10 Things to Consider When Hiring an E-commerce Marketing Agency - Updated 2023

Updated May 3, 2023

What E-Commerce Marketing Agencies Bring to the Table

Let’s go over what eCommerce marketing services offer before we dive into how to pick the right agency for you. What do these companies bring to the table? First off, their contributions to boosting online sales are immeasurable.

A typical digital marketing agency will have a team of experts well-versed in advertising using digital channels. That ranges from social media to Google and Bing ads. Furthermore, their expertise may include getting ad spaces on third-party websites.

Besides advertising, these agencies may provide growth strategies, branding services, search engine optimization, web design, and development, etc. You can also get copywriting and email advertising campaigns for your business. Still, their services don’t end there. Email automation, CRM, and sales analytics are also available.

You can see the creative and technical sides of these agencies. A full-service eCommerce agency will cover both the creative and the technical, and they often differ from the more specialized agencies. Here is where things get tricky.

The ideal step would be to hire a digital agency that offers full-service marketing services. However, your business may require something else depending on its needs. An in-house assessment of the situation is crucial before you hire.

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Benefits of Hiring an E-Commerce Marketing Agency

You’ll enjoy certain benefits with the best eCommerce marketing agencies. Often, the conflict is between getting a marketing company or establishing a new department. Both approaches are promising, but they contribute differently to marketing efforts.

Speed and easy access to expertise is often the core reason for picking an eCommerce digital marketing company over employees. Let’s go through the benefits of hiring in-house marketing services.

Quick Access to Experience and Resources

Digital marketing agencies hire experienced staff for their marketing services. Hence, you will tap directly into this wealth of experience when you hire them. Their expertise spans social media advertising, mobile app development, conversion optimization, eCommerce store design and development, technical SEO, etc.

With the right digital marketing strategies, these top eCommerce marketing agencies can boost your online sales. They are optimized for such services, especially award-winning ones. Remember, reputation counts when hiring e-commerce marketing agencies.

Experience is only one-half of what you’ll get. The other half is the resources these marketing agencies bring to the table. These are tools that make outreach on different digital channels easy.

They could be tools for Facebook ads (social media), paid advertising on third-party websites, conversion rate optimization, measuring marketing performance, etc. The top eCommerce marketers can quickly launch a unique digital marketing campaign for your business. Moreover, they are well versed in these tools so you don’t have to be.

Cost-effective

The most significant cost comparison is often between establishing a marketing department and outsourcing to marketing agencies. Both approaches require different cost commitments, but hiring a marketing company is often more affordable in the long run.

Let’s assume you want to start a new department. You’ll advertise for the open positions, including the digital marketing manager. Money makes these efforts possible.

The new staff must be versed in different strategies, from social media advertising to email and third-party ads. That is a tall order, even with the number of experts available. Then, you must invest in getting the tools (subscriptions, devices).

The marketing budget can quickly rise before you are set and ready to launch a campaign. Don’t forget about training, either.

On the other hand, an eCommerce marketing company already has these tools and knowledge. Instead of paying for each service individually, you’ll pay lump sums. Some marketing companies also allow payment based on the ROI from paid advertising.

Let’s also look at cost savings from another perspective. If you’re working with an eCommerce marketing company, that saves you from having to hire full-time staff. You won’t need to keep the agency permanently on your payroll.

The agency comes in when you need their services. This doesn’t mean that you won’t need them long-term. The idea is to have them come in for your marketing campaigns, not as regular staff.

Stability and Momentum

Hiring in-house staff can be rocky, from filling vacancies to interviewing and contracting. This instability can impede your business's success if it is not handled carefully. Conversely, you can hire a digital agency without putting a dent in your operations.

Working with a digital agency allows you to maintain your momentum and meet deadlines without splitting your in-house resources. The staff can continue their operations while the marketing agency handles your advertising needs.

Whether web design and development, developing marketing channels, or building your email list, these creative services can handle them smoothly. You can quickly get a Facebook marketing partner or an email marketing agency if you want to be specific.

Access to SEO Expertise

Having an eCommerce store does not mean you won’t need any content marketing. On the contrary, adding it to your digital strategy can boost your sales. You can turn to social media or your website.

With 7.1 million online retailers (eCommerce businesses), it is not sufficient to simply post your products online. You need adequate brand awareness. One way of achieving that is through SEO.

The top eCommerce marketing services are experts in SEO. Hiring them gives you quick access to their expertise. Hence, you can quickly deploy campaigns to boost your search result rankings and reach more eCommerce clients.

SEO is essential to conversion rate optimization. So, if your business goals include getting more people to click on your website, you must find a way to achieve this goal. Getting the top eCommerce marketing services can accomplish this in the shortest possible time.

Access to Up-to-date Tools

The advertising world is constantly evolving with new technology. For example, Google ad management tools today differ from those available five years ago. That is because of Google's regular updates on its paid media ads.

Since it is their primary service, digital marketing services research and incorporate new tools. They do that to remain relevant and result-driven in their field. Ultimately, the benefits of having the latest tools fall on you.

An example will be Performance Max, a tool introduced in 2021 with recent 2023 updates.

Easy Access to Multiple Services

Imagine aiming to integrate AI into your content marketing campaigns. You’ll need resources to train your staff on the new technology or hire new employees. Then, combine that with other marketing campaigns that involve web design and development, email outreach, social media postings, etc.

Things can quickly become overwhelming. Fortunately, the top eCommerce marketing agencies offer multiple services. You can get an all-in-one service, from web design and development, store development, social media advertising, and SEO to paid media advertising.

The top eCommerce marketing services rarely offer expertise in one aspect. They will quickly lose relevance in the ever-changing world of digital marketing. Except if you have a specific need, you’d prefer eCommerce marketing companies with a broad range of services.

Time Savings

Hiring a digital marketing agency will free up time to focus on other crucial aspects of your business. That includes time for research into the latest marketing trends, training staff on new tools, developing new channels, etc. You can keep a small in-house team to liaise with the eCommerce marketing companies.

Time saved on one aspect is time gained on another. We are confident that your business goals go beyond marketing. For example, there is a need for new product development.

New Business Connections

Although often overlooked, hiring a digital marketing agency offers a new business connection. This partnership could be vital to crushing your business goals, which include higher sales.

Keeping them for the long term could help you launch new products faster. You can quickly open new websites and expand your business. Moreover, these efforts require new marketing campaigns.

You don’t need an award-winning eCommerce agency to form a long-term business partnership. Stick with the one that has helped you crush your business goals effectively.

When to Hire an E-Commerce Marketing Agency

While we focus on things to consider before bringing in an eCommerce marketing company, we also need to discuss timing. Hiring at the appropriate time could boost your business as much as hiring at the wrong time could mar it. So, when do you need this essential service?

Here are situations that may require the services of a digital agency:

Establishing a Social Media Presence

Growing a social media channel is a challenging feat. It is even more difficult if you have primarily technical staff since appealing to people on social media requires creativity.

A digital agency will have more experience in this niche than you. Unless you have an in-house social media management team, it is best to outsource social media growth to a third party.

When Starting Your Ecommerce Business

Poor marketing is one of the top reasons new businesses fail. Market penetration is essential for an eCommerce startup. Without it, sales will be low.

You might be tempted to handle advertising alone or hire marketing personnel. However, it is best to invest adequately in a robust campaign. What better way to have effective outreach than to engage experienced hands?

Restructuring Your Marketing Strategy

All companies have reached a point where they must review their marketing strategy. This process comes even faster when the ROI is below the expected values. Continuous investments in a failing system are a recipe for company collapse.

Hiring an eCommerce agency brings new insights and a fresh perspective. The chances that the agency has encountered your challenge before are high. If that is the case, you can turn around your fortunes.

Incorporating Omnichannel Marketing

The omnichannel technique extends your reach across several platforms simultaneously. That ensures you reach your customers where they are and do not wait for them to come to you.

Unless you already have an effective team, engaging an eCommerce agency is your best bet at getting experienced hands. It is advisable not to leave anything to chance. At least, not when you are pouring investments into reaching your customers.

Things to Look Out For When Hiring

Hiring an eCommerce agency is one thing; achieving your business goals is another. Things can go sideways if you let a few things slide.

Hiring an eCommerce agency, dropping off your targets, and zooming off is not enough. Here are a few things we believe you should consider:

Management and Liaison

It can be chaotic to manage outsourced jobs. We are not suggesting you approach an eCommerce agency daily or rely on them every second. Instead, you should have an efficient liaison with them.

There must be adequate communication between you and the eCommerce agency. Having an in-house marketing executive is one of the best approaches to achieving effective collaboration. On the other hand, you can do the following:

Get regular reports: Compare the results with your targets. That will reveal a successful collaboration or a failing one. Fortunately, most eCommerce marketing agencies send regular updates to inform their clients of progress. Ensure you adequately review the progress and address any bottlenecks.
Periodic team meetings: The frequency of your sessions will depend on the magnitude of your targets. There is no industry standard to how often you should meet with the eCommerce agency. Keep the number reasonable.

Loop in your sales team: Hiring an eCommerce marketing agency without input from your sales team will be counterintuitive. They are the best port of call for insights into your sales performance. You’ll know the loopholes to fill with a new marketing campaign.

Outsourcing can be the best thing to happen to your business. What’s more, it can also bring about the downfall of your market value. Be diligent and quick-witted when outsourcing your marketing campaigns.

Do You Need an E-Commerce Marketing Agency, or Should You Hire Marketing Employees?

Sooner or later, you will be at a crossroads. Knowing whether to work with an eCommerce agency or hire marketing employees is one area that continues to generate debate in the industry. An in-house marketing team looks attractive, but it has its limitations.

Unless you have the resources to build a robust marketing department, it is best to hire an eCommerce agency. The latter brings a ready-made experience.

An in-house department will understand your business better and tailor the solutions to your needs. However, the cost of getting it up and running might unsettle companies with a lower budget. It is easy to offer a one-time payment to an experienced company to handle advertising.

Outsourcing might not be effective in the long run, especially when you are not dealing with the same eCommerce agency. Employees will grow to understand your company’s ideals and culture better. As a result, they can communicate your vision more effectively.

Such knowledge will be vital in your advertising campaigns, unlike an eCommerce agency that learns about your product in two weeks. Planning for a marketing department and growing the team is best. Have one or two as soon as your budget can handle the extra payroll.

Business Goals That Need a Digital Marketing Agency

Your business goals must be tied to the services that advertising companies provide. You wouldn’t hire a digital marketing agency to build your new headquarters since that is outside of their area of expertise.

Similarly, you should make sure that the advertising services you seek align with your business objectives and can help you achieve your desired outcomes. This will ensure that your investment in advertising is well-spent and that you can see measurable results from the efforts of the advertising company you hire.

Here are a few business goals to consider before you look for an eCommerce marketing company: