How To Find The Right Ecomm Marketing Agency For You

Every year, the number of tools, resources, and technology available for ecommerce businesses increases. Shopify’s app store has more than 2,400 apps, with 800+ specifically for marketing. Bigcommece offers over 200 marketing apps and integrations, while Magento has close to 800 marketing extensions. These tools are meant to simplify the lives of ecommerce businesses, but it takes time to determine which solutions to integrate and how to use them.

Technology is constantly evolving, but every industry’s digital landscape is rapidly changing as new players enter the market.

It can be difficult to understand how to make everything work together to gain an advantage over the competition. Ecommerce businesses recognize the importance of understanding how people connect with their brand in multiple ways. Consumers are looking for information via multiple channels, so relying on traditional marketing strategies is not the best strategy.

Marketing is crucial to your company’s long-term success. Marketing departments have many responsibilities. They must manage content creation, reporting building, marketing plan development, advertising management, optimizations, and much more. It is easy to become overwhelmed when trying to plan, implement, measure, report, and adjust a digital marketing strategy.

What is the solution?

You can outsource your marketing efforts to an ecommerce agency that understands your unique needs and wants in reaching your customers.

While businesses have been outsourcing advertising campaigns to agencies for years, now they are outsourcing all aspects of marketing to improve quality and reduce costs.

A Bain & Co. study of 2,000 businesses over 10 years found that only 10% of them were able to achieve long-term sustainable growth. Of those that were successful, all of them shared one characteristic: they were good at capability sourcing. Innovative and successful companies use effective outsourcing to diversify their reach to their target audience.

Finding and qualifying an agency capable of producing results for the company is the challenge when outsourcing. This is a huge problem in the advertising industry due to the large number of companies competing for marketing budgets.

A Statista study shows that there are around 21,387 marketing and advertising agencies in the United States. It can be hard to choose the right company when there are so many agencies. Here are some tips to help you find and qualify for a marketing agency in Miami if you are thinking of outsourcing your marketing.

Outsourcing vs Hiring In House

An ecommerce agency gives your team access to a wide range of marketing professionals without having to hire multiple people. Marketing agencies employ people who live, breathe and eat marketing. This allows them to offer advice and expertise on how to improve your marketing plan.

Marketing is not just content writing. There are many facets to marketing, and each specialty has its subject matter expert. Although your in-house team may be skilled in a few skills, if you want to change strategy or explore new channels, you’ll need to increase your staff and hire someone with the right skill set. This type of shifting or reprioritizing is costly and can waste time.

Managing Time and Resources

Outsourcing to a digital agency can be a benefit for organizations because they have immediate access to the tools and technology that previously seemed too costly and time-consuming to pursue. Outsourced marketing staff is fully trained so you don’t have to do any internal hiring and then use another resource to train the new hire. Your hired agency will take on all the work so you can get the best value from the strategic partnership.

A LinkedIn study found that in-house marketing professionals had one of the highest job turnover rates. The global average showed a turnover rate of 17%. This is more than half the amount found in their findings. Inefficiencies can have a severe impact on your bottom line. If an employee is the one who spearheaded the implementation or promotion of a tool or campaign, it can pose a risk to your company.

Because there are so many tools and new technology constantly emerging, companies are moving away from hiring in-house experts. This makes it more difficult and costly to hire for specific skills. They are instead turning to a Marketing Agency with the expectation that they will be able to keep up with new technology and create innovative marketing strategies.

You can check out the 20 tools to help your Shopify store run efficiently.

How to Manage Your Costs

Before you decide whether outsourcing your marketing efforts would be financially beneficial, you need to first evaluate the internal resources and skills required.

Let’s do a cost analysis if you have decided that you need an internal marketing team to support your company.

An average salary for a marketing team is:

VP Marketing: $146.236
Content Marketing Manager: $65,539
SEO Manager: $62,621
Graphic Designer – $45,677
Paid search Manager: 50,060
Social Media Manager: $50,473
Email Marketing Manager: $65,539

You must provide your marketing team access to the right tools and salaries, in addition to the salaries.

Medium-sized businesses have an average annual cost of advertising and tools:

Email Marketing Platform: $400
Designing software: $790
SEO Research Tool: $1.200
Stock Photography – $520
Advertising Budget $100,000

This is an overview of the average annual budget, which amounts to $589055.

Businesses spend about 10% of their revenues on marketing. This is quite common. If a business has $5 million in annual revenue, it would spend $500K on marketing. Marketing costs will go towards tools, advertising budgets, and other expenses. An email platform costs around $1,500 to $2,000 per month for a $5 million business. This includes tools such as Klayivo.

Advantages of working with an agency over in-house when it comes to cost and effectiveness

You can make your marketing strategy agile

A new york digital marketing agency can help you build your marketing team. Without having to hire multiple channel specialists, you can reap the benefits of having a channel specialist.

Your business can continue to grow and innovate. However, if you don’t have a specialist who knows how to adapt and recreate in-house then outsourcing is an option. Or, it may take longer to develop your new strategy.

A marketing agency allows your team to quickly adjust strategy. This allows you to adjust your budget to high-producing projects and frees up money.

2. Get the best solutions and marketing technology

A marketing agency can help you gain the best marketing tools and avoid the high cost of purchasing your subscriptions. You will also have access to the latest products as soon as they become available.

Training and implementation of new products is a problems for many businesses.

Why?

Most organizations assign one person to learn a new tool, and then they are responsible for training the rest. Your business is at risk if a trained employee leaves or becomes overwhelmed and is unable to learn new tools.

Learning new tools can be more difficult than implementing sales projects that have an immediate impact on sales if your internal resources are limited in their ability to do so.

Marketing agencies take on the time-consuming task of training and can seamlessly integrate the new solution into your constantly changing marketing plan.

Software experts are also part of marketing agencies. They have the unique ability to use new technologies to their full potential.

3. The Cost of Value-Based Work

Although agencies aren’t cheap, they can be a great option for those who are looking to hire full-time staff.

It is essential to find the right balance in your business.

Digital landscapes change rapidly. It is difficult to keep your staff updated on the latest technological developments.

Marketing agencies have to be subject experts to focus on their services. Small and medium-sized businesses often have in-house employees who are pulled into other areas of their business, and their attention and time shifts. They find it difficult to keep their focus on the skills they were hired for.

An organization must remember that hiring a full-time, in-house marketing employee is more than just paying a salary. Employers must offer benefits such as sick days and paid time off, as well as access to tools that will help them do their job.

Explore New Perspectives

It is easy to become narrow-sighted when you work with the same group of people. This can severely limit the potential for progressive innovation that your company is willing and able to pursue.

Your marketing strategies may fail if you don’t have access to the right subject matter experts.

You need to find a marketing agency that is a partner in your business. Partners can make suggestions that align with your long-term goals and you can be sure that you are getting the best out of your partnership.

Working with a marketing agency has the added benefit of being able to share your experience with clients from the same industry. This gives them the ability to compile a list of best practices that will guide their efforts to create effective marketing strategies.

Marketing Agencies Can Open Your Network

You may be restricted in the number of people you meet by working within a particular industry.

Marketing agencies can work in a variety of verticals, which allows them to be more visible to businesses that are open to strategic partnerships.

Your agency can help you find more networking opportunities, which can lead to possible collaborative relationships.

Agency relationships also exist with brands and media influencers, so businesses can leverage their network to grow brand awareness and reputation.

What should you consider before investing in employees in-house

Before you start building your marketing team, regardless of whether it is an outsourced agency or an in-house team, take a moment to reflect on what you would like your team to look like and value.

You may be interested in cultivating certain values, such as camaraderie and collaboration, or face-to-face interactions.

This is a good situation to have a mix of agency and in-house members so that you can achieve your goals.

Your internal staff can help maintain brand awareness and provide face-to-face interaction. Your marketing agency can also step in to help you innovate your marketing strategies.

Questions to Ask Before You Invest in a Marketing Agency

It is important to fully understand your business before you decide to engage a digital marketing agency in Los Angeles.

This is a guarantee that you stand behind the product you sell, that you know how production and operations work, and that you have a clear timeline and goals.

These are the questions to ask if you’re in a position to work with a marketing agency.

Is the product ready for market?

Do you know your competitors? Have they grown their businesses over time?

Are you able to scale your internal infrastructure as sales increase?

Are you able to create creative assets for your marketing campaigns?

If you’re looking for a particular service, these questions can help you to get more details.

If you’re looking to hire an agency to help you with Facebook advertising, you should be prepared to discuss the history of your account, what worked, and what you’re doing now to optimize your website and ads for conversions.

No matter what service you’re looking for, it is important to be prepared to get the best out of your first engagement.

If you are clear about what the agency is doing and how it will measure its impact on CAC or CPC, your operations can be greatly improved. It gives both sides clarity and lets them know what the goals are. This allows a third party to access a large portion of your marketing tools. You must choose the right choice for your company.

Vet several different agencies before you commit. Ask questions and find case studies to support their claims.

When you’re looking for an ecommerce marketing agency, consider the following.

Annual Marketing Budget

Look at your annual marketing budget. Determine how much you are willing and able to spend on marketing and what you can give to a marketing agency.

To get a better understanding of your total marketing spend, segment your budget by channel.

This will allow you and your agency to plan a marketing strategy that is within budget and meets your channel goals.

Companies need to realize that the amount they spend on marketing will directly correlate with the support you receive and the monthly production of your marketing campaigns.

Additional factors that can directly affect the cost of a marketing company in Las Vegas are extensive edits, rushed timelines, and breach of contract. Custom design work, additional projects, and other activities outside the scope of the agreement will also impact your budget.

Personality Fit

Each brand is unique and has its own culture. Each marketing agency is unique.

You should research the agency that is best suited for you. When it comes to long-term relationships, Chemistry is important.

Your input should be valued and your vision the driving force behind your marketing strategy. Partnering with someone open to working alongside you towards a shared goal is essential.

The agency you are considering hiring must take the time to learn about your past experiences, the goals you are setting, and the current status of your work.

First, ensure that the agency has the technical capability to meet your needs. However, you also need to determine if the group is energetic and will work well with your internal contact.

One of the most important indicators of your long-term success is the relationship between the agency, your business, and the agency.

Inside tip: Take time to understand your agency’s growth goals. Agencies looking to grow are more likely to be open to investing in new technologies and marketing strategies. This is a benefit that you, the client, can then enjoy.

It is best to imagine your two agencies working together to achieve the greatest success.

Agencies must see themselves as a part of the in-house staff. It is crucial that any agency that wants to outsource parts for marketing purposes understands the company’s brand voice and messaging. An agency must be able to create work that feels, looks, and breathes like it was made in-house to show they understand the brand’s voice.

No longer are plug-and-play agencies the norm. Agencies want to work with your company, not make your company conform to their mold. This includes a greater focus on how agencies create promotional strategies, down to communication and personality. You will have the best chance of finding the right fit for you.

Localization

All across the United States, there are agencies.

Technology advances make it possible to connect with your agency anywhere in the world. There is no limit to how many agencies you will be able to work with.

You can also look for agencies that are close enough to you for in-person meetings if digital meet-ups don’t appeal to you.

Do your research to find the right fit for you.

Agency Portfolio

How did you discover the agency that you are currently vetting?

This question will reveal the way that an agency manages its business.

If they are the first to show up in a search for an “ecommerce agency”, then they know how to rank on search engines.

You can assume that they are a good choice for building relationships if you were referred to them.

This is a great example: Your marketing agency may recommend that you cold email prospects, but they run targeted PPC campaigns to generate prospects.

Do what you preach. Your agency should use the same marketing strategies that they recommend to you. If they don’t, they are likely producing little or no value.

You should research the track record of an agency if you are selling a niche product. It is possible to see what successes they have had in the sector and what difficulties they have faced. It is possible to work with an agency with more industry experience. They will likely have a wider network that you can collaborate with.

Happy customers will share their positive experiences with others. To get an idea of the happiness of the clients who have worked with the agency that you are considering, look at testimonials, case studies, and reviews. The agency can provide social proof.

Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to ask past clients why they had negative experiences working with the agency. This can help you to get a better understanding of the agency.

To get results and generate revenue, you are seeking a digital marketing agency in Phoenix. You should easily be able to demonstrate your added value using statistics, case studies, and specific strategies. To get the honest opinion of their customers, an agency should be open to talking to you.

If you’re looking for a partner agency that has a track record of working with clients within your industry, ask them to introduce you to a customer. Reach out to the client and learn about their success stories and how they have grown.

Spend some time reading reviews about the agency online. You can look for common themes in reviews and find stories that demonstrate added value.

Don’t be surprised if there are negative reviews. They may be true, but others could be fakes or copied from competitors.

Your Time Schedule and Expectations

What time can you expect to see results?

Both the agency and your in-house team must be clear about the goals and expectations when you start working with them.

What is the benchmark that defines success? What speed does the client plan to achieve this goal?

Before you start working on projects, be aware of your expectations. You should be aware of all possible obstacles and roadblocks that may hinder your success.

You should be aware that engaging with marketing professionals doesn’t guarantee you will see immediate results. Your marketing agency will help you build a solid foundation that allows for steady growth and success.

Capabilities in-House

What amount of work are you prepared to give to your staff? How much do you plan to outsource to your marketing agency or in-house team?

It will be easier to build a well-oiled marketing machine by clearly defining roles. It will be clear who is responsible for which project and this will reduce the number of balls that are dropped.

A single point of contact is the best way to work with an agency. Why? It allows you to speak with one agency, which helps reduce confusion and streamlines your main message.

Specialized Services

You should ensure that you only work with agencies that specialize in one channel. Avoid agencies that claim to do everything.

Market channels use specialized technology that changes rapidly. Google is always updating its algorithms and ad platforms. To best serve your company, you will need a specialist who is focused on this channel.

Factors to Consider Before Hiring an Agency

After you have confirmed that you will hire a marketing agency to work for you, you must now go through the entire vetting process with each finalist.

The agency will ask you questions about your products, current campaigns, long-term growth goals, and other relevant information during the vetting process. This process is similar to an interview for a job. Ask questions to find out if they are the right match for you.

To get a clear idea of whether they are the right fit for you, ask them these questions.

Your agency was founded where and when?

Understanding the history of the company will give you a glimpse into what inspired them to serve clients like yours.

Did it start with SEO managers? You can expect services that are focused on search engine optimization.

Did it start with graphic designers? Services that are focused on design.

Knowing the history of a company can help you determine which industries they are most familiar with.

Which areas are you a specialist in?

You can determine if the agency is a specialist in ecommerce marketing. It is a good idea to align your company with someone who is an expert in the channel you want to develop.

What strategy do you use to grow partnerships and relationships?

Ask them to tell you how they find and nurture partners to achieve a common goal.

Ask them to explain how they have forged a partnership with particular providers.

Ask them about their longest client. Describe the growth patterns that you have observed over the years. You will need to dig deeper to find out why the majority of clients are with the company for less time than one year.

What are your processes to make sure that the work you plan is being done?

When a business owner signs a scope for work with an agency, they want to be sure that the processes in place are effective and efficient.

An agency shouldn’t be charged for work you can do in-house. You must ask your agency what they can do and how they will continue to perform that work.

Your agency should let you know if you need something that is not in their initial scope of work. They should also be clear about the fact that they aren’t experts in the subject you want to expand on. This will ensure you don’t waste either your time or theirs by having them do research and figure things out as you go.

Which places have you had success with? What have you done wrong?

Transparency is key. Be open to sharing success stories, and be humble enough to admit failures. The agency can then share its successes and learn from them, as well as shift its strategy for future success.

Are you highly qualified?

Digital marketing is constantly changing. It is important to determine if an agency is keeping up with this constant technological change.

Ask them for their credentials. Do they have a Google Premier Partner status? What certifications are they certified to use Google Adwords?

What can you promise?

Avoid agencies that promise success. Instead, look for agencies that are willing to break down the steps to success. This includes the good, bad, and ugly.

Agencies that consider potential roadblocks and drawbacks will be able to develop a better strategy to help your company achieve long-term success.

How does it look in practice? This starts by setting goals for your growth and then breaking down the components that will help you succeed. You should include counteractive plans for overcoming obstacles that may prevent you from making progress. Each party must agree on its role in the strategy and be held responsible.

Although they cannot guarantee an outcome, agencies can promise they will be a partner willing to create a marketing plan that supports long-term business success.

Are you able to identify and implement processes?

Ask them to detail the process for creating, approving, and implementing campaigns. You can detail who must approve what steps so that you have a clear plan.

Ask them to detail the expected return on investment. What are their plans to help you achieve a return on your campaign? How much revenue can they expect from this effort?

Discuss with them how they plan to communicate their plans. Ask them to share how they will communicate when things go wrong and what their plans are for adjusting. It is crucial to communicate with the agency about a change in strategy. This ensures that both of you are constantly thinking together.

Does the agency allow an ad budget to run for one week before making any changes? Are they running the budget for one or two days and then shutting down and adapting before running again?

Both the campaign launch and the campaign launch are easier if you know the plan well.

Ask for a sample of the type of reporting that you can expect. You can view the template and see if it meets your requirements.

How can you prioritize client work?

It is important to set clear expectations for clients. Clients want to know who is working on their project. Which tools will be used for the project and when can they expect it to be completed?

What is the expectation of the agency from its client?

Although the agency will assume most responsibility, your staff can help with certain tasks to ensure the success of your projects.

It is crucial that both parties clearly define who and when they will complete the task and what their roles are in discussing the project and the layout.

Here are some resources to help you find and hire the right people for your ecommerce marketing needs.

It is important to search for experts in each sector when looking to find a valuable resource to assist with your ecommerce marketing efforts.

There are two types of marketing resources: a general resource and a specialized one.

While a general marketing resource can assist you at a high level, a specialized resource can help you develop strategic channels of interest.

A large number of ecommerce companies use comprehensive marketing tools and platforms. This gives you the chance to search for a partner who has experience using the toolset best suited for your business.

We will be breaking down common marketing platforms and tools below.

Shopify is an ecommerce platform that offers all the features necessary to manage and grow your business.

Shopify’s platform is not the only thing they have. They also have a large network that can help you with many different projects. Kobe Digital is a Shopify agency partner with years of experience.

You can either visit the Shopify Experts Website to browse services or create a job to receive bids from people who are interested in your project.

Ecommerce Marketing Services

Shop Redesign or Build
Logo & Visual Branding
Product and Collection Setup
Domain setup custom
Sales channel setup
Sales Strategy Guidance
Google Analytics Setup
Facebook Pixel Setup
Troubleshooting & Development

BigCommerce is a top ecommerce platform that allows you to create a unique shopping experience for your customers. It also gives you the flexibility and control you need.

The platform provides access to the BigCommerce Partner Directory which contains a large number of ecommerce certified professionals. Kobe Digital is still an active BigCommerce ecommerce certified expert.

Once you have chosen the service that you are interested in, you can search through the available partners until you find the one you want to work with.

Ecommerce Marketing Services

Product Development
Application Development
Graphic Design
UX & UI Development
Branding
Marketing Automation
Social Media
Mobile Site Development
Training
Establishment of a Store

Magento Commerce is an ecommerce platform that Adobe owns. It was built with the support and assistance of global partners, developers, merchants, and developers. Magento Commerce can be used to create an ecommerce experience for any size business.

Magento’s Partner Network has many technology and solution partners that can help bring your ecommerce store to fruition. They can help connect you with a developer who specializes in-store design.

Ecommerce Marketing Services

Content Management Systems (CMS).
ERP
Extension Builders
Inventory and Warehouse (WMS).
Management of Orders
Rich Media
Site Search and Navigation

Shopify websites can use services like store tasker and Heycarson to complete one-off projects. These sites provide standard projects and setups, such as customer email automation and web page theme customizations.

These tools can help you complete projects until you can hire someone in-house, or an agency, to continue testing and maintaining your marketing efforts.

Executive Summary

Ecommerce companies that want to increase their revenues must assess their marketing efforts and take positive steps towards improving their marketing techniques.

An ecommerce agency can provide you with marketing expertise and channel specialists to help you grow your business.

A marketing agency can be a good option for companies that want to outsource more complex projects.

There are always pros and cons to working with third parties, but you can reduce tension by doing thorough research and vetting thoroughly.

Ask many questions and don’t hesitate to ask agency owners about failures. Spend some time getting to know them, their work habits, and how they fit into your organization.

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