Getting Started - Inspiration Required
Discussion
As an ecommerce guy of nearly 20 years I am looking for a bit of a steer for my next project and I am hoping the wisdom of the successful PH ecommerce community can help. Apologies if this waffles on a bit!
The last 10 years or so I have been an ecommerce manager running teams of up to 20 people (in-house and outsourced) and covering all digital functions in the SMEs I’ve worked in; website admin and dev through to PPC, SEO, social, email marketing, design, merchandising and reporting.
There’s obviously lots of detail around each of those tasks but as a result I now feel like a bit of a jack of all trades and I whilst I have done all of those roles at some point I haven’t been fully ‘on the tools’ for a while.
Having recently become a COVID19 redundancy statistic I feel like now is a good time to put my knowledge and skills to use in the form of consultancy or an agency and to carve my own path.
I would like to focus purely on ecommerce stores selling physical products, B2C is what I know, but I feel like I should probably focus on one particular aspect of ecommerce rather than spreading myself too thinly by trying to be all things to all people?
I know the challenges I have faced over the years in terms of the skills I needed to find or bring in to help me grow sales but I wondered if the owners of ecommerce businesses in here could shed some light on their biggest challenges / frustrations during the day to day running / growing of their ecomm business?
Hopefully there is some inspiration lurking somewhere.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice!
The last 10 years or so I have been an ecommerce manager running teams of up to 20 people (in-house and outsourced) and covering all digital functions in the SMEs I’ve worked in; website admin and dev through to PPC, SEO, social, email marketing, design, merchandising and reporting.
There’s obviously lots of detail around each of those tasks but as a result I now feel like a bit of a jack of all trades and I whilst I have done all of those roles at some point I haven’t been fully ‘on the tools’ for a while.
Having recently become a COVID19 redundancy statistic I feel like now is a good time to put my knowledge and skills to use in the form of consultancy or an agency and to carve my own path.
I would like to focus purely on ecommerce stores selling physical products, B2C is what I know, but I feel like I should probably focus on one particular aspect of ecommerce rather than spreading myself too thinly by trying to be all things to all people?
I know the challenges I have faced over the years in terms of the skills I needed to find or bring in to help me grow sales but I wondered if the owners of ecommerce businesses in here could shed some light on their biggest challenges / frustrations during the day to day running / growing of their ecomm business?
Hopefully there is some inspiration lurking somewhere.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice!
From what you have said you seem to have a good skillset and I am sure you could set up some agency of some sort or even do freelancer work and do well for yourself.
I am a business owner (sell our branded/designed products to end consumer) and would very much fit into your audience your looking at. I will be frank though as a business owner its a nightmare of a space to find someone who will do the things you need without all the smoke and mirrors. We do not do socia, PPC, adwords of any sort. We have thought about it on and off for over 2 years now and every time I look into it to start somewhere it just seems like a mindfield. I will then try and find freelancers or agencies that might beable to help and there just seems to be so much smoke and mirrors of whats possible that you can't tell the truth from the bulls
t.
My personal take it they just want you set up on a fee monthly fee basis and it doesn't matter about your bottom line, 9 times out of 10 that is what matters in business!
Funnily enough I have been meaning to start a thread on here to get some guidance from people on what route they took starting out on social, adwords, seo to expand their website reach etc.
I am a business owner (sell our branded/designed products to end consumer) and would very much fit into your audience your looking at. I will be frank though as a business owner its a nightmare of a space to find someone who will do the things you need without all the smoke and mirrors. We do not do socia, PPC, adwords of any sort. We have thought about it on and off for over 2 years now and every time I look into it to start somewhere it just seems like a mindfield. I will then try and find freelancers or agencies that might beable to help and there just seems to be so much smoke and mirrors of whats possible that you can't tell the truth from the bulls
t. My personal take it they just want you set up on a fee monthly fee basis and it doesn't matter about your bottom line, 9 times out of 10 that is what matters in business!
Funnily enough I have been meaning to start a thread on here to get some guidance from people on what route they took starting out on social, adwords, seo to expand their website reach etc.
I own an ecommerce company with multiple websites and we're working hard to grow, so definitely fit your target audience.
My ideal right now would be to find a mentor (if only!) or second best an eCommerce Coach.
Everyone's a consultant or an agency, but what about a coach? Is this a thing?
I have a business coach with monthly phone call meetings where we cover the business, targets, goals etc. then I crack on with implementing what we discuss until the following months call. But he's not in eCommerce so I can't get eCom specifics from him. It doesn't cost a fortune, and I don't get much time with him for that, but it's useful and worthwhile as we've made good progress since starting.
How about creating a productised eCommerce coaching service where you help guide eCommerce store owners on a monthly fee and adhoc rates for more in depth work? You could create strategies and plans that can be reused across clients and no doubt also tie that in with an "agency" side where you can also action those plans (for a fee obviously) this way you can get recurring income from people who just want guidance and accountability plus income from the "doing" side.
From my real world examples I'd love someone to check over and advise on our PPC campaigns (but not take them over) and same for SEO strategy and general growth strategy. Someone who can guide us on what staffing we should be planning and covering further online strategies we should/could look to for growth (but not necessarily actually doing them for us...)
Hope that's given you some food for thought.
Either that or put your skills to use by starting your own eCom company and fulfilling goods yourself!
My ideal right now would be to find a mentor (if only!) or second best an eCommerce Coach.
Everyone's a consultant or an agency, but what about a coach? Is this a thing?
I have a business coach with monthly phone call meetings where we cover the business, targets, goals etc. then I crack on with implementing what we discuss until the following months call. But he's not in eCommerce so I can't get eCom specifics from him. It doesn't cost a fortune, and I don't get much time with him for that, but it's useful and worthwhile as we've made good progress since starting.
How about creating a productised eCommerce coaching service where you help guide eCommerce store owners on a monthly fee and adhoc rates for more in depth work? You could create strategies and plans that can be reused across clients and no doubt also tie that in with an "agency" side where you can also action those plans (for a fee obviously) this way you can get recurring income from people who just want guidance and accountability plus income from the "doing" side.
From my real world examples I'd love someone to check over and advise on our PPC campaigns (but not take them over) and same for SEO strategy and general growth strategy. Someone who can guide us on what staffing we should be planning and covering further online strategies we should/could look to for growth (but not necessarily actually doing them for us...)
Hope that's given you some food for thought.
Either that or put your skills to use by starting your own eCom company and fulfilling goods yourself!
Thanks for the replies, it's certainly given me some things to think about.
eCommerce merchandising and email marketing services don't seem to be that prolific in their numbers but everyone seems to offer some sort of service for seo, social, paid ads and graphic design.
With regard to traditional agencies, in my experience there's some great ones out there but they also need to be managed by someone from the business to get the best value out of them and the good agencies are pricey (and busy) for a reason. Sadly there are also some that are happy to take a hefty retainer each month and not deliver a huge amount of value in return.
I have also used freelancers to get a job done but it can be difficult to keep track of lots of different pieces of work across different people and platforms.
Perhaps there is room for a middle man so that the end customer can choose from a one stop shop of eCommerce services sold as products at a fixed price with fixed deliverables. Things like article writing, website banner design, a series of social posts, PPC campaign set up or review or some keyword research but they will have just one point of contact. Businesses could effectively have a super-flexible marketing on demand.
Interesting that productised services have been mentioned as I find this movement really interesting and that is the model I would like to build something around.
eCommerce merchandising and email marketing services don't seem to be that prolific in their numbers but everyone seems to offer some sort of service for seo, social, paid ads and graphic design.
With regard to traditional agencies, in my experience there's some great ones out there but they also need to be managed by someone from the business to get the best value out of them and the good agencies are pricey (and busy) for a reason. Sadly there are also some that are happy to take a hefty retainer each month and not deliver a huge amount of value in return.
I have also used freelancers to get a job done but it can be difficult to keep track of lots of different pieces of work across different people and platforms.
Perhaps there is room for a middle man so that the end customer can choose from a one stop shop of eCommerce services sold as products at a fixed price with fixed deliverables. Things like article writing, website banner design, a series of social posts, PPC campaign set up or review or some keyword research but they will have just one point of contact. Businesses could effectively have a super-flexible marketing on demand.
Interesting that productised services have been mentioned as I find this movement really interesting and that is the model I would like to build something around.
Edited by FactoryBacked on Friday 12th June 16:19
I’m intrigued as all the e-commerce I am aware of is looking for people like yourself, can you share why your employer hit a downturn.
Try and find my “starting again” thread which I am about to bring to a close. I sold my e-commerce, sat down for 6 months then launched an agency.
Setting up as a middleman between retailer and agency is a good gig, keeps the agency on its toes and actually helps if the retailer doesn’t have time or enough skill to work with the agency and run the business.
Happy to have a chat should you wish.
(Have you thought about your own e-commerce - you’d be surprised how little a set up can be.)
Try and find my “starting again” thread which I am about to bring to a close. I sold my e-commerce, sat down for 6 months then launched an agency.
Setting up as a middleman between retailer and agency is a good gig, keeps the agency on its toes and actually helps if the retailer doesn’t have time or enough skill to work with the agency and run the business.
Happy to have a chat should you wish.
(Have you thought about your own e-commerce - you’d be surprised how little a set up can be.)
No problem. The business I worked for was very niche. We sold swimwear (think Olympic level race suits at £400 a go), training equipment and also triathlon wetsuits to people who train every day and then compete each weekend so with leisure centres and swimming pools shut and events cancelled there was an overnight drop in revenue by some 90%.
I've followed your journey on your starting again thread from the start and it has been a great read and very inspiring and I guess that is what has pushed me to consider going in that direction now. I am looking forward to following your next adventure!
Would be great to have a chat, thank you. I will drop you a PM now.
I've thought about an ecom site of my own but I haven't ever nailed down a set of products I could get excited about that wouldn't need a hefty investment in stock.
I've followed your journey on your starting again thread from the start and it has been a great read and very inspiring and I guess that is what has pushed me to consider going in that direction now. I am looking forward to following your next adventure!
Would be great to have a chat, thank you. I will drop you a PM now.
I've thought about an ecom site of my own but I haven't ever nailed down a set of products I could get excited about that wouldn't need a hefty investment in stock.
Edited by FactoryBacked on Saturday 13th June 11:45
I'm with some of the people who have dipped their fingers into online sales, and found the people that want to help, as has been alluded to, all smoke and mirrors and tech bullst. Certainly for me, trust in the person who is hosting and keeping the site up to date is key. And yes, everyone wants to get you on a monthly payment, and no-one really gives a monkeys about the bottom line.
We currently have someone who hosts the website, but getting things changed and adapted, and moving forward is really difficult, and unsatisfactory.
It would be very nice for example to have a half hour conversation about the effectiveness of the website, and what sales are coming from it, rather than just see the money disappear from the account every month. It doesn't help that as a business we are usually flat out, so we spend little time thinking about our website, but hell, that's what we pay someone for surely?
I guess I would be in your target audience as well.
t. Certainly for me, trust in the person who is hosting and keeping the site up to date is key. And yes, everyone wants to get you on a monthly payment, and no-one really gives a monkeys about the bottom line. We currently have someone who hosts the website, but getting things changed and adapted, and moving forward is really difficult, and unsatisfactory.
It would be very nice for example to have a half hour conversation about the effectiveness of the website, and what sales are coming from it, rather than just see the money disappear from the account every month. It doesn't help that as a business we are usually flat out, so we spend little time thinking about our website, but hell, that's what we pay someone for surely?
I guess I would be in your target audience as well.
“We currently have someone who hosts the website, but getting things changed and adapted, and moving forward is really difficult, and unsatisfactory. “
Get onto Shopify or big commerce That’s one problem solved.
With regard to learning about traffic - If you can do this before you talk to a pro https://analytics.google.com/analytics/academy/cou... it will give you an insight.
Get onto Shopify or big commerce That’s one problem solved.
With regard to learning about traffic - If you can do this before you talk to a pro https://analytics.google.com/analytics/academy/cou... it will give you an insight.
Hi,
I have had similar experiences as Chamon Lee re marketing agencies. I have an online business B2C but my website is by far and away the weakest And smallest part of it. A year or 2 ago, I spent some money with a decent agency and they delivered rubbish results, was extremely generic and they clearly didn’t spend any time learning what I sold and because I couldn’t devote any attention to it, it never improved and I eventually binned them. (I do take a decent portion of the blame as it really needed someone to be constantly on top of them but sadly I just don’t have the time.)
(Indeed, website still on Magento 1.9 and really need get round to calling DSL about moving to Shopify as his constant championing it has kind of won me over but anyway, I digress)
I would personally prefer employing one person who was good (even on a part time basis) who would then properly understand the business and what products are hot at any one time. For me, and it is no doubt totally impractical but I would love to pay some one on results/sales as a direct result of their work rather than just £££ fee retainer and give them x to spend on PPC and was very little coming back.
Is this something you would be interested in? Potentially there are plenty of small companies like mine that could really do with proper online marketing expertise without involving an agency and all the bells and whistles? Happy to chat if you think interesting.
I have had similar experiences as Chamon Lee re marketing agencies. I have an online business B2C but my website is by far and away the weakest And smallest part of it. A year or 2 ago, I spent some money with a decent agency and they delivered rubbish results, was extremely generic and they clearly didn’t spend any time learning what I sold and because I couldn’t devote any attention to it, it never improved and I eventually binned them. (I do take a decent portion of the blame as it really needed someone to be constantly on top of them but sadly I just don’t have the time.)
(Indeed, website still on Magento 1.9 and really need get round to calling DSL about moving to Shopify as his constant championing it has kind of won me over but anyway, I digress)
I would personally prefer employing one person who was good (even on a part time basis) who would then properly understand the business and what products are hot at any one time. For me, and it is no doubt totally impractical but I would love to pay some one on results/sales as a direct result of their work rather than just £££ fee retainer and give them x to spend on PPC and was very little coming back.
Is this something you would be interested in? Potentially there are plenty of small companies like mine that could really do with proper online marketing expertise without involving an agency and all the bells and whistles? Happy to chat if you think interesting.
My advice ....
Pick 3 things you LOVE doing and set out to become the master of all three. Leave everything else to the herd.
Learn to communicate effectively/clearly/directly (jargon free) with customers (the ones that pay the wedge) - Only promise things that can be delivered, achieve the desired results and watch them come back for more.
LISTEN - DELIVER - LEARN - ADAPT - IMPROVE - REPEAT
You’ve got this = easy!
Pick 3 things you LOVE doing and set out to become the master of all three. Leave everything else to the herd.
Learn to communicate effectively/clearly/directly (jargon free) with customers (the ones that pay the wedge) - Only promise things that can be delivered, achieve the desired results and watch them come back for more.
LISTEN - DELIVER - LEARN - ADAPT - IMPROVE - REPEAT
You’ve got this = easy!
Edited by khushy on Tuesday 16th June 09:12
khushy said:
Pick 3 things you LOVE doing and set out to become the master of all three. Leave everything else to the herd.
Learn to communicate effectively/clearly/directly (jargon free) with customers (the ones that pay the wedge) - Only promise things that can be delivered, achieve the desired results and watch them come back for more.
LISTEN - DELIVER - LEARN - ADAPT - IMPROVE - REPEAT
I'd just add - know your market and get your marketing right. No point trying to sell stuff people don't or won't buy.Learn to communicate effectively/clearly/directly (jargon free) with customers (the ones that pay the wedge) - Only promise things that can be delivered, achieve the desired results and watch them come back for more.
LISTEN - DELIVER - LEARN - ADAPT - IMPROVE - REPEAT
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