WebsiteClosers® presents a 44-year-old Digital Marketing Agency that has become a Full-Service provider to the lucrative and evergreen Jewelry Industry. The agency began taking on jewelry clients in 1994 and was so successful in that industry that they shifted their entire business model to focus solely on the Jewelry segment.
The agency now works with a diverse client base that includes jewelry retailers, designers, and importers, many of them bringing in $2.5 million to $3 million in annual sales. The agency also works with some top-flight larger clients who bring in $10 million or more each year.
The most exciting thing about this agency is the fact that it maintains an 85% client retention rate, and the average contract runs for 7 years or longer. The agency has strong recurring revenues from its multiple long-term contracts, and the business isn’t reliant on a handful of clients for its sales. The business also generates revenue from retainer fees, commissions on paid media, and fees from long-term projects such as consulting and website development.
These clients sign on for marketing services that include paid media, SEO, social media marketing, video content, and website development. The agency has also become vital to their clients’ long-term success by providing extended business consulting services and strategy sessions. The agency now has a long-standing history within the jewelry industry and a solid reputation for converting leads. Clients are responding positively to their work by providing the agency with highly enthusiastic testimonials, and word-of-mouth referrals have traditionally been this company’s strongest marketing tool.
This is the ideal business for an investor who already runs a digital marketing agency and is looking to expand into a particular industry, or someone eager to get into digital marketing via a platform business that can be scaled into additional industries in time. The global Jewelry Industry is valued at $353 billion and is projected to grow by 4.7% through 2030, with innovative jewelry designs expected to drive high demand in the coming years, along with the increased popularity of jewelry items among men. Because of the high profits this industry enjoys, it remains highly competitive, which is why jewelry retailers need to find ways to stay ahead of rival businesses. As this agency has demonstrated, the right smart digital marketing campaign can provide jewelry retailers with a significant advantage.
Because of the large client base they now maintain, the company has not been able to take on some brick-and-mortar clients or online jewelers in other countries, which is a major scale opportunity for a new owner. Because this agency has connections and personal relationships with some of the largest players in the industry, the right buyer could easily double sales in a short amount of time if only by just expanding internationally.
This is a great opportunity for a strategic buyer to acquire this business and scale it rapidly. Hiring additional account managers and skilled digital marketing experts would enable the business to take on more clients, and the company is now focusing on attracting larger clients who can hire them for a wider array of digital services and consultations. The company that does social media marketing for its clients could also launch its own social media campaign, including video marketing on TikTok and YouTube to boost sales further.
Business Broker Takeaway
We are excited about this business for 3 important reasons:
1. Large Team in Place. The company has been fortunate to attract some high-skilled employees who manage their clients’ accounts. That includes an executive vice president who oversees Human Resources and new business development, and a Chief Marketing Officer who manages all digital work done by the agency, and handles client SEO and a significant amount of the website work. This employee has also written industry articles for the jewelry trades. The company also employs account coordinators, graphic designers, a social media marketing manager, and contract workers in charge of media buying and website programming. The current owner is also available to provide consultation to the new owner during the transition to ensure the business remains profitable.
2. Low Marketing Budget. While the company does utilize some paid searches, they generate a lot of new sales – at least one new inquiry per week, sometimes more – through organic means. That includes word-of-mouth referrals from longtime customers, an email newsletter that goes out to 12,000+ email subscribers, and a constant presence at the best jewelry industry trade shows, including the largest one in the world, the JCK Jewelry Show in Las Vegas. The company has speakers available at these trade shows and has developed an impressive industry reputation by writing articles that are published in prominent jewelry publications.
3. Multiple Services. The company has a well-earned reputation for delivering results, which is why so many clients stay with them for years. This is a digital marketing agency that knows the jewelry industry inside and out, and as strategic digital marketing experts, the company knows how to steer their clients’ digital and social marketing toward the most effective strategies, ones that convert leads into sales. The company’s ability to deploy strategic objectives that help clients attract their customer demographic and build brand recognition has been a key to their long-term success and durability.
Conclusion
Today, nearly 90% of the company’s clients are on retainers, having signed an agreement for an automatic month-to-month renewal of their contract. With minimal competition from other digital agencies since so few specialize in the jewelry industry and lots of personal contacts and close relationships with industry leaders, this agency is a well-oiled machine that offers an investor the ideal platform for future growth.
An investor running an agency with its own staff could help this business take on more clients and send sales skyrocketing. Both digital marketing and jewelry are highly profitable and high-demand verticals, and this agency has very successfully merged both into a very profitable operation.
