Cresco Group
Cresco Group is a Chattanooga-based marketing and business integration services firm that serves small and mid-size businesses, nonprofits, and government clients via consulting, managed services, equity partnerships, web design, and hosting. It also runs the Growth Clinic and Business Assistance Program community initiatives.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersChattanooga, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cresco Group does
Cresco Group LLC is a privately held, founder-led marketing and business integration services firm headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company targets small and mid-size for-profit, nonprofit, and government organizations, operating across three engagement models: a Consultant framework for organizations with in-house marketing leadership, a Support System retainer model where Cresco functions as a part-time COO and Marketing Director, and a Strategic Partner framework that accepts equity or commission in exchange for comprehensive business and consumer integration ownership. Core service lines include strategy development, customer journey design, web design and development (starting at $850 per site), SEO, PPC, content creation across multiple formats, e-commerce, email marketing, social media, and Business Intelligence/analytics work. The firm also runs two community programs — the Chattanooga Marketing Clinic (launched 2016, transitioned online in 2019 as the Growth Clinic) and the Business Assistance Program (2018), which have collectively supported 100+ local organizations and function as top-of-funnel referral channels.
The business makes money through five documented revenue streams: hourly or project-based consulting (professional services), retainer-based managed marketing execution (managed services), equity/commission partnerships with startups (licensing/royalties), one-time web design projects, and recurring website hosting and support subscriptions starting at $65/month. Bundled marketing services carry up to a 20% discount when combined with website design and maintenance. Go-to-market is sales-led and community-led: the company uses direct outreach, Calendly-scheduled consultations, organic social (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X), the Growth Clinic workshops, and an UpCity featured-partner placement to generate leads. Service delivery is supported by an internal client portal for documents, payments, and website updates.
Underlying technology is conventional rather than proprietary: Cresco relies on Amazon AWS for cloud hosting and standard CMS platforms for client websites, with no disclosed APIs, SDKs, or proprietary platform. Notable commercial outcomes include a Chattanooga-designed product (Yard Buddy Trimmer) that Cresco helped bring to shelf at Walmart, Ace Hardware, and True Value, and a 2021 Expertise "Best Digital Marketing Agency in Chattanooga" award. The firm has 1-10 employees, has operated for 10+ years, and has not raised external funding.
Cresco Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cresco Group
- Legal name
- Cresco Group LLC
- Website
- https://crescogrp.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Cresco Group is a Chattanooga-based marketing and business integration services firm that serves small and mid-size businesses, nonprofits, and government clients via consulting, managed services, equity partnerships, web design, and hosting. It also runs the Growth Clinic and Business Assistance Program community initiatives.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cresco Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marketing & Business Integration Services
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- CRM Strategy & Consulting (BPAFAFAA), CRM Strategy, Implementation & Managed Services (MPAAAIAD)
Keywords
Where Cresco Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chattanooga
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cresco Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Consulting & Strategy Services: On-demand consulting and strategic review sessions for organizations with in-house marketing teams. Revenue is generated through hourly or project-based consulting engagements. Cresco serves as a consulting partner answering strategic questions as they arise.
- Marketing Execution Support: Ongoing marketing planning, execution, web maintenance, social media management, content creation, email marketing, and public relations services. Revenue generated through retainer or ongoing service arrangements for organizations without full in-house marketing capability.
- Strategic Partnership (Equity/Commission): Long-term strategic partnerships with startups and product-based businesses where Cresco Group takes equity or commission arrangements in exchange for comprehensive business integration and marketing ownership. This represents an invested partnership model rather than traditional fee-for-service.
- Web Design & Development: Custom website design and development services sold as one-time projects with a starting price of $850 per website. Includes CMS integration, mobile optimization, and online payment integration. 2-week average turnaround for average complexity projects.
- Website Hosting & Ongoing Support: Monthly website maintenance and support services starting at $65/month, including secure cloud hosting (Amazon AWS), unlimited content updates, web analytics, monthly reporting, on-page SEO, and local SEO. Recurring revenue model with monthly billing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Custom Website Design starting at $850 |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly Hosting & Support starting at $65/month |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bundled Marketing Services (up to 20% off) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
Cresco Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cresco Group provides business and consumer integration and marketing services to small and mid-size businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations. Its core offerings include web design and development (starting at $850 per site), website hosting and ongoing support (starting at $65/month on Amazon AWS), content creation across multiple formats, SEO, social media, email marketing, PPC, campaign management, public relations, customer journey design, business intelligence, and process optimization. Services are delivered through three engagement frameworks — Consultant, Support System, and Strategic Partner (equity/commission) — and are complemented by the Business Assistance Program and Growth Clinic community initiatives.
Product overview
Cresco Group is a Chattanooga, TN-based business and consumer integration and marketing company offering a comprehensive suite of professional services. The portfolio includes core marketing services organized across several categories: (1) Strategic Services encompassing Strategy Development & Support, Customer Journey Design & Optimization (UX/CX), Data & Business Intelligence (BI), and Process Planning & Optimization; (2) Digital Services including Web Design & Development, E-commerce, SEO, Analytics, Website Support, Social Media, and Email Marketing; (3) Creative Services featuring Content Creation across multiple formats (written, graphic design, video, drone, photography, podcasts); (4) Advertising Services including Campaign Management, Pay Per Click (PPC), and PR & Influencer Marketing; and (5) Specialized Programs such as the Business Assistance Program for startups and the Website Audit service. The company also offers three collaboration frameworks (Consultant, Support System, and Strategic Partner) to accommodate different organizational needs. The Chattanooga Marketing Clinic serves as a community initiative providing free marketing resources to local small businesses.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Growth Clinic: An online platform (formerly Chattanooga Marketing Clinic) that provides local small businesses with marketing training and support resources.
- Chattanooga Marketing Clinic
Products and services
- Web Design & Development Custom website design and development services for small and mid-size businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations. Includes CMS integration, mobile optimization, and online payment integration, with a 2-week average turnaround for average complexity projects. Pricing starts at $850 per website with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
- Website Hosting & Ongoing Support Monthly website maintenance and support subscription for clients of Cresco Group's web design service. Includes secure Amazon AWS cloud hosting, unlimited content update requests, web analytics, monthly reporting, on-page SEO, local SEO, and professional support. Pricing starts at $65/month, billed monthly.
- Content Creation Multi-format content creation service for small, medium-size, and large businesses. Includes written content (blogs), graphic design, video production, drone photo and video, photography, and podcasts. Available standalone or bundled with website design and maintenance at up to 20% discount.
- Website Audit Comprehensive website audit service that produces a PDF report with recommendations across SEO, security, HTML structure, mobile optimization, loading speed, and backlinks analysis. Delivered within 1-2 business days. Used both as a standalone engagement and as a free offering to Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce members.
- Business Assistance Program Community support program launched in 2018 providing strategic advice, service credits (Cresco Credits), and full-ride marketing and business integration support to qualifying startups and small businesses in the Greater Chattanooga area. Has supported 100+ organizations since inception.
- Chattanooga Marketing Clinic (Growth Clinic) Community-based marketing workshop and training program launched in October 2016 during Chattanooga Startup Week. Provides free marketing training and resources to local small businesses. Transitioned fully online and was renamed Growth Clinic in 2019, expanding beyond Chattanooga. Functions as both a community service and a top-of-funnel lead generation channel for Cresco Group.
- Business Integration Solutions Comprehensive business integration solutions custom designed for mid-size and small businesses as well as specific industry requirements. Combines consumer integration, customer journey design, growth strategy, web, content, and process optimization into an integrated offering.
- Business Intelligence Solutions Comprehensive business intelligence solutions custom designed to fit the needs of specific industries and business requirements. Includes data analysis, trend identification, and decision-support outputs.
Quantifiable outcome
- Yard Buddy Trimmer, a Chattanooga product marketed by Cresco Group, achieved shelf placement at major national retailers including Walmart, Ace Hardware, and True Value.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Cresco Group
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cresco Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Cresco Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cresco Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Hibu: Large provider of SMB websites, listings, and digital marketing across the US, offering overlapping services as part of a broader productized portfolio.
Direct peers
- Ignite Visibility: Full-service digital marketing agency spanning SEO, paid media, and content, overlapping Cresco's growth-strategy and campaign services.
- WebFX: Full-service digital marketing agency offering web design, SEO, content, and PPC to SMBs, mirroring Cresco's service mix but at far larger national scale.
- SmartSites: Web design and digital marketing firm serving SMBs with sites, SEO, and PPC, closely matching Cresco's productized web-plus-marketing model.
- Blue Corona: SMB-focused digital marketing agency offering websites, SEO, and lead-generation services comparable to Cresco's managed marketing execution.
- Thrive Internet Marketing Agency: Digital marketing agency providing web design, SEO, social, and content marketing for small and mid-size businesses, directly overlapping Cresco's core offering.
Emerging players
- Big Sea: Boutique inbound marketing and web agency serving purpose-driven SMBs and nonprofits, comparable to Cresco's community and nonprofit client focus.
- Disruptive Advertising: Performance marketing agency focused on paid media and conversion optimization for SMBs, overlapping Cresco's campaign and CRO services.
Regional players
- The Johnson Group: Chattanooga-based advertising and branding agency serving similar local and regional clients, competing directly in Cresco's home market.
- Whiteboard: Chattanooga digital agency focused on web design and marketing for businesses and nonprofits, a direct local competitor to Cresco.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cresco Group social profiles
Digital presenceCresco Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cresco Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Cresco Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cresco Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cresco Group
What does Cresco Group do?
Cresco Group provides business and consumer integration and marketing services to small and mid-size businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations. Its core offerings include web design and development (starting at $850 per site), website hosting and ongoing support (starting at $65/month on Amazon AWS), content creation across multiple formats, SEO, social media, email marketing, PPC, campaign management, public relations, customer journey design, business intelligence, and process optimization. Services are delivered through three engagement frameworks — Consultant, Support System, and Strategic Partner (equity/commission) — and are complemented by the Business Assistance Program and Growth Clinic community initiatives.
Is Cresco Group a public or private company?
Cresco Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cresco Group founded?
Cresco Group was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Cresco Group based?
Cresco Group is headquartered in Chattanooga, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cresco Group make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Consulting & Strategy Services are the primary driver. The others are marketing Execution Support, strategic Partnership (Equity/Commission), web Design & Development and website Hosting & Ongoing Support.
Who are Cresco Group's main competitors?
Hibu is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Ignite Visibility, WebFX, SmartSites, Blue Corona and Thrive Internet Marketing Agency. Emerging players are Big Sea and Disruptive Advertising. Regional players are The Johnson Group and Whiteboard.
Does Cresco Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cresco Group.
What industry is Cresco Group in?
Cresco Group's product category is Marketing & Business Integration Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHACAG, Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAFAFAA, CRM Strategy & Consulting. Its NAICS code is 541810 and its SIC code is 7311.