You know you need a professional eCommerce team to help you grow your online brand. But what questions do you need to ask before deciding on a particular agency and what qualifications should you look for? Keep reading to learn how to find the perfect eCommerce marketing agency for your brand.
Quick Questionnaire to Find the eCommerce Marketing Agency for You
Before beginning your search, it is important to narrow down what you’re looking for in an agency that can scale your eCommerce site and how that fits in with your overall digital marketing goals. Here’s a quick questionnaire to help you get started.
1. What Are Your Goals?
Before you can find an eCommerce marketing agency that meets your needs, you need to first define your overall goals. What do you hope to accomplish? Is it lead generation? More sales? Better brand recognition? Make a list of the most important areas and rank them according to what matters most to what matters least.
2. What Channels Are You Looking to Market?
Not every eCommerce marketing agency works with every channel. Again, this is another area where you want to be very clear that the company you work with is able to meet your needs. Make a list of all the avenues you want to pursue for your brand, such as social media, paid advertising, content marketing, offline marketing, etc. Finding an omnichannel marketing agency is a plus here, as it allows you to create a strategy that allows for each of these options to work together seamlessly. Trust us, you want a one-stop-shop for large scale marketing.
3. What Are Your Marketing Weaknesses?
When hiring a marketing team, you really need to know what your weaknesses are. By figuring this out ahead of time, you can present areas you need help with during the hiring stage. If a company isn’t particularly good at something your company struggles with, it might be a good idea to work with one that is.
4. How Do You Feel About Official Partnerships?
Some companies earn official partnerships with trusted brands like Shopify, Google, BigCommerce, and others. Working with these eCommerce marketing agencies is usually a good idea, as it gives you the opportunity to know that they understand everything about that platform at a professional level.
5. How Do You Feel About Work Outsourcing?
Let’s face it, not everybody can handle everything. Some companies outsource certain aspects of their eCommerce retail marketing services to freelancers or other smaller firms. While some eCommerce stores don’t mind this, others have a pretty strong opinion. If it is something you care about, make sure to discuss this with the agency you’re considering.
BONUS: Industry Experience
Not all eCommerce advertising agencies are the same. To make sure the one you’re considering is on the same page as you are, ask about their experience in your particular niche.
Numbers Don't Lie and Neither Should your eCommerce Marketing Agency
Any marketing agency you’re comparing should be open to providing you with transparent results from past clients. Ask about their success stories and require they provide you with numerical results. Transparency is ultra important when it comes to working with a marketing agency, so be sure to ask questions about their processes for communication.
In addition, you want to ensure the company’s values align with those of your own organization. Far too often, eCommerce marketing agencies engage in unscrupulous practices, and associating yourself with this kind of partner can definitely cause problems in the long run.
Keeping up with the KPI's and Trends
Next, you want to find out how the eCommerce marketing agency keeps up with key performance indicators (KPIs) and trends within the industry. Things change incredibly fast in the world of digital marketing and any partner you work with needs to be consistently on the pulse of what is going on.
Ask what your prospective marketing agency has done in the past to keep up with industry changes and trends. Also, find out how they’ve pivoted, evolved, and grown from things like Google algorithm updates, Facebook advertising requirements, and more. All reputable firms will be able to give you a solid answer when asked.
Transparent and Data-Driven Omnichannel eCommerce Strategy
Here at CAKE, we’re eCommerce marketing experts who are all about ensuring our clients get the best experience possible. Not only do we stay up-to-date with all industry trends, but we also believe in an omnichannel approach to marketing, are completely data-driven, and totally transparent.
We take your successes personally and cheer you on when you hit a new benchmark or achieve a goal. Further, we are absolute fanatics about online shopping and are more than happy to give you the perspective of both a professional marketing team and a shopper. In fact, you could say that we make marketing a piece of cake.
Ready to learn more about why CAKE is the perfect eCommerce marketing agency for your brand? Please contact us today to start the discussion.
