Simplicity. These days, less is more. And that’s certainly true for business owners.
If you’re trying to please many clients with a variety of content marketing services, then you may stray from the stuff you do best and enjoy most. Or, worse, you may risk burning out from overworking.
That doesn’t mean you can’t offer a full portfolio of complementary marketing services. It does mean outsourcing some of the work under your brand could alleviate the overwhelm.
While it’s true that your goal isn’t to be everything to everyone, it’s common for your current clients to want your help with more services.
After all, you’ve built a relationship and a reputation with your clients, so they trust you. It’s not unusual for them to look to you for more guidance and additional services.
Now’s your opportunity to capitalize on existing relationships. In fact, you can grow your revenue without taking on more employees and extra work. The best and most fulfilling part is that you’ll help your clients even more, making them happier and more satisfied in the process.
Welcome to white label marketing services. You can offer more with less!
What is a “white-label” service?
White labeling refers to the practice of removing the brand from a product or service to allow the purchaser to use their brand for the service. The purchaser then presents the service to their client/customer as their own.
For instance, if you run a marketing agency or consulting business, you could supplement your current offers by selling my services as your own. I perform the work for you under your brand so that you maintain the relationship with your client.
If you’re not familiar with white labeling and how it fits into your business model, this article is a good place to start. Let’s talk about the different ways white labeling and outsourcing improves your business.
6 Reasons to Use White Labeled Marketing Services in Your Consulting or Agency Business
If you’re not used to working with outside partners to fulfill your clients’ needs, then incorporating white labeled marketing services into your business is perhaps a bit scary.
However, you don’t need to fear the unknown in this instance. Outsourcing is a terrific way to scale your business so that you can help more people. Plus, you take on the extra workload without having to perform the work.
Once you have a trusted provider (a “service partner”) to whom you can outsource, then it’s a matter of adding their services into your sales and proposal process. It’s not too much trouble, and, if it makes sense, then there are plenty of ways white labeling improves your business.
1) Increase Your Income Opportunity
One of the most compelling reasons to incorporate white labeled services into your company is improving your bottom line. Who doesn’t appreciate that?
When you work with a business who serves your clients under your brand, you offer those services at a higher fee. It’s a little like reselling, and most of that extra “administrative” fee is profit for you.
I say ‘most’ of that fee is profit since there is always a cost of doing business.
For instance, there’s time invested when working with a service partner. And, don’t forget other fees too, like billing and credit card processing. You still own the client relationship, so you’re still billing them. The service partner bills you.
Find a service partner that gives you special, discounted pricing so that the service is still affordable and attractive to your clients and profitable for your business.
Note: As a service partner, I may reduce my fees for agencies and consultants because they’re doing the front end work with the client, which decreases some of my costs.
Remember, the service partner is working under your brand just like a team member. So, the extra cost you add is transparent to your client.
For example, you may bill your client for blogging services at $1,000 a month but your service partner charges you $700. That’s $300 you earn each month on services that you don’t have to do.
2) Improve Your Offer
People expect and often prefer one-stop shopping. Finding and managing multiple service providers takes more time and more work! Your clients are searching for easier solutions.
Offering a well-rounded, sensible mix of marketing services increases your appeal. Like most of us, your client appreciates more benefits with less hassle.
You can even present the white labeled services as optional add-ons during the sales and proposal process. Your client is already investing in your core offer. Thus, it makes spending that extra money easier when it comes to services they’ve been considering or desiring.
For instance, let’s say that your client hired you to build them a beautiful new website, which they’re excited about. But then your client realizes that someone needs to write the copy for their site! Or, they get concerned about keeping their site fresh with search engine friendly blog content.
You’ve got them covered! And you’re likely to beat out the web designer who doesn’t offer the extras since you’ve made doing business easier, faster, and less painful.
Adding a few options to your offer makes you the more compelling, sensible choice. You’re adding value, which makes your offer stand out.
3) Reduce Your Risk
Hiring an employee to support your workload is a risky proposition. Your workload may ebb and flow. Or, you may already have an abundance of steady work and anticipate more work coming your way. In either scenario, hiring an employee is an expense.
Certainly, there are times when the best choice is to hire a full-time employee.
But, when it’s not the right moment to make that commitment, you can add to your income rather than your expenses with white labeled marketing services. You don’t have to hire anyone to take on more client work.
With an existing agency agreement in place, you present extra services to your leads and clients when you want, at the price you want. That’s a much lower risk than hiring an employee when the work may or may not be there.
Figuring out if a service fits in your portfolio is another potential risk you avoid with white labeled services. You don’t have to worry about the “proof of concept” or investing time and money in market testing.
You’re able to add white labeled services as you choose, without financial or time-to-market risk.
4) Take Advantage of Experts
It doesn’t make sense for you to take on services in-house that aren’t your area of competency and preference. Your clients may desperately need complementary services to what you offer, but that doesn’t mean you’re the one to meet the need!
For example, these services complement web design/development, branding, and marketing consulting businesses but may not be where these businesses have the expertise, experience, or a desire to serve:
- copywriting
- blogging
- social media strategy
- blog strategy
- social media management
- content marketing
- search engine optimization
When you use white labeled marketing services, your client benefits from the skills of experts, which makes you look awesome. The perception of your value and worth increases in your clients’ eyes—and you don’t even have to work more hours to achieve this!
As Forbes points out, “prepackaged solutions provide an opportunity to trust the experts in the specific space you are focused on, and avoid making the same mistakes that others have made before you.”
There’s no reason not to outsource to an expert who has the experience to get results for your clients. This reduces the stress on you while making your clients happy. In the process, your brand gets a boost as does your bottom line.
5) Serve More Clients or Serve Existing Clients Better
According to Guidant Financial, in 2021, 20% of small businesses are running things solo—only the business owner, no employees. 44% have 2-5 employees.
Your dream of helping more people and reaching your goals will only happen if you grow and scale your business. However, you can only take on so much work before you’re going to need to build a bigger team.
White labeled marketing services fill in the gaps until you are ready to hire more employees. Using a service partner to scale your business means you can increase your client list—either by adding additional services or by outsourcing some of your existing services.
In reality, though, your existing client is your most valuable asset. It’s easier and less expensive to sell to someone who has already purchased from you. They trust you and value what you do.
It is six to seven times more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to retain an existing one.Click To TweetIn fact, according to Business2Community.com, it is six to seven times more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to retain an existing one! And, the probability of selling to an existing customer is up to 14 times higher than the probability of selling to a new customer. WOW!
Why not take advantage of this relationship? Serve your current clients in a bigger capacity by offering add-on white labeled services that improve their results without burdening your business. (Note: this is only a good idea if they had a positive experience the first time!)
Don’t forget, white labeling means your brand is protected and you still own the client relationship.
6) Enjoy Greater Success Without Doing All of the Service Work Yourself
How does decreasing your workload but increasing your revenue opportunities sound?
Perhaps you already offer some of the services that you are considering outsourcing. What are you waiting for? The need for these services has already been proven in your own business by your own clients.
It’s time to delegate to others!
When you hand over the low-hanging fruit to an expert, you give yourself more time to work on other things in your business (or in your personal life!).
What about if you’re tired of doing certain content marketing tasks for your clients? It happens! But, instead of abandoning clients, consider outsourcing. You keep your clients satisfied, keep revenue coming in, and grow your business both in service and income potential.
Your job as a business owner isn’t to perform all of the duties.
In the beginning days of starting up, you may have to hunker down and do everything. Yet, if you want to scale your business and increase your bottom line, you must move out of the weeds and spend more time as the captain of the ship.
White labeled marketing services give you this opportunity.
Before You Jump Into White Labeled Marketing Services
Outsourcing isn’t for everybody. Some personalities demand too much control to ever feel comfortable with trusting others to get the job done.
I’ve been burned by outsourcing in the past, so I get it! I don’t recommend partnering up to offer someone else’s services unless you respect and trust the other person(s). After all, this is your brand and name at stake. Take this step seriously.
Even if you do trust the other person, you always need to have legal agreements in place to protect each party involved. That’s just good business practice!
Realize, too, that it isn’t only about finding a good, reliable company to outsource to. You’ve got to analyze whether it makes sense financially and accept that it takes some patience to iron out your process and get into a groove with your new service partner.
However, once the details are worked out, the process gets smoother over time.
How do I know? Because I’m experienced in white labeling from both perspectives—as the agency and as the principal. When it works out, it’s a beautiful business model that benefits many people, especially the end user, your clients!
UPDATE: When we offered content and social media marketing in the past, we partnered with agencies and consultants. However, as of 2021, I’ve modified my services significantly. That said, I still offer my content services as a partner on occasion. If you’re interested in hiring me as a service partner, please contact me via the form on this website.
UPDATED AUGUST 28, 2021 | PUBLISHED MAY 9, 2018