As an online store grows, so do its needs. More product lines, growing traffic volume, and new campaigns, mean more complex requirements, from storage capacity and SEO updates, to additional pages, and website functionality and workflows.
Many ecommerce agencies have already identified the opportunity, moving away from the one-time service provider model, to positioning themselves as a strategic growth partner, fostering business relationships that go far beyond store launch.
Choosing the right platform
While choosing the right platform is a key step in building trust and ensuring customer satisfaction, a resilient, future-proof store should be flexible and be able to seamlessly adapt to the fast changing needs of ecommerce retailers.
Getting it right from the start means less growing pains and on-going maintenance costs further down the line, while positioning you as a commercially aware and technically skilled service provider.
Aero Commerce is a popular choice amongst ecommerce choice targeting mid-size retailers due to its lean, extensible architecture, and modular approach, enabling agencies to launch faster, iterate more easily, and expand as needed with minimal disruption.
It also means less feature-bloat: retailers get exactly what they need out-of-the-box, keeping sites fast and total ownership costs lower in the long-term.
Building a growth-led partnership
The partnership shouldn't end once a store is built and launched. Maintenance is a key aspect of ensuring site health, especially in a fast-paced industry such as ecommerce technology.
Performance reviews that actually add value
Ongoing reviews, whether it's monthly, quarterly, or annually, can help flag any potential weaknesses before they become problems, pin-point ineffective workflows, and identify room for improvement.
These means not just collating data from analytics and technical reviews, such as broken links, false redirects, missing metadata or content, but also ensuring improvement suggestions align with the client's long-term goals.
Consider future campaigns, and what website functionality might be needed to support it, seasonal peaks and what can be done to optimise for increased traffic volume. Is there a new product line being introduced soon? How will that impact site navigation and performance?
Answering these questions positions you as a commercial strategist, rather than just a technical executor - and this is exactly how you stand out in a saturated market.
Staying informed
Being aware of the latest developments in your industry and, especially, the platforms that you build on is a non-negotiable.
It helps you identify new opportunities and get ahead, while becoming a more resilient, future-oriented business.
Whether that's new tools or functionality that could reduce costs and increase revenue for your clients, or any upcoming changes in regulations and market shifts, staying informed ultimately means a better experience for you and your clients, and less fire-fighting under pressure.
Challenging your clients
While your client might have a clear insight and vision for the direction of their business, when it comes to delivering a functional store that addresses both their current needs and long-term goals, you're the expert.
Often customers have pre-existing ideas on how they want things done - don't be afraid to challenge them if you know there is a better solution.
Acknowledge their suggestions while stating your case. Ultimately, a client that is paying for your expertise will benefit more from your diligence and honesty, than they will from someone that simply executes.
Implementing improvements
Once you've identified key improvements, it's important you have an action plan as you pitch these to your clients. This includes a risk mitigation strategy, to ensure disruptions and cost are kept to a minimum, while providing your clients with an additional layer of reassurance.
Periodically evaluate store performance to track the effectiveness of any implemented changes and assess whether further changes or tweaks could be made. This will inform further reports and performance reviews with your clients.
How Aero Commerce supports their agencies
With Aero, you get on-going support from day one to help you ensure you deliver the best support possible to your retailer clients. This means:
Keep you updated of platform developments, ensuring you're up-to-date with any changes that could impact you or your clients, as well upselling opportunities.
Technical demos to give your developers a clear understanding of how to get started with Aero.
Extensive documentation to support developers build on and extend the platform.
On-going technical support via a dedicated Slack channel, enabling direct communication with the people that build and maintain Aero.
Marketing and commercial support, including joint PR campaigns, sales collateral, and guidance on how to market and pitch Aero.
Get in touch today to find how your agency and Aero can work together.
