Today, e-commerce has become an industry with rapid leaps and bounds. It brings enormous benefits, is convenient, and is suitable for the current situation.
Businesses and investors will need expert support for the e-commerce platform to operate smoothly and bring high profits. That’s why eCommerce consultants have increasingly become a promising career.
For you to have the most overview of this industry, we have compiled helpful information below. Let’s read on to discover!
Job Description
Each job has its characteristics and a different working environment. eCommerce consultants play a vital role for businesses with a flexible and highly professional environment.
What is an eCommerce consultant?
Regarding eCommerce consultants, you can imagine digital business market analysts responsible for driving business sales. They are the financial experts in online business on both small and corporate scales.
There are many different services that an e-commerce professional can offer to individual and corporate businesses.
Those services mainly focus on analyzing development potential and assessing a competitive position. As a result, they provide investment advice to help manage and find ways to drive future growth.
What does an eCommerce consultant do?
Developing a website and starting to sell takes work, especially for large businesses with significant capital investment. At that time, they will need support from eCommerce consultants.
Their main tasks are market analysis, evaluation, and development orientation.
These consultants need to understand macroeconomics and society well, thereby understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their client’s businesses.
They will bring objective and valuable conclusions about what is going on with business on e-commerce platforms.
They will provide excellent guidance and support to improve your business model’s chances of being profitable from the facts they know.
E-commerce consultants will be the ones to suggest ways to boost your business. Your store’s growth will likely involve marketing, traffic, branding strategies, and store hierarchy.
Where do eCommerce Consultants Work?
ECommerce Consultants can cooperate with businesses in any stage of development from investors.
They will be responsible for market analysis and development orientation with newly established stores. Experts will advise you on optimizing capital and ways to quickly maximize business performance and associated profits.
For struggling businesses, they will analyze mistakes made, reorient the way capital is used, and point out opportunities to reverse the situation.
If a trade marketing consultant works for a company in a steady growth phase, they will help keep track of the store’s strides and social change. From these practical elements, they advise on the following steps to success with little risk.
eCommerce Consultants can contract with the company and work as office workers. You can take on a freelance consultant position and receive a salary according to specific tasks.
It is a job with flexibility in the working environment, with many opportunities and challenges for employees.
Education Requirements
Becoming an eCommerce consultant has specific requirements. In particular, the relevant qualifications and certificates are factors to determine an expert’s performance and reputation.
Education degrees and certifications
To become an e-commerce consultant, you need a university degree in a related discipline. A bachelor’s degree is the ideal you should have to start your career.
ECommerce consultants graduate with computer science, marketing, business, and marketing majors. If the right opportunity arises, you should continue your studies to conquer a master’s degree.
An advanced degree will speak to your ability and knowledge in the field. Employers and businesses will often give more preference to candidates with good academic results and possessing valuable qualifications.
The University of Houston and the University of Washington are two educational institutions with many successful graduates in e-commerce consulting. So, consider pursuing a career path at these two schools.
The University of Wisconsin, Georgia, or Minnesota is another reputable option offering practical courses and certifications.
In addition, foreign language and computer certifications are also essential for this job. Those who want to work in transnational corporations or develop in foreign markets will need to be able to use the corresponding foreign language.
English is the primary language used in the commerce industry, especially e-commerce. Prestigious certificates such as IELTS or TOEFL will be of great value, receiving high evaluations from employers.
Office computer certifications are also necessary if you apply for jobs at some large corporations. A candidate with stable computer skills can build charts, reports, and logical and easy-to-follow data storage files. This source of information will bring great value to the company, creating prestige for experts.
Work experience
Depending on the position, employers will ask for years of experience in their candidates. They prefer candidates with 2-3 years working in a similar situation.
For more ambition in this field, you can confidently apply for jobs at large corporations and companies.
Meanwhile, fresh graduates should work in positions at small companies or private enterprises to familiarize themselves with the work and gain practical experience.
Participating in business internships during your studies is also a great way to gain experience. And employers will always prioritize candidates with practical experience over those with only theoretical knowledge.
These people are familiar with the work they need to do and can improvise flexibly, thereby working more effectively than others.
Essential Skills
Different jobs require you to have complementary skills. Below we will describe to you what you need when you want to become an e-commerce consultant.
Hard skills
Their main tasks are market analysis and business development orientation. Therefore, they will have the elements for smooth and successful work:
- Market analysis skills
- Customer orientation ability
- The ability to find solutions
- Can see potential opportunities
- Propose highly effective business strategies
- Look out for possible development trends
- Logical thinking skills to identify problems
- Ability to predict the market and work results
- Assess the position of the business in the market
- It can be service-oriented and product development
- Know how to attract potential customers through SEO blog and content
Soft skills
In addition to the required hard skills, some soft skills that can provide good support for this job are:
- Foreign language
- Office computer skills
- Communication skills
- Ability to plan and organize
- Able to do good teamwork
- Understand the development of the market
- Able to work independently with high efficiency
Essential Tools
Many tools can support the work of an eCommerce consultant. You can refer to the following useful essential tools right here:
- Zapier
- Sourcify
- Google Analytics
- BuzzSumo
- JungleScout
- QuickBooks
- Oberlo
- Constant Contact
- Buffer
- Smile.io
- Facebook Apps
Job Outlook
You will have many career development opportunities when you work in e-commerce as a professional.
Businesses and investors have different consulting needs. You can build on your strengths to enhance your reputation and get good employment opportunities.
If you can create a business image and bring the manufacturer’s name closer to consumers on e-commerce platforms, you can develop towards becoming a branding consultant. If you are good at maintaining and improving sales websites, functional consultants are the way to go.
A conversion consultant will be the right career for those with experience in e-commerce. They can offer solutions to increase leads, expand markets, and best marketing direction.
Today, science and technology and online business development provide fertile ground for those who want to become eCommerce consultants.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many upheavals in the world economy. Forms of quarantine, isolation, and blockade have limited the development of traditional commercial services. Meanwhile, it promotes an ever-expanding and disruptive online business.
It is the condition for more popular online commerce globally. So, professionals in this field also have better growth potential.
Salary
The salary of an eCommerce Consultant varies wildly, depending on qualifications, experience, and performance.
In general, people with higher education degrees earn a higher average salary. Seniority is also a factor affecting employees’ income. Those with long years of experience will also receive more incentives at work.
A bachelor’s degree holder can earn over $80,000 annually as an e-commerce consultant. This average salary will rise above $100,000 for holders of more advanced degrees such as master’s and doctorates.
Your salary can increase based on your efforts and ability. Constantly learning, improving skills, and grasping market trends help you improve your work quality and income. The greater your value to businesses, the higher your salary will be.
Advantages and Disadvantages
With the tasks, opportunities, and challenges this job poses, you will face many advantages and difficulties in becoming an eCommerce Consultant. Follow the sections below to understand better.
When working as an e-commerce consultant, you will have many advantages to develop your career:
- High and stable income
- Can control the workload
- Train logical thinking ability
- Flexible working environment
- Career development opportunities
- Can choose customers and working partners
- Practice problem-finding skills and create solutions
- Have the chance to update market information continuously
Becoming an e-commerce consultant also has many disadvantages.
- Inconsistent work
- Great work pressure
- May have to pay high taxes
- May face long-term projects
- Not much time for physical activities
FAQs
When learning about eCommerce consultants, you will likely encounter questions. I hope the answers to our frequently asked questions can help you.
What should I major in to become an eCommerce consultant?
E-commerce consultants are graduates from majors related to business, finance, and marketing. A small portion has degrees in computer science and marketing.
It is a discipline that provides knowledge related to trade and market analysis. Graduates from these disciplines will have the knowledge and skills to do the job.
Why do you need an eCommerce consultant?
When you have the support of an eCommerce consultant, you will understand the market and the potential to grow your business.
From there, you can have a direction to develop an online trading platform, seize the opportunity to expand online business activities, and use capital efficiently.
When trading with higher success, you will save unnecessary time and money.
When should I appoint an eCommerce consultant?
You may need an eCommerce consultant for large online business projects or plans to develop online marketplaces. Each stage of business development has its characteristics, and it is necessary to focus on opportunities and avoid risks.
The support from e-commerce consultants will help you avoid market traps, effectively use your capital, and maximize profits.
How much do eCommerce consultants make?
The money economic consultants will be different with different working environments and markets. In the US, e-commerce consultants generate an average profit of about 48.37 an hour and about $100,609 annually.
How to choose the right eCommerce consulting agency?
You need to know the expertise these professionals offer, their services, the prices for hiring a consultant, and the work environment they require.
You can find the professional best suited for your business and online business from these factors.
How much should I charge as a consultant?
The cost of your consulting process should depend on the job’s complexity and your qualifications and capabilities. An ecommerce consultant’s salary can range from $50 to $150 per hour.
How can e-Commerce Consultants benefit your business?
Experts will give you valuable tips to develop e-commerce platforms, expand your customer base, seize opportunities and optimize capital.
Which eCommerce platform is right for my business?
Depending on your business, you can choose the most suitable e-commerce platform based on expert advice.
Some reputable eCommerce platforms you can refer to and learn more about our Magento, Shift4Shop, and WooCommerce.
Is it hard to become an ecommerce consultant?
Becoming an eCommerce consultant takes work. You must study and graduate in related majors, constantly learning and practicing to improve your knowledge and working skills.
Plus, you must always grasp market changes to see opportunities for your business and avoid unnecessary risks.
Career Advice
eCommerce consultants are indispensable advisors to bring prosperity to a business in the online market. They get great material and spiritual value, so e-commerce consulting has become a competitive career field in today’s market.
Becoming an eCommerce consultant brings with it many opportunities and challenges. If you can be strong and find solutions to difficulties, you will have the chance to develop a promising career with a desirable salary.
Let’s quickly start building your future path to becoming an e-commerce expert!