E-commerce marketing agencies run paid, email and marketplace channels for a store whose margin decides everything, so the business hiring one judges the retainer on contribution: revenue less cost of goods, less media spend, less the fee. An agency that reports return on ad spend without the margin is reporting its own success. The brief states the margin, the channels and the metric; the accounts stay in the store's name; and the fee is compared with a hire on the worksheet on this site; The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, cited below, puts the median pay for market research analysts and marketing specialists at $78,760 in May 2025.
Brief the margin and the metric
Contribution after ad spend and fee, by channel, is the metric; the brief states the margin the agency must work within and the reporting shows contribution, not return on ad spend alone. Retainvia Pro holds the margin and the metric in the brief so every proposal is scored on the same contribution figure, and the retainer record shows it month by month.
Separate the fee from the spend and keep the accounts
The management fee for the hours of creative, management and email work; the media spend in the store's own ad accounts; the email platform and the marketplace accounts in the store's name. The scorecard marks ownership above price.
Price the fee per hour against a hire
An e-commerce marketer at the published median, loaded, against the fee on the hours the channels need: the worksheet prints both and where they cross as the store's channels multiply, and Retainvia Pro keeps the comparison with the brief.
Questions people ask about e-commerce marketing agencies
What should the brief to an e-commerce marketing agency contain?
The hours of work a month, the channels, the goal in your own definition, the reporting you will read, the exit terms, and the sector context. One brief to every agency on the shortlist, so the proposals line up on one scorecard.
What should an e-commerce marketing agency cost?
The management fee for the hours the brief asks for, compared on the worksheet with the loaded cost of a hire; any media spend is your money and sits outside the fee.
What does the scorecard measure?
Whatever the brief named as the result, monthly or quarterly, with media spend as a separate line so the agency's retainer and the platform's bill are never confused.