by Lucy Adamson

Having an online store doesn't necessarily mean you have a successful eCommerce business. In order for your business to take the next steps, you may need to consider making the switch to a specialist eCommerce agency.

When it comes to growing your business, who you partner with can cause a huge impact. There are a lot of people out there, from freelancers to agencies, who can help you establish an eCommerce store. But having a store does’t necessarily mean you have a successful eCommerce business. In order for your business to make the next steps, you may need to consider making the switch to a specialist eCommerce agency.

They Have Expert Knowledge

Expert Knowledge of Digital Trends

When choosing a partner to help you grow your business, you want the reassurance that you are putting your trust in an expert. You need to know that you don’t just have a partner who can install eCommerce software, you need a partner who understands how to build and expand an eCommerce business.

Digital Trends

When working with an eCommerce specialist, you know that you are partnering with someone who has a wealth of eCommerce experience and knowledge that they will be able to apply to your business - such as knowledge of customer journey, conversion rate optimisation and SEO.

Chances are, a specialist will have already worked with businesses with similar growth plans to yours, and who have faced the same challenges. This means that they can streamline the process and minimise the amount of time spent experimenting with different website features and approaches to marketing that you may have to go through with a less specialist or experienced agency.

Working with an expert can also mean that you don’t have to spend significant amounts of time on training courses or researching how to do a particular task. With a specialist standing by, they will be able to help you with any ideas you have, and offer expert recommendations for the best solutions for your business.

Expert Knowledge of eCommerce Businesses

Partnering with a specialist eCommerce agency will also mean that you are working with people who understand your business - they will be able to support you in areas outside of digital.

Often, a specialist will have experience of working within an eCommerce business, and will therefore be able to provide you with solutions for issues with any operations issues you may have. Ranging from being able to advise on issues regarding packing and staffing, to recommending other organisations they have contacts with from working with them in the past, such as third party fulfillment services or suppliers.

They Can Focus Entirely on Making Improvements

We understand that when you have a business to run, you don’t always have the time to research eCommerce news (such as the emergence of conversational commerce) on top of monitoring what’s happening within your company and how your online presence is performing.

Because of their existing knowledge of eCommerce, a specialist has the ability to focus on new innovations that can be implemented within your business so that they can help you stay ahead of the curve.

On top of focusing on innovation, a specialist will be able to efficiently and effectively monitor your online performance and make any changes to your site that you may require in order to improve conversion rate. After conducting a review of your site, it’s likely that it won’t be long before they have a list of recommendations in mind, meaning that you will be able to work together on making the necessary improvements quickly and without feeling like you’ve wasted any time.

Reporting

A specialist eCommerce agency is also more likely to have access to in depth reporting tools that they can use to monitor and report on the success of aspects of your strategy such as web analytics, CRO, SEO, customer journey and social media analytics.

Dashboard

They will also have expert knowledge of how to use these tools to gain the most insight into business performance based on comparisons with previous periods of time, as well as comparisons with industry and sector averages. They will also be able to see basic sales metrics so that they can look for any trends in your business and determine which parts of your marketing activity is working best, and which may need to be amended. A specialist’s ability to carry out in depth analysis will mean that they can provide clear recommendations on how to improve further and maximise your return on investment.

Partnerships

When partnering with an eCommerce agency, you won’t only benefit from their knowledge and expertise, but that of their partners also.

Many eCommerce specialists will have partnerships with key players in eCommerce - for example, at Statement we are partners with Shopify. This means that expert agencies are able to contact their partners directly for support, as well as often having access to partner-only forums and discussion boards so that they can keep up to date with news, updates and best practice.

Shopify Partner

An eCommerce expert is also likely to have connections with businesses such as app developers, creative agencies, fulfilment partners, and marketing and PR partners, meaning that they will have access to a network of other businesses who can offer you support and advice, even if they are unable to directly.

In Summary

When looking for your next agency, you have a choice. There are a lot of people who can help you on a web project, but if you want to reap the benefits of connections with key players in eCommerce, a focus on innovation and a wealth of previous experience, an eCommerce partner agency can help your business grow.

If you want to learn more about how eCommerce specialists can benefit your business and help you reach your goals, don’t hesitate to tweet us @Statement or get in touch.

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