If you’re looking to work with an eCommerce agency for the first time, or switching from your current agency, you might be wondering how to choose the right one.

Here, we share information about what an eCommerce agency is, how to identify a good agency, and tips for choosing the best fit for your business.

What is an eCommerce agency?

An eCommerce agency helps online businesses to promote their products and services. There’s a wide range of marketing services that an eCommerce agency might offer, and they can specialise in different areas. Specialisms may include email marketing, SEO, strategy, and content.

An eCommerce agency will work with you to understand and achieve your business goals. They will create a plan and confirm this with you to ensure that it aligns with what you’re looking for. 

What makes a good eCommerce agency?

The right eCommerce agency will depend on what you’re hoping to achieve. They will have the knowledge and experience in place to help you meet your goals while providing great value for money. This doesn’t necessarily mean they will be cheap, but that the money you spend results in the outcomes you’ve agreed on.

Great communication is another factor to consider. You need to have confidence that you’ll be kept informed about progress, data, and updates. This could be anything from weekly check-ins to a monthly report. You should gain an understanding of who your point of contact would be and how easily they can be contacted.

When choosing an eCommerce agency, it can be useful to find out how much experience they have working with clients in your industry. This is especially true if your industry is unusual or niche, as prior understanding of the sector can help an agency to hit the ground running.

It can be sensible to discuss eCommerce agency options with your wider marketing team, should you have one. They might highlight areas that you hadn’t thought of which could help with your final decision.

Benefits of working with an eCommerce agency

There are numerous benefits to be gained from working with an eCommerce agency.

Achieve quick results

eCommerce agencies are typically ready to start work with new clients immediately. This means that you’ll see quick results as they set their plans into action. They’ll also provide useful data and insights to show you what has been achieved.

Access to marketing expertise

An eCommerce agency team will consist of specialists and experts across various areas of marketing. You’ll have access to this expertise which will help you to achieve your business goals.

Work to your budget

Hiring permanent employees can be costly, especially when bringing marketing experts on board. By working with an eCommerce agency, you can ensure that you have the right resources and knowledge available when needed, which you can adapt to fit your budget.

Tips for choosing an eCommerce agency

Choosing an eCommerce agency can be daunting if you haven’t worked with one before. Here are some tips to help with your decision:

1. Research lots of options and pay attention to reviews, feedback and case studies. Seeing previous work will help you visualise how your own goals could be met. If this information isn’t readily available, ask the agency if they can provide some examples.
2. Have an idea of your budget, and what you’d ideally like to achieve with that budget, before you start contacting eCommerce agencies. This will help them to understand your expectations.
3. If you’re hoping to achieve something specific, look for eCommerce agencies that specialise in the right area e.g. find SEO specialists if you’d like to increase website traffic or email experts for enhanced customer engagement.
4. It’s important to choose an eCommerce agency that you can form a long-term relationship with. Ensure you’ve met the team and asked any questions you have before committing to working with them.
5. The eCommerce agency you choose doesn’t need to be located nearby. If you find one that suits your needs further afield, you can easily keep in touch via phone, email, and video call.

Questions to ask potential eCommerce agencies

When choosing an eCommerce agency, there are some questions you should ask to ensure they’re the right fit for your business.

1. Do you have experience working with businesses in our industry?

Prior knowledge of your industry can help agencies to understand your goals, concerns, and competitors.

1. How do you communicate with your clients and how often?

Preferred communication styles and frequency differ by agency, so make sure you’re aligned on this. You may find that communication changes over time as you adapt to working together.

1. Will we be assigned a project manager or work with different team members?

Understanding whether you’ll be speaking to one person or multiple team members will give you an idea of how seamless communication will be.

1. How do you measure and report on success?

The results your eCommerce agency achieves are the most important thing, so it’s integral that you know how these will be shared with you. You should also confirm how targets and deadlines will be set and how often these will be revised.

1. What sets you apart from other eCommerce agencies?

With so many eCommerce agencies to choose from, understanding what they think their USPs are can be helpful in making your decision.

We hope that we’ve helped you understand how to choose an eCommerce agency. We’re confident that we can support you in reaching your goals and would love to discuss what you’re hoping to achieve.

For information about how we can support you and your eCommerce marketing activity, contact us today.

To discover more about the different ways in which an eCommerce agency can positively impact your business, look at our News page.