One of the common questions eCommerce business owners have is: “What should I look for when choosing a marketing company for a small eCommerce business?”.
When choosing a marketing company for a smaller eCommerce business, you want to be sure that they are more focused on CPA (cost per acquisition) marketing and less on branding. This means that the agency should completely be focused on maximizing the number of sales generated from your marketing budget.
That’s because the actual sales and conversions are where revenue is made. As a small business you probably don’t have the resources to spare on lavish branding activities.
There’s a saying “Don’t copy huge industry leaders – your main goal is to increase revenue, because money is like oxygen for a small business”.
Here are 6 things to look out for when choosing a marketing company for your small eCommerce business:
1. Intent behind campaigns
Good agencies take time to research your product, target market and competitors. They dig around and try to find out as much as possible about your business. Well researched marketing campaigns always perform better and continue to improve with each iteration.
If the company shows sincere interest in your products, then you’ll be off on a much better start.
2. Be curious about their processes
When looking for a marketing company, it’s important to ask about their processes. What do you want to achieve as a business owner? How is the marketing agency exactly going to get you there? Dig into their strategies and let them show you their approach. If something seems off, more than often the end result will also be subpar.
A good marketing agency will show you their systems and how they plan to reach your goals, even at the risk of giving away their ‘secrets’. Make sure that their strategy is personal to you – not just a hastily made “plan” or a copy-paste from a previous customer of theirs.
3. Ask about metrics
It’s important to know how the marketing company is going to be tracking their success. If they only talk about clicks and impressions, be wary. A good marketing company will tell you that the most important metrics are going to be CPA (cost per acquisition) and ROAS (return on ad spend).
As an eCommerce business owner, you’ll be able to track results with reasonably high accuracy thanks to analytics tools available.
4. Ask for case studies
Many marketing agencies promise high returns without proof to back it up. Ask the marketing company for case studies. Do they have relevant success stories in similar industries? How did they achieve the results?
A good marketing company will have multiple in-depth case studies detailing the work they did for their clients and the approaches they used. A case study acts as a proof of concept – if the approach worked for another business, there’s a higher chance that it will do the same for yours.
As an extra, they can help you understand the thought processes behind the company’s choices.
5. Read their content
What kind of content does the marketing company publish? Does the marketing company have interesting insights to share? A Blog is a great way to demonstrate expertise by sharing valuable pointers and ideas. You might get a hint about the work culture of the company by looking at the content they put out.
6. Look for testimonials
What do people say about them? Does the marketing company have testimonials? Showing testimonials on their website is a great way for a company to display their successes and trustworthiness.
Final words
Good marketing companies will have soul, an ethic and an aesthetic. Find a company that resonates with your product as they will carry your design and ideas into advertising campaigns. A good marketing company might even end up affecting your product and your business choices.
Interested in how Adacted could help your small eCommerce business grow? Apply for a free consultation or call us today!
