We are kicking off a new series this month – Inside the eCom agency – where we’re going to look at every aspect of agency life from an internal perspective and from a client perspective.
Too often we’ve heard brands and retailers say the same thing: My agency costs too much; I’m not sure what they deliver; I think they are recommending solutions because they get a kick back; changing agency is too big a risk… basically all the same thing – “My eCom Agency Sucks!”
So today in the first episode we address exactly this issue – why some agencies are fantastic and why others are maybe not so great. We look at smaller agile staff up agencies, often set up by those with deep expertise in on particular area of ecommerce, compare with mature agencies that have been around a decade or more, and end looking at an agencies goals and what is the difference between an agency with VC backing compared to one which is self financed by the owners.
In this series, I’ll be joined by industry and agency veteran Matthew Ferguson from eManaged, and in future episodes we’ll be inviting guests from brands and retailers to join us. So sit back, enjoy the first Inside the eCom Agency episode, Why Agencies Suck, and we look forward to you joining us again next month!
Inside the eCom Agency – Why Agencies suck
In this video you will find sections on:
Small start up Agencies
- 00:00 Introducing “Inside the eCom Agency” and Matthew Ferguson, eManaged
- 02:02 “I’m not sure I want to use another agency because the last two I used were horrendous!”
- 03:32 Why small start up Agencies are often chaotic workload messes
- 05:55 Founder with limited managerial skills
- 09:14 How agencies need to think about training staff
- 10:53 How mission creep please no one!
Do agencies over charge & under deliver?
- 14:09 Justifying a fee by keeping busy
- 14:40 Agencies that focus on growth, not profit
- 16:13 Agency fee structures
- 18:50 Auditing agencies
Different languages given different pasts
- 23:27 Agencies with ex-Amazonian founders
- 29:06 Chasing marketshare at a loss
- 35:42 Balancing PPC, Deals, Coupons to achieve business objectives
Recommended systems and partners
- 42:19 Recommendations that come with an agency kick back
- 44:12 Don’t be afraid to switch system providers with agency backing
- 45:55 Honest system provider recommendations
- 50:26 Ensuring systems are fully featured for your needs
