With the rate of ecommerce growth and the changing landscape of working with internet retailers, manufacturers are finding themselves at an impasse for how to handle the online arm of their business.
It wasn’t long ago that the ecommerce part of the business could be handled by existing resources within the organization, whether that be merchandising, customer service or brick-and-mortar reps. But now, brands who want the online channel to become a meaningful contributor to their business need not only a dedicated strategy, but the expertise to bring it to life. And that often means deciding who to hire in support of that function.
Here, we’ll dive into what brands should consider when evaluating an agency or other support for their ecommerce business.
When it Makes Sense to Hire an Ecommerce Agency
Partnering with an agency is not a one-size-fits-all solution or a silver bullet to see your ecommerce growth skyrocket. But it can bring valuable expertise, industry knowledge and strategic guidance to your online business if your brand is positioned well for the partnership and you find one that feels like a good fit.
Looking to an agency to help drive growth online makes sense if your brand is looking to:
1. Overcome resource limitations.
For many manufacturers, creating ecommerce-specific roles within their organization is challenging, for any number of reasons. But this is a channel that requires expertise, and if you can’t add dedicated resources to your team, you won’t be able to develop a comprehensive ecommerce approach that drives the business forward. Partnering with an agency can give brands a turn-key team with specialized ecommerce expertise, enabling you to tap into a wealth of knowledge and experience that might otherwise be out of reach.
2. Manage day-to-day overwhelm.
To have a meaningful ecommerce business, brands must be proactive rather than reactive. But as the online channel grows, it becomes increasingly more difficult to manage everything from publishing products to elevating content to managing retailer marketing and promotions across your portfolio of partners, let alone staying one step ahead. An agency becomes another set of hands—or even several sets of hands—on deck to handle the day-to-day business that keeps an online strategy moving. Leaning into an agency for the daily management can free up time for other members of the team to focus on other areas of the business.
3. Overcome a growth plateau.
In fairly recent history—particularly during the home furnishings’ boom of 2020 and 2021—your online business may have grown without much proactive effort. (We actually have a name for this: An accidental ecommerce business).
But as many brands have learned, growth is no longer a given. Pushing ahead requires a strategy that is tailored to your brand and your online retail partners. Without that, you risk losing market share and falling behind competitors who are actively making changes that move them beyond the status quo.
An agency can help breathe new life into your ecommerce strategy, from creating efficiencies around publishing products to coming up with fresh ways to drive growth. Plus, a strong agency partner can bring a unique vantage point, both from working with multiple clients and from the unique backgrounds of those on their team.
4. Strengthen critical retailer relationships.
As online retailers get bigger and more efficient, manufacturers are more and more responsible for their own success with a particular partner. These relationships might feel more transactional. And that can be challenging, create roadblocks and make it harder for brands to develop close, collaborative relationships with buyers.
Having support from a team with a strong retail background only helps your brand effectively navigate the ins and outs of the channel and engage with retailers on a deeper level. Because they work with multiple brands, agencies have the opportunity to deeply understand retailers and how to best support and succeed with them. They can then use that knowledge to foster the partnership between manufacturer and retailer in the most productive way.
5. Benefit from economies of scale.
It’s not just humans that make an ecommerce business function at a peak level. Selling online requires technology that will support operations and processes and maximize efficiencies. That investment is separate from the people who will use and run it. Working with an agency can give your brand access to a technology suite like a Product Information Manager, keyword optimizers, pricing software and other tools that scale time-consuming projects, without having to allocate your own budget for those tools.
When Hiring an Agency Doesn’t Make Sense
While partnering with an agency can be a powerful solution for home furnishing manufacturers looking to drive growth in their ecommerce business, it may not be the right choice for every brand. Let’s explore some situations where agency support might not be the best option.
1. If you’re lacking the fundamentals of an online business. If your brand is just starting on an ecommerce journey, you’ll want to ensure you have the infrastructure in place first. The most critical business fundamentals for bringing your brand online include:
- Product: Does your product appeal to the online customer? Will it be easy to order and understandable to the end consumer?
- Pricing strategy: It’s important that online retailers (who pay the cost of shipping) maintain a healthy margin. If your products are not priced competitively for your category, they won’t be profitable for all parties. Plus, you’ll want to make sure you have margin room to invest with retailers on promotions, advertising, etc.
- Assets: Do you have imagery of all of your products, including lifestyle imagery and images of varying options or customizations? In order to sell products sight unseen (and not lose money on returns), you’ll need strong imagery and product data to give the online customer the confidence to purchase.
- Operational excellence: Stated lead times must be accurate and consistent to be online, so your brand must be logistically able to deliver on both.
If these elements aren’t yet in place, focus on building that foundation before hiring support to hone in on growth. 
2. If you’re reluctant to experiment. Ecommerce success relies on a willingness to explore various strategies to see what works. Agencies can help navigate this, but manufacturers must be nimble enough to capitalize on new opportunities that merge along the way.
3. If you’re only seeking a quick win. Ecommerce is a play for the long game. It takes consistency, patience and thoughtful strategy to build the channel in a significant and sustainable way. For brands committed to this, an agency can provide the expertise and guidance to achieve long-term success.
Considerations to Make When Hiring an Ecommerce Agency
Home furnishings manufacturers want to work with an ecommerce agency for any number of reasons. But whether it’s to help jumpstart slowed growth, build brand awareness or expand retailer partnerships, an agency is going to be an extension of your team and it's important that the two mesh well.
To ensure your partnership is set up for success, make sure you evaluate the following factors before selecting an agency partner:
What is the level of online expertise? Ecommerce is different than the brick-and-mortar channel many brands have built their businesses in. So, the sales support you have for online should be different from the physical retail side, and it should be specifically rooted in online strategy. Understand what online retailers the agency works with, what volume of online business they are managing and what their specialties are. An agency partner should be able to effectively navigate all of the partners in your portfolio, even if they are all very different from one another. This allows you to approach your ecommerce business with a centralized strategy.
What services do they offer? As with any partnership, it is critical to understand the service-level agreement of a partner in detail so you know exactly where you’ll have support. Then, make sure that aligns with the needs of your business. For example, if an agency provides merchandising support to get products published, but doesn’t work on optimizing listings or developing sales strategies, that may or may not fill the need. Or they may work with some of your retailers, but not all of them.
Is there chemistry? As with any partnership, you’ll want to feel in harmony with the people that you’re working with. Making sure your teams gel will make everything from communication to building strategies easier—and a lot more fun.
Can the agency scale? If the idea is to grow your business, an agency must be able to grow as well and sustain the attention you’ll need as a client. An agency also must show the ability to adapt to the changing needs of the channel so that you’ll keep a competitive edge in working with them.
Do they know your business? Make sure any agency you partner with is familiar with the nuances of your industry. Consumer packaged goods are a lot different than furniture products that drop-ship big, bulky items. And particular categories may have their own distinctions as well that you’ll want to ensure a partner fully understands.
Do they have a track record? Any reputable agency should able to point to long-standing existing partnerships to show a proven track record of success. They should also be able to provide a reference that you could speak with directly about their experience.
Determining the best way to manage your wholesale ecommerce business depends on many factors, including the brand’s position in the market, ability to scale processes and the areas of expertise needed to maximize the brand’s success.
Working with an agency won’t be the right fit for every home furnishings brand. But the combination of specialized expertise, customized strategies and efficient processes can give you a formidable edge that ensures sustainable growth and continued success in the dynamic ecommerce space.
