White Label Digital Marketing: Labeling the Pros and Cons

Have you given a thought to white labeling any of your expert services to other third

party agencies?

Just to clear the smoke for any of you who are unsure of the concept: essentially, the

company that is white labeling their services/products creates the product or

handles the service and sells it to a third party company to brand and sell as their

own. It’s like building a car and selling it to another company to brand and label it as

they please and sell it themselves. The name comes from creating a product with no

branding, sticking an empty ‘label’ on it, and delivering it to another company to fill

in whatever they want on it.

So why would any company want to let another competing company sell something

that they could have originally sold themselves, under their own branding?

One of the primary reasons is this: not everyone who is good at creating a

revolutionary or exclusive product or service is good at selling and marketing it. Take

something like mobile application development, for example. There may be a guy

who can make some unbelievably fluid and useful apps, but he may not have the

abilities or the network to sell it. Finding someone who can create a product and

market it is rare at best. Branding takes money, time and dedication to develop.

Established marketing companies or agencies are already in possession of a brand

with an active following which you need to compete and eventually convert.

White labeling also exposes your product to a number of brands, which are (likely)

larger than you would have been able to reach out to on your own. These brands

have a relationship with regular clients that passes on to you; it cannot be

emphasized enough that things like trust take time to develop, time which these

agencies have already invested. It’s important to pick an agency that’s active on

social media marketing and has an effective local online marketing campaign.

So where’s the catch? Picture this: you’ve developed a flawless product. The only

people who love it more than the company you’re white labeling to be the final

recipients. You’re financially compensated, handsomely. Then, you remember: on

the outside, this work is not yours and nobody can know that it is. Without even a

hint of your name or an autograph to signify your handiwork, the only follow up

options you have are from building a good relationship with whoever you’re white

labeling your services/products to.

Then there’s the issue of creating competition for yourself; if you’re white labeling

on the side for some quick cash and you’re trying to build your own brand,

congratulations! By doing this, you’ve effectively started to compete with yourself.

So, do the pros of doing this ‘ghost service’ outweigh the cons? It largely depends on

your long-term plan for the company. At the end of the day, the reason companies

digital marketing white label their services is because the cost of developing a

powerful brand, market presence, and consumer following involves a large

investment. In the long term, the amount of revenue sacrificed as a result of white

labeling may exceed the cost of building a brand for yourself.

The more irreplaceable your service or product is, the more sense it makes to white

label it. If someone can replace you, then nothing is stopping the companies

purchasing your service or product from doing it, and then you’re back to square

one. In the end, the effectiveness of white labeling can be profound, but it depends

on the long-term goals of you and your company.