A leading digital marketing agency has set out plans to create new jobs and expand its national and international presence after enlisting the help of a business growth specialist.

North East agency Silverbean, who are one of the region’s largest digital marketing agencies, has drawn up significant expansion plans with the help of Gateshead-based Sphera Consulting which will see it create around 10 new jobs and add £1.2m to its annual turnover over the next 18 months.

Silverbean, which offers a range of services, including search engine optimisation, social media marketing and conversion rate optimisation, called in Sphera 12 months ago to develop an aggressive plan for growth.

In the first year of the partnership between the two North East firms, Silverbean enjoyed exponential growth, increasing sales by 74% and adding 8 additional staff to its workforce. 

Within the next 18 months, the company expects its annual turnover to rise by £1.2m to £2.5m as its workforce grows from 16 to beyond the 25 mark. The company has also just moved to larger premises to provide space for up to 30 people in order to facilitate its ongoing growth.

Sphera conducted a full strategic review of all the areas of Silverbean’s business – including its key revenue streams, markets, service portfolio, client base and business structure to understand the building blocks required to grow the company.

As a result of Sphera’s findings, the company streamlined its services, re-focussed its sales efforts and worked with the consultancy to develop a three year growth strategy that will take the company into international markets.

Neil Robbins, managing director of Silverbean, said: “I have been delighted with our revenue and profit levels and we expect the next two years to bring similar results thanks, very much so, to the excellent support of Sphera. We’ve seen a real surge in demand from current and new clients that are keen to dramatically improve their online performance in order to grow their businesses.”

Sphera Consulting’s managing director Ross Golightly, said:

“Silverbean is a seriously ambitious company and we are delighted to have helped the firm develop a strategy that is now delivering exponential growth. I have no doubt that the company is well-equipped to maintain that level of success as it continues to grow, both within the region and on a national and international level.”

Sphera Consulting specialises in strategy, investor-readiness, commercialisation and business growth and works with growth-led businesses from its headquarters at the Gateshead International Business Centre.

As well as a number of high-growth SMEs and start-ups, the company lists major organisations such as Zytronic PLC, DigitalCity Business and Newcastle Science City mong its fast-growing portfolio of clients.