The uncertainty and lockdowns during COVID-19 sent scores of people looking for more ways to get outside, and that provided a huge sales boost for St. Paul-based Vistabule, which designs and manufactures custom-built teardrop trailers. But just a few years later, sales seemed headed for a cliff.
“We were seeing a significant decline, and we weren’t sure what to do,” says Lily Taylor, Vistabule’s chief administrative officer. “The basic stuff like social media and attending RV trade shows wasn’t working, and we thought we might have to close our doors. Instead, we reached out to Amy Hubler at Enterprise Minnesota, and that truly made all the difference.”
Getting traction
As a business growth consultant, Hubler offers a fractional marketing service, where a portion of her time is given to work in a marketing role at a strategic level for an individual company. Unlike an agency that might focus on specific campaign tools such as email blasts or ad copy, the fractional marketing from Enterprise Minnesota takes a higher-level perspective, similar to what an in-house chief marketing officer would provide. That’s a considerable advantage for smaller companies like Vistabule, which often can’t afford a C-level hire and also struggle with seeing and executing marketing efforts in a big-picture way.
“We help ensure that the marketing strategy gets developed, but also that it’s implemented properly and consistently,” says Hubler. “That involves putting an action plan in place, coming back to follow through, and making sure that the strategy we all came up with together is working.”
At Vistabule, that included understanding the scope of marketing and how it could drive sales. The company’s team met with Hubler to create a strategic marketing and communications plan, including a new website design, analytic tools, targeted ad placement, more strategic selection of trade shows, and a newsletter designed for maximum customer acquisition.
“It was great to have someone from outside the company come in and say: ‘This is what would help you. This is what you need to do,’” says Taylor. “We needed that to get us into gear and to keep us accountable.”
Meeting regularly and having an action plan made an enormous difference, she says. Website visits jumped, and sales became consistent — easing out of the nosedive that had been happening for too long. Having the fractional marketing service also helped morale, because the team was excited to work on the new projects and to see that they were getting traction.
“I really believe that if we didn’t call Amy, we’d be out of business,” says Taylor. “We went through a scary time, and now everyone is enthusiastic about what’s going on. It was quite a turnaround.”
Fractions that add up
One of the main reasons Hubler and Enterprise Minnesota decided to start offering fractional marketing is because they saw many stories like Vistabule, says Hubler. Companies that had a certain level of customer engagement seemed to be hitting dead ends in terms of growth. Or worse, they were losing customers because marketing was an afterthought or poorly implemented, often due to lack of time or expertise.
“We were trying to learn through marketing podcasts or YouTube videos, and that doesn’t create a cohesive vision,” says Taylor.
Another important component is the built-in follow-up and accountability after a strategic marketing plan and resources are in place.
“What we’ve seen happen over and over is that there’s an agreed-upon plan, but then strategies don’t get executed,” Hubler says. “This service provides that missing link.”
The fractional marketing service can also help address specific marketing challenges, says Hubler. For example, a manufacturing company may understand that its customer base is home contractors — but they may not know how to reach them or what to say when they do connect. A larger marketing strategy can include those components in a way that’s targeted rather than scattershot, she adds. That’s similar to Vistabule making better choices about which trade shows to attend based on data about attendees, rather than trying to go to as many shows as possible.
Another advantage of the Enterprise Minnesota fractional marketing service is connection to ample resources. Hubler can tap into resources, from writing ad copy to implementing market research, through agencies that have done effective work for her clients in the past. Her role is to present the options and then oversee the work to make sure it’s getting done in a way that aligns with the strategic marketing plan.
“Many of our clients don’t need a full-time or even part-time marketing leader in-house,” says Hubler. “But they do need guidance in terms of a comprehensive, sales-driven marketing plan that will steer their work and check in to make sure nothing is drifting or getting missed.”
Return to the Summer 2026 issue of Enterprise Minnesota® magazine.
