Introduction
An ecommerce agency is a group of skilled, professional individuals who can come in and help you with everything relating to your ecommerce business. These individuals will work alongside you, the owner of the shop, to solve any issues you may have with creating your online business and give the kick start to help your business grow online.
The objective of an ecommerce consulting business is to ensure that your business is thriving, and your website directly reflects your brand. The team will use a unique combination of their skill sets to help you take on whatever issues and challenges you’re facing.
A good ecommerce consulting agency, has a team of people with both the soft and hard skills to make your dream ecommerce site come to life. The soft skills necessary to create an ecommerce site include problem-solving, effective communication, and flexibility. The hard skills could include knowledge of analytics, marketing, content management, and of course IT.
This blog will breakdown what you need to know before hiring an ecommerce agency and the pros and cons of having professionals help you and your online business.
Table of Contents
Advantages of hiring an Ecommerce Agency
For a business owner, hiring an ecommerce agency or consultant could be the one action that saves their business from doom. An ecommerce agency could spot the issue that a business owner would have overlooked and take actionable steps to fix it. Not only that, but the job of a business owner can be an extremely time consuming one. Business owners are always trying to manage so many different things at once that it can become difficult and overwhelming.
An ecommerce agency can save you time by lifting some of this weight off of your shoulders. They can ensure that the mechanics of your online business are running smoothly. Meanwhile, you can focus on other pressing business needs, like production or stocking. There are so many aspects to a business and maintaining every single one of the hard skills necessary to propel a business forward can become taxing.
In addition to saving business owners time, ecommerce agencies or consultants can save retailers money. I know what you are thinking, “how does that make any sense?”. However, if a business owner is spending time trying to get their online store up and running or trying to fix something about their ecommerce site, this takes time away from what they are truly good at, running their business. Over time, the energy that a business owner spends on their website could cost them thousands of dollars in missed sales.
Lastly, an ecommerce consultant could provide needed unbiased feedback that others may not give you. This can be helpful in adapting and pivoting your business to ensure its success in the online market. Marketing insights could also be a benefit that could help you tap into a new market and hundreds of new customers.
Things to Consider Before Investing in an Ecommerce Website Development Agency
Before investing in an ecommerce agency, or even thinking about making your website for that matter, you’ll want to think about a few things.
- What are your marketing objectives? Meaning what do you hope to achieve by implementing a new marketing strategy, in your case a new ecommerce website.
- Who is your audience? Think about who you are trying to sell to on your website. Are you selling directly to customers (B2C) or are you trying to sell to other businesses?
You will also want to think about your brand’s visual identity. Your brand’s visual identity includes your logo, the colors and symbols that you feel identify your brand and so much more.
You’ll also want to decide on what special sales and offers you want to offer your customers. It is said that free shipping is the most important factor for consumers when deciding from which retailer to make a purchase. Other routine sales such as holiday ones should be considered as well to best prepare you to grow your customer base.
For your online store you will also want to think about your online business’s name and the domain you want to use (Don’t worry, a domain is just a fancy word for your website’s url). Are you planning on using the same name as your store’s physical location? Are you just getting started and still haven’t figured it out yet? No matter where you are in the process, an ecommerce agency, like SomneoX can help.
At SomneoX, we will go through all of the above information with you, making sure that you feel comfortable and understand the ecommerce development process. Our customer service specialist Gabriela Passos will take you step by step and explain how we will take the information you give us to create your ideal online store, equipped with all of your needs.
SomneoX prides itself on working with its clients and making sure we have a good understanding of your business goals. The more quality information we can get from you, the more personalized your online shop will be for you. This part of the process is completely dependent on you, the client. We will give you a beautiful online store regardless, however your input and personalized experience can take your ecommerce site even further and make it really stand out.
Ecommerce Website Development & Web Design
A great website has a variety of assets that ensure the UX or user experience is as easy to understand as possible. There are already many different templates and architecture presets available that can provide a wonderful foundation to an intuitive website. Here are a few popular website layouts.
F Layout
Source: Patagonia.com
This layout is effective in ensuring that the customer scans the page moving in an F shape. There have been many studies completed on the patterns of user behavior and this layout is wonderful for a wide variety of websites due to this.
Grid Layout
Source: IKEA.com
This is another layout that has been proven to be easy to read and understand by users. It allows for many different options to be showcased in a small space so that the user can quickly locate what interests them. It could be used for a variety of web applications such as an ecommerce store, newspaper, or blog.
Asymmetrical Layout
Source: Kiwi.com
This layout can be eye-catching to consumers due to the asymmetric shapes. The white space between the photos also serves to draw users in and capture their eye. This website layout also allows for the creator to take creative liberties and ensures each website is unique.
In addition to these designs, ensuring that your website has clear “add to cart” and “checkout” pages increases trust with customers and reduces any confusion. Countless studies have shown that even if customers put something in their cart it does not guarantee that they will purchase that item. In fact, the average shopping cart abandonment rate is around 68.8%. That’s why having a clear, smooth website and user experience can be crucial for the customer’s journey and ensuring that they make it through the sales funnel.
At SomneoX, a big focus of ours is creating superb website designs. We really want to understand how you envision your website and the overall experience you hope to give your customers. In addition to thinking about your website’s layout, we will guide you through the process to ensure that the design of your website is perfect for your brand and business.
Ecommerce Platforms
In this digital age, there are numerous types of ecommerce platforms available, each with their own perks. A few of these include Wix, Squarespace, Big Commerce, Square Online, Big Cartel, WordPress and Shopify. Each one of these platforms has their own pros and cons, and truly the one you choose to use should be based on you and your business.
When deciding on which ecommerce platform is right for you you need to ask yourself a few questions. You will need to know how much time you can dedicate to the creation of your online store?; will you be hiring someone to help you out with this?; and whether you want your ecommerce store to have a custom design and layout or if a generic template is okay? Either way these questions will begin to make you think about what your priorities are in making your website and which platform is best for you.
At SomneoX, we recommend using Shopify. Although there are ecommerce platforms like Wix and Squarespace that are seen as simpler and easier for entrepreneurs looking to create their online stores, choosing Shopify right from the start can ensure long-term success. Shopify also has many other benefits including secure and reliable web hosting, a multitude of creative freedom options, a quick learning curve, easy branding tools, marketing integrations, and a built-in blog tool. Check out our blog post Shopify vs. Etsy: Small Business’ Choice of 2021 to explore the benefits of Shopify further.
Plan a Content Strategy
Content is essential to maintain a great business in this day and age. Textual and Visual Content helps businesses grow their brands and build trust with potential and existing customers. Regardless of the Content Strategy that you choose to take on, it’s important to know what’s out there and how you can make different types of content work for you.
Perhaps one of the most popular forms of online content today are Blogs. I know what you are thinking, “What? Why would my online store need a blog?”. Blogging is an excellent way to get the word out about your website and establish yourself as a trusted authority on certain topics.
Blogs are written in a more casual voice, perfect for connecting with potential customers. They’re also capable of answering questions or solving problems quickly while building trustworthiness among visitors by providing them with valuable information – all without feeling salesy! Regular posts help you keep your web content fresh, which gives you time between new blog entries to rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Blogging can be used as both a vehicle for driving traffic towards your site and establishing yourself as someone who’s helpful when it comes to certain subjects that they might have difficulties understanding elsewhere. Generally speaking blogs sound less formal than other types of writing, this informalness can strengthen your relationships with your clients. The relationship a business has with its customers is arguably the most important aspect of building a brand and marketing.
Another invaluable type of content is Visual Content. Because 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual, visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. With the rise of social media, consumers are looking for more than just a website with text-based content. Gone is the day when brands could simply rely on written content to convey their message and generate interest in what they have to offer.
Today’s savvy consumer demands an experience from your brand–a compelling way that you create connection through imagery or video clips across your site! Be it professional photography that conveys your mission statement or short videos about how something works, visuals help paint an image that words can’t do alone; this paints a much clearer picture of who you are and why people should choose you over someone else.
Reports have shown that web content containing visuals like images or videos perform better — on average they receive up to 94 percent more views than their competitors. And it’s not just your website that can benefit from using visual media. Email marketing campaigns with visuals had a 42% higher click-through rate than campaigns without images.
With the ability to embed video and audio clips so that anyone can view and listen without leaving the webpage, digitally recorded media are increasingly popular web content tools that every small business should have in their tool box. It is a great way to offer content such as how-tos, webinars, podcasts, and seminars, and ultimately interact with your client base all while strengthening your brand.
Ecommerce Consultant Costs
What to consider when budgeting for an ecommerce site? There are quite a few. These web sites start around $1,000 and can go as high as $25,000 depending on how complex the website is. Another factor to consider is, who you are hiring. Overseas developers and Freelance developers tend to be on the lower side of the price spectrum. Meanwhile, more established US digital marketing agencies are on the higher end.
Standard E-commerce Web Design Pricing:
| Outsource overseas | $500 ~ $10,000 |
| US Freelance Developer | $3000 ~ $25,000 |
| US Web Design / Ecommerce Firm | $5000 ~ $50,000 |
Things to also consider regardless of who is creating your ecommerce site is how they price their services. Do they have preset packages with a fixed cost? Have they created a custom proposal for your project? Or are they charging you by the hour / per page?
At SomneoX we believe no client should have to compromise to a set package. Each client’s ecommerce project is unique and therefore should be tackled as such. We work with you to understand your online store goals and the customizations you might need to have an ecommerce site that works for YOU!
As a small business ourselves, we know first hand how expensive establishing one’s business online can be. That’s why we strive to make sure all of our project proposals are at or below market price.
Reach out to us today and one of our team members will sit down with you to chat about what you are looking for in your ecommerce site and the best course of action. We want to make sure that at the end of the day you are doing right by your business and getting the best bang for your buck.
Conclusion
After a year of consumers staying indoors, small businesses have really seen the benefit of investing in their online business. But what about now as the economy begins to open back up? Is it too late to invest in your online store?
It’s NEVER too late! Even as the economy begins to open up, experts predict that consumers’ spending on ecommerce sites in 2021, will increase by 17.9% from last year. Brick-and-mortar retail spending will still see an increase, but at a much smaller rate, 6.3% from the previous year. By 2025, Ecommerce sales will reach 23.6% of total retail sales, versus only 11.0% in 2019.
Whether you decide to build out your online store by yourself, or with an ecommerce agency like SomneoX, taking the time to invest in a quality ecommerce site now, will ultimately ensure the success of your business in the future.
As our economy continues to move online and ecommerce sales grow, SomneoX is here to help answer any questions you might have about how to set up your ecommerce site and what the next steps are.
Give us a call at 407-912- 0794 or shoot us an email at contact@somneox.com for a free evaluation of your online presence. We want to help you create your ideal online store so your company SOAR!