By : Handing over a portion of the workflow for your business is a monumental decision, not to mention the critical product development and marketing aspects of your brand. You must make the right choice in ecommerce marketing agencies. There must be caution and intention at the forefront with no fear in the consideration of several agencies and doling out a multitude of questions.
Considering The Right Ecommerce Marketing Agency
Ecommerce marketing agencies such as Straydigital Ecommerce Marketing Agency specialize in helping companies with their product development and marketing. This is their business; it’s what they do. But there are several considerations that a company needs to take when they make the ultimate choice to go outside of their business for help with their marketing in choosing an agency.
- You need to determine what the maximum and the minimum is in your marketing budget to spend on an agency. Agencies work on a large variety of different budgets so being disqualified based on the amount that you have to spend is unlikely if you have few funds. This will aid them in distinguishing how to set specific goals for your specific business needs.
The amount that you can invest will determine how much support and production that you will receive. The budget will be inclusive of brand identity creation, the intended reach, timelines, and the length of the contract.
- It comes down to the amount of chemistry that you have. Being a client, you need to be heard, your opinions need to be important to the agency, and you need a vested partner. This partner needs to be one that is going to listen to the things that you’ve already tried and what the goals are that you have set for yourself. You want to make sure that the agency and your in-house team get along well.
Chemistry is what allows an agency to become an extension of the team and allows for the company’s true success. (Read here for the meaning of what an agency is.) And you should ask what their goals are as an agency. If they want to thrive and grow, you’ll know they have more of a vested interest in the latest techniques and technologies on the market.
- Where are they located? There are agencies all over both United States coasts which is where a majority of the businesses are. Connecting with any place within the world in this digital age is super easy meaning there is no limit on which agency you choose to connect with. But if you are set on meeting and collaborating in person, you’ll need someone geographically close to you.
- Check the portfolio. The important thing to figure out is how the agency conducts its business. How did you come upon them? Did they find you or did you find them? If they were referred to you, it says that they did a lot to build a network. If you found them through marketing, that speaks of their marketing efforts.
If you have a specialized brand or niche, think about working through an agency that has experience in that arena. Their portfolio will speak volumes as it will strongly reflect how they think along with the various collaborations they’ve had with other brands.
It’s essential to find out how long they’ve been in business and how they formed their business. You also want to know how they see formulating more business for themselves in the future. Their age is not so much as important as their expertise and their plan for continued expansion.
- Happy clients speak loudly. There should be a track record of previous satisfied clients who are proud to share the experiences they’ve had with the agency. This would be either through testimonials or with case studies. An agency needs to be able to show the way that they’ve been able to bring value to other brands. It is simply about the results.
- What results are you hoping for? What is the timeline that you have set for yourself? Each business has goals that they consider when they begin a project as far as how soon they want to grow and how much. These plans need to be thought through carefully with great consideration upfront to allow the project to be done efficiently and successfully.
An agency that promises fast results or an immediate fix should be discounted. ‘Good things take time’, effort, consistency, and investment. Go to http://anthillonline.com/how-much-should-i-spend-on-my-brand-and-when-a-guide-to-branding-your-business to find out how much of your budget should go for branding.
The more you and your team understand and identify how to work with your new partner, the more likely your company will have a successful outcome. Be truthful about what you’re able to do and what you’re not. Agencies aren’t able to do it all. They need you to be actively involved. Developing clear roles and expectations upfront will result in much better collaboration.
