How to prepare for an e-commerce project discussion: a guide for clients

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1. Start with business goals

Before you start talking about functionalities, stop for a moment and focus on the business reasons why you want to implement this project. An added value for the agency is a clear statement of whether the main goal is to increase sales, enter a new market, or perhaps improve customer experience.

Example motivations include:

• Are you looking for operational optimization, sales growth, or cost reduction?

• Or are you planning to enter a new market?

• Is it about improving customer experience on the current platform?

Sometimes a clearly defined budget is the starting point. In this case, the agency can plan the project so that the specific amount covers as many actions as possible aimed at achieving your business goal. With this approach, seeking compromises and clear prioritization of actions significantly increases the chances of project success.

It may also be that you don’t have a clearly defined budget, and your goal is more task-oriented. An example of such a goal might be: "we need to enter the German market." In this case, the agency will present a plan for the strategy, technology, integrations, and marketing necessary to achieve this goal. You ultimately decide whether you have the financial means to begin the implementation.

It's also worth discussing the topic of data security for your company and your customers, and the solutions that support it.

2. Present your customers

An agency can build the best store in the world, but without a deep understanding of your audience, it will be a soulless piece of technology. Describe who your customers are and what they expect from you. The more information you provide, the better the agency will be able to match the shopping experience (UX) and development strategy. Try to answer the following questions:

• How and what are they buying?

• What problems do they face while shopping?

• What discourages them and what attracts them?

This information will allow you to create a store that not only works but also truly sells.

3. Gather information on your current situation

A consultation is also a time for diagnosis. Prepare a list of information about your current infrastructure and resources. This is a very important point where playing with open cards will allow for a precise definition. Even fragmentary information will make it easier to start the conversation, but you will make the task much easier for both yourself and the agency if you arm yourself with detailed knowledge.

So, it's worth having answers to the following questions ready:

• Do you already have an online store and what platform does it run on (e.g., headless commerce, Magento, or WooCommerce)?

• What systems need to be integrated with it (e.g., ERP, CRM, payments, warehouse, marketing automation)?

• Do you have any important system preferences, such as specific tools, technologies, or programming languages? Maybe you're interested in, for example, migrating from one program to another?

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• What resources are you already operating with? (IT team, content team, project team)

• Who from your team will be working on the project? Think about who in your company will be involved in the project and whether they have experience with such work.

• What is your past experience with agencies? It's worth considering what has worked well in the past and what hasn't. What style of work do you expect and what do you prefer to avoid?

• What are your company's values? Think about what is crucial to your daily work and what the new solution should reflect.

• What is your vision for the company's development over the next two to five years? Think about long-term plans so the agency can propose solutions that will support your business for years to come, not just in the short term.

• What are your key business metrics? Think about expected revenues and margins. When discussing the technology budget, you can also specify what percentage of the margin you are willing to allocate to maintaining and developing the platform.

• Are you ready for the changes that automation will bring? Think about whether implementing new technologies might affect your team structure and whether you are open to it to increase your scale of operation.

• Does your team like to learn and is it open to new knowledge? Do they enjoy continuously improving processes?

• How is analytics structured in your company? Is knowledge from analytical systems available to everyone, and do people actually use it to make decisions?

Even fragmented information will simplify the start of the conversation, but you will make the task much easier for both yourself and the agency if you arm yourself with detailed knowledge.

4. Share your vision, inspirations, and examples

In addition to describing your own concept, show examples of stores that you like—not only visually, but also in terms of functionality and convenience.

• Look for inspiration not only from the competition but also from companies from other industries.

• Which examples from the market do you consider poor implementations and which are exemplary?

• Present your concept and its key elements that are most important to you.

Specific examples will make the agency understand the direction you want to go in faster, which will also contribute to process optimization.

5. Prepare a list of questions

Preparing your own list will ensure you don't miss anything that's important to you. During the conversation, many questions will certainly be directed at you, but there will also be a time when the roles are reversed.

Here are some example questions worth asking the agency:

• What does the step-by-step collaboration process look like?

• Who will be directly involved in the project?

• What is the agency's experience with projects in your industry?

• What are the billing models?

• What happens after implementation (support, development, SLA)?

Remember: a consultation is a space for asking questions, not an exam. Also keep in mind that if you can't think of any questions, it's worth openly asking if there's any other matter you've forgotten to discuss that you should. This exchange will ensure you leave the meeting armed with all the information necessary to take the next steps.

6. First meeting checklist

To make things easier, here is a list of things worth keeping in mind or your notes:

✓ my business goals,

✓ knowledge about the audience,

✓ description of the current situation (systems, integrations, budget),

✓ inspirations and benchmarks,

✓ questions for the agency.