Rick Rea

What Rick Rea does

Rick Rea is a Fargo, North Dakota-based advertising and marketing consulting practice operated as a sole proprietorship by the individual consultant Rick Rea, who has been active in the industry for approximately 30 years (since ~1989). The firm delivers professional services spanning advertising consulting, SEO, social selling, business and personal branding, employee advocacy, public speaking, and sales training, primarily to businesses with 30 or more customer-facing employees, international franchise companies, and well-known national brands. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct: bookings are taken via letsmeet.io (three tiers: 30-minute phone call, 30-minute consultation, 60-minute appointment), supplemented by LinkedIn outreach leveraging Top 1% Endorsed status and Sales Advisory Board membership, plus inbound from a content marketing blog spanning social media, SEO, digital trends, photography, mobile marketing, business, gadgets, and printing topics. Pricing is not publicly disclosed.\n\nThe underlying technology consists of three proprietary assets: (1) a copyrighted Return On Invest (ROI) calculator used for client-focused needs assessments, (2) a demographic matrix market research analysis for studying product/service price points and target audiences, and (3) the Social Share HQ Pro (SSHQpro) employee advocacy software app, developed and commercialized through the jointly-controlled subsidiary Social Selling HQ (co-founded with Social Sales Experts in 2019, also Fargo-based). Marketing channels include Mailchimp for email newsletters, active organic social across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and an Ambassador relationship with PGX for professional networking.\n\nThe revenue model is professional-services consulting, with an adjacent SaaS component via SSHQpro. No revenue figures are disclosed, no external funding has been raised, and there is no institutional cap table. Select named customers include CanadaDrugs.com Group of Companies (pharmaceutical/healthcare), International Franchise Companies (national campaigns), and Dealer News Magazine's Top Powersports Dealers (marketing and merchandising recognition). The business operates globally in terms of client geography (North American base with international franchise engagements) but is staffed at a small scale consistent with a solo consultancy plus a small team via Social Selling HQ.

Name

Rick Rea

Legal name

Rick Rea

Website

https://rickrea.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rick Rea is a Fargo, North Dakota-based sole-proprietor advertising and marketing consultancy offering SEO, social selling, branding, and employee advocacy services, primarily to businesses with 30+ customer-facing employees and international franchise companies, supported by proprietary ROI and demographic matrix tools and the SSHQpro SaaS app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising and Marketing Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Direct Marketing, CRM & Lifecycle (Email, SMS, Loyalty) (BPAFAAAJ), Marketing Technology, AdTech & MarTech Services (BPAFAAAN), Rebrand & Brand Refresh Programs (MPAAAEAJ), CRM Strategy, Implementation & Managed Services (MPAAAIAD)

Keywords

• Advertising consulting
• Marketing consulting
• SEO services
• Social media marketing
• Employee advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Fargo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Advertising & Marketing Consulting Services: Consulting and advisory services for businesses seeking to grow their traffic, increase sales, and implement national advertising and marketing campaigns. Services include business development, sales training, market research, web & SEO development, B2C & B2B marketing, public speaking, and employee advocacy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Rick Rea delivers one-on-one advertising, marketing, SEO, social selling, business and personal branding, and employee advocacy consulting engagements for businesses with 30+ customer-facing employees and international franchise companies. Engagements are supported by proprietary tools including a copyrighted ROI calculator and demographic matrix market research analysis, with national advertising and marketing campaign implementation for franchise clients.

Product overview

Rick Rea is an advertising and marketing consulting practice based in Fargo, ND, operated by individual consultant Rick Rea. The business offers professional services including advertising consulting, SEO marketing, social selling, business and personal branding coaching, and employee advocacy programs. Services are provided through one-on-one consulting, coaching sessions, and consulting engagements for businesses with 30 or more customer-facing employees. No packaged software products, modules, or platforms are sold by the practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advertising and Marketing Consulting One-on-one advertising and marketing consulting for businesses with 30+ customer-facing employees and international franchise companies seeking to dramatically grow their traffic and increase sales; covers business development, customized advertising plans, and national campaign implementation.
• Social Selling and Social Media Consulting Social selling coaching and social media marketing consulting for businesses, leveraging Rick Rea's status as a recognized social media influencer active on social media since March 2009 and a LinkedIn Sales Advisory Board member.
• SEO Consulting Services Search engine optimization consulting and web development aimed at growing organic traffic and online presence for client businesses.
• Business and Personal Branding Coaching Coaching engagements focused on building business and personal brands, including branding strategy and public speaking support for executives and companies.
• Employee Advocacy Programs Employee advocacy programs that use the Social Share HQ Pro (SSHQpro) social sharing software app developed at Social Selling HQ to exponentially increase sales through employee-driven social sharing.
• Sales Training and Market Research Sales training and market research services using a copyrighted proprietary Return On Invest (ROI) calculator and demographic matrix market research analysis to identify target audiences, study price points, and maximize margins.

Quantifiable outcome

• International franchise companies and well-known businesses implement national advertising and marketing campaigns
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• PGXminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRick Rea serves as an Ambassador at PGX, joining conversations with top business people in the industry. PGX is a platform for professional networking and business conversations.
• Social Selling HQ / Social Sales ExpertscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRick Rea is co-founder and co-owner of Social Selling HQ and Social Sales Experts, companies based in Fargo North Dakota specializing in branding, advertising, marketing, social media, sales training, and employee advocacy. They developed the Social Share HQ Pro (SSHQpro) software app.

Scale indicators5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hootsuite: Hootsuite is an established social media management platform offering publishing, analytics, and employee advocacy tools. It directly overlaps with Rick Rea's social media marketing, employee advocacy, and social selling offerings, but delivers them as SaaS rather than consulting.
• Dentsu: Dentsu is a global advertising and marketing services network offering creative, media, SEO, social, and consulting services to enterprise and franchise clients. It represents the scaled full-service agency tier that Rick Rea's practice would compete against for national franchise advertising mandates.
• Mailchimp: Mailchimp is an established email marketing and marketing automation platform used by Rick Rea himself as his subscriber platform. It is broadly comparable because it enables the same email, direct mail-adjacent, and customized online advertising use cases Rick targets, but at self-serve scale.
• Sprout Social: Sprout Social provides social media management, analytics, and employee advocacy software to mid-market and enterprise clients. It overlaps with Rick Rea's social media marketing and employee advocacy services, delivering capabilities as a platform product rather than bespoke consulting.
• HubSpot: HubSpot provides a full marketing, sales, and CRM platform with a large partner agency ecosystem delivering SEO, social media, content marketing, and employee advocacy services. It is a scaled incumbent that overlaps with virtually all of Rick Rea's service lines but operates through software plus partner agencies rather than solo consulting.
• Ogilvy: Ogilvy is a global advertising agency network delivering branding, digital, social, SEO, and direct marketing services. It is a comparable scaled incumbent competing for the same national advertising and marketing campaign budgets Rick Rea targets through his franchise company engagements.
• Constant Contact: Constant Contact is an established email marketing and digital marketing platform serving small and mid-sized businesses with tools for email campaigns, social media, and lead generation. It competes with Rick Rea's email marketing, direct mail, and digital marketing consulting offerings at a SaaS price point.

Direct peers

• WebFX: WebFX is a mid-sized digital marketing agency offering SEO, social media advertising, content marketing, and web development services to mid-market clients. It is a more direct operational comparable to Rick Rea's practice in terms of service mix, customer segment focus, and full-funnel digital marketing delivery model.
• Gainer International (or comparable mid-market marketing consultancy): Gainer International is an independent marketing and sales consultancy focused on mid-market and enterprise clients seeking market research, segmentation, and go-to-market strategy work. It is a comparable solo/small-firm consulting model delivering marketing advisory services similar to Rick Rea's demographic matrix and ROI-driven methodology.
• Social Selling HQ: Co-founded by Rick Rea, Social Selling HQ operates out of Fargo, ND and offers closely adjacent services in branding, advertising, marketing, social media, sales training and employee advocacy, including the SSHQpro software app. It is essentially the productized sister entity of Rick Rea's consulting practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/rickyrea
• Facebookfacebook.com/rickreaconsulting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rick-rea
• Instagraminstagram.com/rickrea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rick Rea