In 2023, many companies continue to enter the e-commerce sector. Creating an e-commerce site has indeed become more and more obvious for brands, SMEs but also VSEs.
On the web, more and more tools are available to create your own merchant site and quickly launch your product. This is the case of CMS platforms like WordPress , Shopify , or Wix to name a few.
Sometimes, however, the company does not have enough time or the necessary skills to manage this project and wishes to go through an external service provider. You will then wonder what are the key steps to find the right e-commerce agency .
How to choose the right e-commerce agency?
In this article, we will take the example of a company (yours), which seeks to know the criteria for choosing the right e-commerce agency. Here is an article in 6 steps to guide you.
1) Essential step: clearly define your needs
Before selecting an e-commerce agency, remember to clearly define your needs. Not all e-commerce agencies have the same methodology, the same specialty or the same areas of expertise. Some will be specialists in the Wordpress CMS and others will be much more expert on Shopify , this is the case of the Pikka agency.
This work can be done internally with your teams during brainstorming sessions. We advise you to cut out your short, medium and long-term objectives to see more clearly. You may ask yourself these types of questions:
- Would you like us to improve navigation on our site?
- Do we need to acquire new customers?
- Is the redesign of our e-commerce or graphic identity considered as part of this project?
As part of a redesign, the identification of needs can also be done thanks to comments & feedback from your customers. The first ambassadors who are most attached to your brand will be able to give you indications of what they expect from the new site. It's a great way to engage your community.
Also note that depending on your needs, you can contact different service providers: e-commerce agency, freelance developer, generalist web agency, etc.
2) Pay special attention to the agency's client references
Once the definition of needs is complete, you have to go fishing for information on the professionals present on the market. If it may seem obvious, the best e-commerce agencies are the ones that are the most recommended. It is therefore important to carefully scrutinize the customer reviews of the pre-selected agencies. If it has one, the agency's Google My Business page can be a first point of contact for clients to provide feedback.
This page has the advantage of being a real showcase for the agency because it appears on the right side of the search results above the fold line when typing the keyword of the brand in question.
Caption: Google My Business sheet of the Pikka agency
Another piece of advice: don't hesitate to type in the keywords “reviews + [name of the agency] in order to bring up the other review websites. We can notably cite the companies Avis Vérifiés or Trustpilot which allow companies to survey their customers with pre-established email templates. We then speak of e-reputation.
If you can, take the time to contact agency client references. This will allow you to collect valuable feedback, to better understand their way of working and even to obtain “off the shelf” information.
If there are any, analyze the negative (1 and 2 stars) and average (3 stars) reviews because they can sometimes be instructive. When you discuss with the agency, this may be an opportunity to challenge them on the negative point(s) that have been raised by the previous client.
3) Match your needs with the agency's internal skills
Once the identification of your needs is complete and after having analyzed the customer reviews of the service providers, it is time to see which agency corresponds perfectly. This step is very important!
In e-commerce, natural referencing (SEO) as well as paid referencing (SEA) are particularly useful marketing techniques to increase your visibility with your customers. It will therefore be interesting to see if the agency internalizes these skills with one or more employees or if it itself calls on external service providers.
As we mentioned in a previous article, mobile commerce is growing. So check that the agency has the capacity to deliver a responsive e-commerce site that will adapt to smartphones and tablets. Your future customers will thank you!
4) Think long term: the e-commerce agency must offer you quality support
In the event of a problem on your e-commerce site, do you know how the e-commerce agency will handle it? Does it have a dedicated support team? Are the exchanges done by email/tickets or do you have a customer service representative on the phone in case of emergency?
You need to ask yourself these kinds of questions to choose the right e-commerce agency . While most of the time you won't need to call on support, the time you do need to do so is likely to be critical to ensuring your business continuity. It can also be a good idea to take a local e-commerce agency, for example an e-commerce agency in Bordeaux , if you are in Bordeaux, to have a closer follow-up.
Customer support is one of the points of vigilance to keep in mind!
5) Carefully brief the pre-selected agencies
Again, this may seem obvious, but to compare what is comparable, we advise you to brief the agencies on the basis of a single document, which brings together the same needs and the same objectives.
Keep in mind that the agencies will spend time on this brief to be able to give you the most complete and personalized response possible. The initial brief must therefore be clear and clear for the person who will read it.
6) Money remains the sinews of war
Your shortlist of e-commerce agencies is ready and you have received price proposals? Compare them to each other! This will allow you to identify if there are big price gaps and challenge them on these points.
Conclusion on the choice of an E-commerce agency
Here are the main criteria that must be taken into account to choose the right e-commerce agency, but for you, you can also check whether you have to go through an e-commerce agency . By carrying out this work rigorously, you will put all the chances on your side so that the collaboration with your service provider goes off without a hitch and as smoothly as possible.
In 2022 according to Fevad, the e-commerce sector in France generated nearly 147 billion euros in expenditure. Get started today!
