If you’re thinking about engaging the services of an eCommerce agency, you might be wondering how exactly to choose the right one and what to look for. In this helpful guide, we’ll run through everything you need to know about how to choose an eCommerce agency for your needs.
What is an eCommerce Agency and What Do They Do?
Businesses looking to sell products or services online but do not have the internal expertise to set up, run or maintain an online store, will benefit immensely from engaging in the services of an eCommerce agency.
eCommerce agencies are specialists in online business and electronic commerce (i.e., eCommerce) activities. From helping businesses establish an online presence to optimizing their online stores, the right eCommerce agency will work as your partner in ensuring the commercial success of your company.
What do they do?
Every eCommerce agency is different and the specific tasks carried out day to day will depend a lot on the specifics of your contract or agreement. Some of the many things an agency may do include:
- Online website development and design
- Online store set up and maintenanceOptimizing the user experience
- Digital marketing services
- Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
- Online inventory management and fulfillment
- Analytics and reporting
- Customer support and CRM integration
- Mobile customization and optimization
- Ongoing support, repairs, and security maintenance
How to Choose an eCommerce Agency
There are many eCommerce agencies available in the market. The right agency for your business will depend on a number of different factors, but without a guide it can be overwhelming trying to work out who’s the right agency and what to look for.
By following these helpful steps, however, you can best narrow down the different options and find the agency that suits your needs best.
1. Understand Your Business Needs
Every business, especially every eCommerce business, is different. Starting your search by understanding your business’s needs is the essential first step for success.
Define your goals and objectives
Spend some time defining the goals you are looking to achieve with your eCommerce business. The more specific you can make your objectives, the better prepared you’ll be.
Identify your target audience
Knowing your target audience is not just an essential step for setting up your eCommerce store or platform, it’s also important for finding the right eCommerce agency. Some agencies may specialize in working for not-for-profit organizations. Others may work exclusively with fast moving consumer goods.
Determine your budget
Knowing your budget up front will save a lot of time, effort and energy on your part and on the part of any agency you choose to engage. There can be a wide range agency packages available depending on what exactly it is you’re after, so having the right understanding of your budget will best prepare you for evaluating what sort of packages you can consider.
2. Research Potential Agencies
Look for agencies with relevant experience
As mentioned, there are a ton of eCommerce agencies. Many of them claim to be specialists across a wide range of specializations, such as Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimization or website development. That’s why looking for agencies with relevant experience is important: You need to make sure they are actually specialists in the area you need. Be wary of agencies that claim to be experts in everything and anything.
Take the team here at SmartMail. We’ve made email marketing our sole focus, and because of it we live and breathe it. That’s why we’re confident that we truly are the best in email marketing.
Read online reviews and client testimonials
Once you’ve identified the agencies offering the specialized services that you need, make sure to check the social proof behind each offering. Reading online reviews and past client testimonials can give you a more accurate look into what sort of service and what quality service the agency provides.
Evaluate their portfolio and case studies
In addition to testimonials and reviews, an agency’s portfolio and past case studies can give you a good idea as to what sort of work they do.
The SmartMail team has showcased some of our best work on our very own Case Study webpage here. Potential clients in the apparel or clothing industry may be interested in our Choxi case study, for example. Whereas companies involved in fast-moving goods, such as pet accessories, may be more interested in our past work for Natural Farm.
Consider their pricing and service offerings
Once you have found the agency that specializes in the type of work you’re after for your eCommerce platform, it’s time to consider their specific service offerings, packages, and of course, pricing.
This is where your designed budget from Step 1 will be invaluable. Knowing what you can and can’t afford will help you evaluate different service offerings and find the right agency with the right offering for you.
3. Ask the Right Questions
At this point, it’s important you engage actively with any potential eCommerce agency you’re considering. You want to make sure that the way they work will be complementary with your team and your needs.
Ask about their team and expertise
You can start off by asking them about their own team and their style of working. If they seem to be a team that values the same sort of principles as your team, you’ll be more confident in a future partnership.
Inquire about their project management process
Every agency works differently, and there’s no necessarily better or worse way to manage eCommerce projects. But you need an agency that works in the right way for you and your workflow.
Ask about their communication and reporting
Communication is the key to success with an eCommerce agency. Ask specific questions about how your chosen agency communicates and how they provide reports for their results and work.
Clarify their approach to testing and optimization
Optimization is important for even the best and most experienced of agencies. It’s completely acceptable to ask an agency under consideration how they’ll conduct ongoing testing and optimization of your eCommerce platform to ensure a maximized return on investment.
4. Consider the Agency's Culture and Values
Don’t discount the intangible factor that goes into any successful business partnership. For the right fit with the right eCommerce agency, it’s important that you’re both on the same page beyond just offering, price, and services.
Consider the following aspects of the agency in question:
- What are the agency’s values?
- What’s their culture like?
- How much collaboration do they provide?
- Are they transparent in their work and abilities?
- How do they approach customer/client service?
- What sort of support systems do they provide?
5. Review the Contract and Agreement
Once you’ve chosen the eCommerce agency for you, you’ll have a chance to review the contract and determine the terms and conditions of the agreement. This is your opportunity to discuss the timeline of the work and set the milestones along the way. Setting this out clearly will ensure everyone is on the same page regarding the scope of work and the deliverables that are expected.
Importantly, the contract will also outline the payment terms and feeds.
Need eCommerce email marketing assistance? Choose SmartMail!
From clear, transparent communications to extensive project experience helping eCommerce businesses blast off with their online sales success, SmartMail is the expert agency in all things email marketing.
We know what our area of expertise is and we home in on it with all of our years of experience and knowledge. If you’re after the right agency for email marketing for your eCommerce business, make sure to contact us today for a free email audit to get your project kick-started with no obligation and no cost to you!
