Guide for Selecting an E-Commerce Agency

A successful E-Commerce project requires the right blend of individuals, services and a structured approach to deliver lasting return on investment. Selecting an agency to build your online store is a vital process for your business. With many companies to choose from, a host of methods for E-Commerce deployment and with no two proposals the same, making an informed comparison and a final selection can be a difficult task.

In order to help you in this process Ominor have created the following 12 elements which, in our experience, are key components of a highly successful E-Commerce project. Regardless of whom you select as your E-Commerce partner, the following 12 elements should be apparent from the agency and clearly explained in order to achieve the best results:

1. Consultancy - Successful E-Commerce sites are founded on the quality of the strategic thinking behind their planning. A full E-Commerce site build proposal should always include a number of days with an experienced consultant from the agency who can add real value and input to many aspects of the project. This should be an inclusive process. Working closely together, the client and agency should challenge the proposed solution and objectives and detail the project success criteria on which the site and agency should be measured.
2. Project Management - Successful E-Commerce delivery requires the timely co-ordination of teams and individuals, both agency and client side. This involves structured planning of all phases of the project and defined roles and responsibilities for all individuals, complete with timelines and dependencies. Also detailed should be incremental sign off stages allowing the project to progress while keeping all parties informed. Have you been introduced to the proposed project manager? Are they going to be available to you during the entire lifecycle of the project? Are the various stages of the proposed project clearly outlined and provided to you in a detailed project schedule? What methodology does the agency employ? What tools are available for you to keep track of the project during development?
3. Documentation - All E-Commerce projects require Functional and Technical Specification documents to be created and agreed prior to ANY design or development taking place. These documents detail all features and functionality to be implemented on the site and act as a blueprint for the project. It is significantly easier and less time intensive to amend a specification document in the early stage of a project than it is to amend a collaborative E-Commerce site build 50% into its delivery. In addition to these documents the agency should provide detailed project plans and schedules complete with all allocated resource, design briefs, sign off forms, change control forms, example meeting minutes, risk registers and regular project update forms. Always ask for examples of documents used by the agency during a project and be very wary of any company attempting to build E-Commerce sites without these processes and procedures clearly defined and utilised.
4. Measurement - The Internet is the only marketing medium which can be accurately measured. As such it should be very clear from initial engagement with an agency that measurement is a key focus and that they encourage you to work with them to set goals for key site metrics (browse to buy ratio, average basket value) and are acutely aware of industry benchmarks within your sector, against which your sites performance can be measured. If you have an existing E-Commerce site the agency should include a vital benchmarking session, establishing current performance against which the new site can be evaluated. Beware of any E-Commerce provider that is not fanatical about measurement.
5. E-Marketing - You may build the best E-Commerce web site in the world but it will not make sales without site visitors. Does the E-Commerce agency provide E-Marketing as a core service range? Have they explained the options available to you and the pros and cons of each medium? Have they worked with you to assign a large enough proportion of your budget to the marketing of your E-Commerce site, ensuring the project is a success and delivers fast return on investment?
6. Usability - Ultimately, the success of an E-Commerce site will be reliant on web users buying regularly from your site. In order to achieve this, users must find the site attractive, clear and easy to use. Sites built with usability as a core focus on average enjoy increased browse to buy conversion ratios of over 100%. Does the E-Commerce agency understand key usability considerations and issues? Do they provide usability testing with real people making real purchases? Is the agency passionate about the user experience?
7. Portfolio - The efficacy of an agency is measured on the success it has delivered for its clients and the quality of its portfolio. While experience in your specific market can be advantageous, focusing on the overall appeal and clarity of sites and how the agency has delivered inline with the project brief, market sector and objectives is the clearest indication of their capabilities. Don't be afraid to ask about how other projects have been deployed and always ask to speak to a number of key clients for independent references.
8. The Agency - the people and the company. What size is the company that you are going to entrust your online revenue to? A small agency (less than 12 staff) may be attractive due to a lower cost but may be significantly impacted by the loss of a key member of staff. How long have they been trading? How can you ensure they are going to be around to support you? Are they profitable? Are they accredited by an independent governing body (e.g. Ominor are proud to be an ISO 9000:2001 Quality Assured Company).
9. Flexibility - Many agencies have E-Commerce software and platforms that can limit your options for site feature changes and expansion in the future and / or impair the design of the front end of your site. Can changes, reductions and additions be made to your E-Commerce site at any time without major re-development? For example can a French language version of the site be built with a separate price list managed from the same central administrative system? Can you easily create a branded micro-site for one of your key affiliates? A modern business needs to evolve, adapt and grow in order to compete and dominate in its online market place. Ensure your E-Commerce site is driven from your business model not from limitations imposed by your E-Commerce agency.
10. Technical Strength - While E-Commerce success relies on creative and marketing services and expertise, the foundation on which any transaction is made using an E-Commerce site is a web based technical mechanism; one that is critical to your business. Are the E-Commerce agency able to discuss technical issues and features with you in plain English? Using industry standards for the development of the code used to run an E-Commerce site ensures stability, security and scalability. Can the agency provide examples of their standards documents? A versioning system provides control over a web site by tracking each update and providing a mechanism to reverse unsuccessful changes to the site. Does the agency have a versioning standard and system? Testing is vital to a successful site launch. What testing methodology does the agency employ and what involvement will you, as the client have in this process? You should ask and expect to see detailed 'Test Plan' documents outlining all tests and expected behaviour.
11. Business Support - An E-Commerce site evolves over time and requires ongoing measurement and refinement to gain the best possible results. Reactive and proactive support of a project is vital to ensuring ongoing success. What services do the agencies provide to ensure the site continues to build on the success it has enjoyed? What access do you have to key E-Commerce site statistics and what level of measurement and reporting are the agency responsible for? What application and hosting Service Level Agreement (SLA) can they provide you with and what are the implications if this is not achieved? All support options and costs should be considered prior to the start of a project.
12. IPR - Intellectual Property Rights. In other words, who owns the design and E-Commerce site that has been built for you? You paid for it, surely it must be you? Not necessarily. Unless specifically stated otherwise, within a legal contract all design and development which is used to run your site is vested with the agency. Many companies can find they have invested in an E-Commerce site, are unhappy with their current agency but are locked in as all of their E-Commerce assets are owned by the agency. Know what you are paying for. Ominor have a unique view on IPR within this market with all design rights and use of the E-Commerce site vested with the client. The only barrier to leaving Ominor as an agency is the level of service and outstanding return on investment delivered to our clients.

We hope you find the 12 key points listed above useful. To discuss a specific project or for a more detailed explanation of any of the points above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Whichever agency you decide to choose, we wish you the best of luck with your E-Commerce project.