Are you doing business on an eCommerce platform but still need help knowing where to start, or is your business not growing? eCommerce Consulting Firm can help you with all of the above. So how to find the right eCommerce consultant, and what benefits does it bring? Please follow the article to get the answer.
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What is an E-commerce Consultant?
As a sales channel, eCommerce is enabled by the swift advancement of information technology. eCommerce cannot exist without the internet, and information technology always supports eCommerce’s future growth. Vital as it is, the role of IT in eCommerce is not always clear.
An eCommerce consultant who provides you with knowledge and solutions to your eCommerce problems can help you improve your online stores and performance.
What does an eCommerce consultant do?
They provide you with everything from products, marketing strategies & pricing to conversion optimization & user experience. An eCommerce Consulting Firm is specialized in one task or phase of a company’s eCommerce platform development. Depending on your needs, you can hire a suitable eCommerce Consulting Firm.
So why hire an eCommerce Consulting Firm alone? Let’s look at five reasons in the next part of the article.
5 Advantages of Using an eCommerce Consultant
Get feedback from people outside the organization.
As for the global eCommerce consultants, they have many years of experience working with a wide range of large companies. From there, they see the strengths and weaknesses of those companies. This knowledge is then drawn to see the flaws of the business, thereby giving enterprises the most accurate views. Overcoming the bad points, and promoting the strengths, according to experts, can promote the success of the business.
Usually, businesses work according to existing templates, lacking creativity and new changes. A good eCommerce consultant will not only give you software recommendations or optimize your eCommerce platform but also help the company propose business and marketing strategies. Your job is to have a good team of staff to execute the strategies that have been set out.
Improve your workflow with expert advice
(I)
Is your business facing errors in inventory management, and does inefficient workflow waste your time? The experienced e-commerce consultants will help you check the operating process and business software, then recommend suitable solutions.
Automating business workflows can save you a lot of time. Workflow automation can assist you in eliminating data entry errors. From there, your business increases productivity and focuses more on work, which allows your company to grow without spending much time on manual operations.
Maintain the competitive advantage of the business
Omnichannel for e-commerce will help your brand reach more target customers, thus maintaining a competitive advantage.
Also, data management is another success factor, as seamless data synchronization among different sales channels facilitates more effective fulfillment & faster delivery. These improvements will have a direct impact on your customer satisfaction rates.
It’s not easy to implement omnichannel commerce & manage data effectively anyway, as it requires choosing the right technology & strategic know-how. An eCommerce consultant can help you with these challenges, powering business growth with fewer risks.
Discover and explore new sales channels
In addition to reaching users through SEO articles or website advertising, businesses can use other channels such as:
- SMS
- Social media campaigns (paid and organic)
- Video
- Voice search
- Point-of-sale advertising
- Geotargeting
- Direct email
An eCommerce Consulting Firm can help open your eyes to new sales channels and innovative ways to reach your audience–often without a significant technology investment. By leveraging omnichannel campaigns, you’ll extend your reach to new audiences and engage with consumers when they are ready to buy.
Saves you time and money
Hiring an eCommerce Consulting Firm will save you time so you can focus more on other essential or impactful tasks. An eCommerce Consulting Firm will monitor the situation and devise strategies to ensure that your business thrives. Your job is to focus on the functions the eCommerce consultant sets out.
eCommerce Consulting Firm can help you realize ways to optimize your online business’s cash flow. This support can encompass digital marketing solutions, social media strategies, eCommerce platform recommendations, and other essential business needs critical for running an efficient business and boosting online sales.
How to Choose the Best eCommerce Consulting Firm
You can choose the right eCommerce Consulting Firm depending on your business goals and budget.
- Determine the target
There are countless different eCommerce Consulting Firms on the market. You first need to determine your goals and what you hope to achieve when you hire a consultant and then find one with field expertise. For example, if you are having problems in email marketing, you should only choose a consultant with a similar experience, which will bring better results.
What is your budget for hiring a consultant? Identifying this will help you narrow down the list of companies you hire. Global companies often require a large number of complex contract terms that your company needs to meet.
- Find the right consultant
Once you’ve determined your goals, it’s time to find the right consultants. First, you can search for a list of eCommerce Consulting Firms on Google. Type “eCommerce Consulting,” and a series of results will be displayed. Now your next job is to identify the correct information.
If you use Shopify, you can also visit the Shopify Experts directory to browse a moderated list of qualified eCommerce Consulting Firms with specific experience working with the Shopify platform and its merchants. In the end, you need to find the 2 -5 companies that work best to get to the next step.
- Vet your top candidates
Now you will dig deeper into the eCommerce Consulting Firm on the list you selected above. Find out if their budget and experience align with your goals. If there is no publication, you can contact them directly for advice. In addition, you should consult customer reviews when using their services from other websites and only partially trust reviews from global eCommerce consultants’ websites as all bad reviews might be removed already. . Choosing reputable third-party sites to view reviews is advisable to avoid biased opinions.
- Set up a discovery call
Once you’ve confirmed the best company for you, it’s time to make some calls to get more detailed information about the service. This call will allow you to chat directly with the eCommerce vendor so you can talk about the problem your business has and what you’re looking for in them.
Be prepared to ask questions during these discovery calls. You will want enough information to compare and choose the right consultant confidently. Ask about:
- Working process
- How they work with clients.
- Cost of work
- How they communicate
- How they track and measure success.
From there, ask two to five hypothetical questions drawing from your own business experience and challenges. This will let you know if they’re the right fit for you.
Make the hire
You’ve reviewed all the options and selected your top eCommerce consultant—now it’s time to close the deal. Review the proposal from the consultant and all your notes from research and discovery calls, then cross-check that information with the contract. Note any discrepancies before you sign. It is essential to note the length of participation and whether or not you have any fees or penalties for early termination.
How an E-commerce Consulting Can Help?
Optimize your conversion rate
To make it easier and more satisfying for your customers to shop with you, you need to optimize your store’s conversion rate by implementing user experience (UX) improvements. eCommerce Consulting Firm will give you an overview of the consumer buying process from the beginning of the store visit to the successful checkout. In addition, they will let you know what problems your site is having.
Complex purchase operations or a lousy web interface will make the customer unhappy and frustrated. Meanwhile, a good user experience will make it easy for users to manipulate, and ultimately your sales will increase. An eCommerce consultant will examine the UX of your website and identify areas to optimize for conversions. For example, if your customers often stop at just adding products to the cart without checkout, they would recommend adding live chats or another element to drive users to convert.
Reach new customers
The primary goal of eCommerce businesses is to attract new customers. However, finding and coming up with ideas constantly to exploit new markets and customers takes effort. Now, an eCommerce consultant will make this easier for you. They help you develop new ideas and strategies to bring your business closer to customers.
For example, eCommerce consultants can advise you on sales channels suitable for your business’s nature so that they can easily reach new customers or devise marketing campaigns for your current sales channel.
Choose which products to sell
eCommerce Consulting Firm can also assist you with product development. They give you advice about your products, be it product development, researching new products suitable for the current market, or improving old outcomes in terms of packaging and design. You can sift through the ideas of the experts and combine them with your company’s direction to create the best you want.
Example: You are a business dealing in bottled mineral water with stable sales and want to expand your product line. Realizing the potential of the carbonated beverage market, are you thinking about whether to continue developing your mineral water product line or launch a completely new product? An eCommerce consultant can help you analyze your idea and conduct market research to see if it’s worth pursuing. Or, they might find something you can improve on your current product before you even think about investing in new product development.
In addition, they can also consider whether your product pricing strategy has been optimized or not. If you are pricing too low, you can increase your price to increase your profit margin so that you make more money on each sale. If you overprice and cannot compete with products in the same segment, causing shoppers to choose an alternative product, the consultant will also help you adjust it.
Maximize your profitability
In addition to helping you set product prices, eCommerce Consulting Firms have the power to help you maximize profits. They will have the means to negotiate your contract with your technology platforms, suppliers, and distribution systems, to reduce your costs as much as possible.
eCommerce Consulting Firm can also examine business processes, applications, and workflows to identify areas for improvement. They can find tools you don’t even use and locate a subscription that you can downgrade to a cheaper plan but still fully utilize the benefits of an eCommerce platform to reduce costs.
Top Ecommerce Consulting Firms
Rikkeisoft
Rikkeisoft (Rikkeisoft Joint Stock Company) is an information technology company in Vietnam established in 2012 with the main business goal of providing information technology services and solutions. Being on the market for ten years, we have established our position in the market with many projects and won many outstanding awards such as the “Top 10 Software Exporting Enterprises 2021”, best Venture 100, etc.
With the above, we could be an eCommerce Consulting Firm for you to consider. With a strong team and advanced technology, you will be satisfied when placing your trust in us.
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is a global consulting firm honored as one of the “Big Three” – the three most prominent companies in the world by revenue. Their principal business is to provide enterprises with strategic and management consulting services. In addition, McKinsey & Company’s digital consulting services focus on everything online, from digital marketing to data analytics.
If you need an eCommerce Consulting Firm, then McKinsey is one option you should consider. They have a wealth of experience and advanced technology that can help you. However, you will have to pay a sizable expense, given McKinsey’s size and expertise.
Monumental
If you are a Shopify business, it is necessary to recognize Monumental – a top eCommerce Consulting Firm that specializes in helping sellers use Shopify. Monumental enables you to optimize your eCommerce site by building, customizing, and adding integrations.
In addition to the outstanding UX and UI design, Monumental also helps optimize the conversion rate (CRO). For example, if you need to increase the registration rate on your website, Monumental will devise strategies to help improve the number of people visiting your website & refine your website content so that it’s more enticing for users to register.
A Group Consulting
Group Consulting is an international consulting firm based in London with a global network of partners mainly focused on the European market. Group Consulting provides strategic advice to improve operational efficiency for the private sector and community organizations.
Group Consulting is best for brands that want consulting across various business areas instead of just one specific thing. For example, A Group Consulting can provide everything from complete digital adoption and transformation to straightforward SEO (search engine optimization) strategies or legal consulting for business registration.
Bain & Company
Bain & Company is an American firm that provides consulting services to public, private, and nonprofit organizations. Bain & Company has experience working with businesses across various industries, from consumer wear to high fashion and grocery stores. The Company not only helps you in e-commerce and even retail stores.
In particular, Bain & Company has more expertise in eCommerce in B2B, so if you are a company specializing in business sales, this will be an option you should pay attention to.
Like McKinsey & Company, the cost you must spend hiring this eCommerce consultant is also relatively high.
Final Thought
An eCommerce Consulting Firm becomes necessary for businesses that want to sell online at some point. Most importantly, you must know how to choose a good consultant that suits your needs. We hope that our comprehensive guidelines & our top eCommerce consulting firms help you choose the right direction for your eCommerce project.
