Hibu addressed their budget concerns directly, laying out exactly what each solution would cost and what results they could expect. Rather than a one-size-fits-all pitch, the team tailored its recommendations to Gateway Exteriors' specific goals. A new website went up, their service area expanded online, and the Hibu One Platform gave them visibility into how their marketing was actually performing.
The Results
The impact was direct and measurable: real customers calling, real jobs booked. Gateway Exteriors estimates roughly 50% of their new business now comes through Hibu. One customer found them through the new website, inquired about a deck and siding project, got a quote, had the work done, and left a five-star Google review — a full cycle from discovery to referral through a channel that didn't exist for them before.
Inbound calls and form fills increased, their service area expanded, and growth became more predictable. As Gateway Exteriors puts it: "Increased profitability for business and more predictable growth with the influx of form fills." For a company built on decades of referrals, that consistency is a meaningful shift.
When asked what he'd tell another business owner who said word of mouth was working fine, Jake Jansen didn't hesitate: "Word of mouth is great, but any business that isn't diversified in its marketing efforts and online presence is limiting its growth potential. Customers are searching online every day, and if you're not visible where they're looking, you're missing opportunities." Coming from a company that built 40-plus years on referrals, that perspective carries real weight. Looking back, Gateway Exteriors believes waiting another year to get started would have cost them roughly 25% of their business — reflecting not just missed leads, but ground competitors gained while they stood still.
In 90 days, Hibu delivered real, measurable marketing results for this exterior home remodeling company:
- 127 Leads
- 592 Website Visits
- 58 Engagements
Hibu is a leading provider of digital marketing solutions to local businesses across the US. With Hibu, your business has a truly integrated marketing program designed to increase your visibility online, drive visitors to your website and generate leads. Visit Hibu.com or call us at 855-409-6569 today to get more from your digital marketing.
