What is a BigCommerce marketing agency?

A BigCommerce marketing agency is an external company that helps eCommerce businesses optimize their BigCommerce stores through effective digital marketing strategies. It's a type of eCommerce marketing agency that specializes in this specific eCommerce platform.

These agencies typically specialize in one area such as lead generation, mobile app development, content creation, BigCommerce SEO, web design, social media, etc., and they provide all of these services under one umbrella. By working closely together with your BigCommerce agency it’s easier for them to understand what you want and how best to achieve it, and also ensure consistent delivery and results.

Why should you hire a BigCommerce marketing agency? 

If you host your eCommerce store on BigCommerce then a lot of the marketing functionalities and the tools you'd be using would be different than for other stores. Not all agencies are going to know the ins and outs of BigCommerce marketing, so you want to work with a team that's experienced. You don't necessarily need to work with someone who has a fancy BigCommerce partner badge but you do need to find someone with a good track record of working with similar companies to yours, in the same niche.

Here are cases where you would need an agency that knows BigCommerce:

• Marketplace expansion - you want to expand to a new marketplace and need backoffice integration between the marketplace and your store. 
• Custom development - you might be on an advanced plan like the BigCommerce Enterprise and you want to use some of the additional features you get. Or you need a digital marketing agency that can develop a custom site for you.
• Conversion rate optimization - if you're trying to improve your conversion rate for your BigCommerce store then you often need to use native plugins.

Here are our top picks for the best BigCommerce marketing agencies you should work with :
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How do you hire the best BigCommerce marketing agency? 

The million-dollar question is - how do you hire the right BigCommerce Partner for you? Here is a step-by-step guide on how we hire the best agencies in the world, and how you should too. Ecommerce B2C and B2B companies spend millions of dollars working with the wrong marketing agency partners. Here's how to avoid that and find the right agency for your business.

Look at their data, not their case studies

Don't settle for their flashy case studies. Always look at their data. Figure out how they set up campaigns, how they manage ad budgets, and how they deal with a wide range of issues. Also look at their technical expertise and at how they've dealt with things like algorithm updates.

Clarify the process and the goals

Never keep things vague. Clarify the business objectives, communicate your own expectations, and make sure you know what their timeline is. You should also clarify who you would be working with. Do they have an in-house team of advertisers? Do they use freelancers? If you're planning to run ads or do a custom design, does the agency have a design team available to create the designs for your campaigns or do you need to find your own graphic designer?

Make sure they have channel-specific expertise

It's not enough to have "eCommerce experience". Your agency needs to have proven experience with the specific marketing channel that you are using to turn your visitors into customers. Whether you are running marketing campaigns on social media, doing content marketing, or looking to improve your overall customer acquisition, you need an agency that has done it before and has succeeded in each particular channel. 

Verify they have industry expertise

It's vital to work with marketing experts that have experience working for other brands in your industry. Ask the agency to show a list of their past clients with examples of their work + results. Most agencies have a range of clients they've worked with and they are going to try to show you their best work. But it's not always in your niche. So stay on top of that conversation and verify their work before you hire them.

Questions to as your BigCommerce Agency

• Have you worked with other merchants in my niche? If so, what type of revenue growth have did you achieve for those clients?
• Are you a full-service BigCommerce agency or do you specialize in specific marketing services?
• What other eCommerce solutions do you offer?
• Which industry leaders have you worked with? 
• Do you have experience with paid advertising (Google Shopping, Instagram / Facebook Ads, Google Ads)? 
• Do you have experience with conversion optimization? E-commerce SEO? 
• What can I expect from your level of service? 
• How many full-time employees do you have?
• What's the entire process look like? 

How does BigCommerce help my business? 

BigCommerce allows business owners to launch online stores, upload their product catalog, and sell an unlimited number of physical and digital products. 

Types of services BigCommerce agencies can offer

A BigCommerce agency can offer several services including: 

BigCommerce development - a development agency can help you pick out the best theme for your BigCommerce site and help you with any custom development tasks you may need (including your collections pages and payment methods).

BigCommerce marketing - the agency can help set up your marketing tools including widgets that display your customer reviews, convert potential customers better, upsell / re-sell products, and sync your inventory with online marketplaces. They can also act as your very own marketing team and handle various channels such as search engine optimization, eCommerce strategy, price strategy, abandoned cart campaigns, 

BigCommerce operations - the agency can handle your back office operations including inventory management, 

Is BigCommerce good for small businesses?

BigCommerce is a great option for eCommerce businesses and new shop owners. It's one of the leading platforms in the eCommerce industry and is packed with a ton of features. It's also less expensive than Shopify for medium to large stores.

Is BigCommerce good for beginners? 

BigCommerce is a great option for beginners. It's affordable, user-friendly, reliable and easy-to-use. It has a suite of tools built-in to help you better design and market your store.

What is the disadvantage of BigCommerce?

The disadvantage of BigCommerce is that you have to pay extra for basic cart abandonment features, and the third-party apps and themes are not as sophisticated as the ones Shopify has.

What can you not sell on BigCommerce?

What you can not sell on BigCommerce, according to their policy: "you may not use the Website or Services or allow any third party to use the Website or Services for any purpose that is determined by BigCommerce, in its discretion, to be unlawful, invasive, infringing, obscene, offensive, defamatory or fraudulent, or to engage in, promote or encourage illegal activity or profanity".

Is Shopify or BigCommerce better?

Shopify is better for more beginner users that need access to the latest third-party tools, payment options, site search and product filtering. BigCommerce is less versatile and is better for larger brands that need custom development done.

Find the perfect BigCommerce agency through your Mayple

Why re-invent the wheel? We have an extensive network of some of the best BigCommerce partners you could find. We match you with digital marketing companies that have extensive experience in your niche, above benchmark results, and have achieved incredible eCommerce growth through your desired channel. What are you waiting for? Get started today! 

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