Running an eCommerce business can be overwhelming.
You need to take care of sourcing the products, marketing them, delivering them to the customers, handling refunds…
At some point, it becomes too much for one person and you need to either start building a team or start outsourcing.
One of the tasks that you can outsource is email marketing.
However, there are countless marketing agencies out there, all of which claim that they can help you increase your revenue.
So how can you make sure that you choose the right one?
One of the worst things you can do is hire an agency that “specializes” in everything.
You know what this means. They will redesign your website, they will take care of your email marketing, they will run Facebook ads for you, they will create content for your blog, they will make videos for your YouTube channel…
The problem is that each of these tasks requires expertise in a specific skill. There’s no way a single marketing agency could do it all while maintaining high professional standards.
You need to immediately eliminate these Jacks of all trades, masters of none from your list of candidates.
You should also eliminate agencies that specialize in “email marketing” because there’s a huge difference between promoting personal brands, software companies, and eCommerce businesses via email.
What you want is an agency that specializes in email marketing for eCommerce businesses.
That way, you will be sure that you are working with people who have the exact skill set that you need.
It’s best to avoid agencies that are not clear about what kind of results you should expect if you hire them.
People who have the necessary experience and know what they are doing will tell you precisely how they can help you.
For example, “Increase Your eCommerce Revenue by 10-30%.”
This might seem like a risky promise to make, but an agency that is confident in their ability to achieve a 10-30% increase in revenue has an established track record of producing these kinds of results.
Now, consider how different “We will help you increase your eCommerce revenue by 10-30%” is from “We will improve your email marketing”.
One statement is concrete and quantifiable, the other is vague and doesn’t say much. What does “improve your email marketing” even mean?
Would you be happy if you hired a marketing agency and they increased your average open rate by 1%?
Probably not, but technically, they did improve your email marketing, so they fulfilled their promise. Did you get your money’s worth, though?
You need to be suspicious of agencies that do not set clear expectations because it indicates a lack of confidence in their ability to deliver results.
Moreover, vague wording makes semantic games possible, which means that it will be much harder to get a refund if you are unhappy with their service.
Imagine that two friends of yours tell you that their New Year’s resolution is to lose weight.
Friend A says that they will:
a) Diet.
Meanwhile, Friend B says that they will:
a) Go on a strict carnivore diet from January 1st to June 1st.
b) Lift weights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
c) Go for a one hour walk on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Now, if you had to bet money on one of them, which one would you choose?
Obviously, you’d put your money on friend B because friend B has a clear plan.
Well, it’s the same when it comes to hiring an agency, you want to go with someone who has a clear plan as to how they will deliver the results that they promised.
An agency should have a systematic approach to client work. When you ask them what’s next, you should expect an answer along the “Okay, so first, we will do X, then, we will do Y, next, we will do Z…” lines.
Avoid people who start stuttering and rambling when asked this question because that’s an indication that they haven’t thought things through.
Why would you trust someone who’s clearly flying by the seat of their pants? They can’t even organize their own business, don’t expect them to help you with yours.
One of the great things about the Internet is that it has democratized knowledge.
Now you don’t have to take out a five or six figure loan and spend four years at a university in order to get a piece of paper that allows you to work in your field.
You can teach yourself, produce results, show those results to people and get them to hire you.
This is true for a wide variety of skills such as writing, web design, coding, marketing, etc.
However, while this is a revolutionary development, it has also introduced new challenges.
For example, in the bygone days, if you wanted to be a marketer, you had to get a marketing degree, which prevented a lot of talented but poor people from pursuing this profession.
But the upside of that system was that if you hired someone with a degree in marketing you could be sure that they have at least the theoretical knowledge required.
Meanwhile, nowadays anyone and everyone can become a marketer, which is great because it expanded the talent pool, but the downside of this is that it’s harder to evaluate someone’s skills.
That is why you need to make a decision to only work with people who have a proven track record of producing the results that you want.
Sure, there might be exceptions, for example, you might meet a young person with a lot of potential who you are willing to invest in.
However, when it comes to outsourcing you need to make sure that the people you are hiring are experts in their fields.
When you are considering a particular marketing agency, see if they showcase any customer testimonials or case studies on their website.
If an agency is actually getting results, they will shout it from the rooftops, so if you notice a conspicuous absence of social proof on their website you probably shouldn’t hire them.
An agency should offer a free consultation during which you can explain your situation, get their advice, ask questions, etc.
Avoid agencies that try to pressure you into hiring them without providing that free consultation.
Think about it. How can they possibly promise to help you grow your business if they don’t know anything about it? That’s just money-grubbing predatory behavior.
Moreover, accepting clients without taking the time to understand whether they are a good match also reeks of desperation.
Professionals who know what they are doing and are in demand don’t work with just anyone who walks through the door. The better someone is at their craft, the more options they have, which means that someone who is a legitimate expert will want to see if you are worth their time.
An agency that is ready to draw up a contract with anyone who merely glances at their direction probably isn’t that good. Why else would they be so desperate?
Entrepreneurs don’t outsource tasks just because, they outsource tasks because it’s the most profitable way to run their businesses.
This means that you need to make sure that you are getting a return on investment that is high enough for outsourcing to make sense.
Luckily, if you have your eyes on an agency that is clear about what results you should expect, it’s very easy to see if the math works.
Also, while agencies often don’t share their prices on their websites, an agency should be able to give you a clear estimate of how much their services are going to cost you.
Avoid agencies that start to babble when asked to provide a price estimate. That’s a sign that you are either dealing with amateurs who have no clue as to what’s going on or with grifters who deliberately confuse you in order to hit you with unexpected fees later.
This is the vaguest of all the criteria listed in this article.
Basically, you want to work with someone you get along with, so pay attention to the vibe you are getting from people at an agency you are considering.
Now, you don’t need to be besties with them and commiserate about the Game of Thrones finale together, but if there is a lot of awkwardness and misunderstandings, in the beginning, it might mean that you aren’t a great match.
And if you get a feeling that something is off, don’t brush it away, humans have evolved to be very perceptive when it comes to our interactions with others so it’s always best to listen to our social intuitions.
This is especially true when it comes to things that might indicate a lack of professionalism such as being late, telling you they will send you information tomorrow and forgetting it, etc.
Of course, you shouldn’t overreact either, we are all human, things happen.
Also, if you have a hunch that someone is a person of questionable character, it’s probably best to not do business with that person. Better safe than sorry!
Finally, before you sign the contract, it’s best to do some online digging and see what you can find.
Generally, if the agency is small, they probably won’t have generated enough buzz to be the topic of online discussions.
Also, if an eCommerce company finds a great eCommerce email marketing agency, they might want to keep it secret to retain their competitive edge.
But when people have a bad experience with an agency, they tend to vent about it online, especially on the anonymous forums where they can share the story without losing face.
So use your Google-fu skills to see if you can find any unhappy customers.
Of course, keep in mind that while one scathing review might be a red flag, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should immediately ditch the idea of working with that agency.
However, if you find several negative reviews and the complaints of those dissatisfied customers overlap, you should probably reconsider.
You are probably aware that the profession of sales has a bad reputation. The phrase “used cars salesman” is actually used as an insult. Salespeople are often perceived as pushy and sleazy.
This field has more than its fair share of people who just want to make money, ethical considerations be damned.
That doesn’t mean that every salesperson is like that … But it does mean that you should keep your guard up until you are sure that you can trust someone.
Well, the profession of marketing has the same problem, though to a lesser extent.
The issue is that in marketing, just like in sales, it’s easy to focus so much on making money that you lose track of everything else (ever saw one of those expensive “get rich quick” courses that have great marketing but provide little value?).
That means that there are quite a few grifters out there who only see their clients as cash cows. You don’t want to do business with these people.
You need to protect yourself by exercising caution. Sure, listen to what people say… But also use the objective and quantifiable criteria outlined in this article.
Don’t let anyone sweet talk you into signing a contract that you will later regret.
Outsourcing your email marketing to professionals is a great decision.
However, it’s important to make sure that you choose the right eCommerce email marketing agency.
Otherwise, you might end up wasting money on incompetent people or fall prey to unscrupulous grifters.
In order to avoid that you need to pay attention to how the agency operates and what is their track record.
So do your homework before making the final decision.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Contact us today for a free 30 min strategy call. If we find a good fit and work together, we will guarantee your ROI with a money-back promise
14 Comments
Starla
Hey there. I discovered your web site by the use of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable matter, your site got here up. It seems great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Samuel Catbagan
Hey Starla! Thank you for the support, do let us know if you’ve got any feedback or questions, we’ll be happy to start a conversation 🙂
Michiko Rothove
I wanted to jot down a brief word to express gratitude to you for all the nice recommendations you are giving out here. My considerable internet look up has now been paid with useful information to exchange with my companions. I ‘d say that we site visitors are unequivocally blessed to dwell in a really good network with so many marvellous individuals with insightful hints. I feel quite blessed to have used your weblog and look forward to plenty of more enjoyable moments reading here. Thanks once again for everything.
Vanda
Thanks a lot for the blog post. Really Cool.
Samuel Catbagan
Thanks for the support!
cupcakes near me
Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay.
I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
Samuel Catbagan
Hey there Amanda, yes you can! Our Twitter Handle is: @ChronosAgency_
creer site e commerce
An intriguing discussion is worth comment. I believe that you
need to publish more about this subject, it might not be a taboo matter but typically folks don’t discuss these subjects.
To the next! All the best!!
footwear purchasing
I constantly spent my half an hour to read this web
site’s articles or reviews everyday along with a cup of coffee.
James
hey there and thank you for your info – I’ve certainly picked up something new from right
here. I did however expertise some technical points using this
website, as I experienced to reload the website lots of times previous to
I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web host is
OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google
and can damage your quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords.
Anyway I am adding this RSS to my email and could look out for
a lot more of your respective fascinating content.
Make sure you update this again soon.
Samuel Catbagan
Hey there James, thanks for your feedback. We’ve recently rebooted and we’re back up and running to deliver content to delight our readers. Thanks!
mm88
I’m amazed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s both educative and engaging, and without a doubt,
you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is an issue that not
enough men and women are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy that I found
this during my search for something regarding
this.
cvv shop
Thanks for the marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you will
be a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back down the road.
I want to encourage you continue your great job, have a nice evening!
Mei
Hi there, You’ve done a fantastic job. I’ll certainly digg it and personally suggest to
my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this website.