Training Team: Your Guide for Setting Your BigCommerce Store Up for Success

As a BigCommerce Enterprise plan customer, you can engage a variety of resources designed to assist with developing and managing your ecommerce site. One of the most valuable resources we offer is access to our Professional Services teams.

We understand how much goes into having a successful online store, which is why we maintain a team of industry experts to support customers as they grow their ecommerce business.

To show customers how to maximize these teams’ benefits, we’ve launched a blog series that breaks down each team’s role, how they can help you, and best practices for working with them.

In Part 7 of our series, we interviewed Natasha Richeson, Training Director at BigCommerce to gain insights into how her team helps BigCommerce customers see success.

What does the Training team do for customers?

Natasha Richeson: “Our team consists of trainers who educate customers on launching and managing their stores. Those who are brand new to BigCommerce can learn how to build their store step by step and update it as they grow their business. Our goal is to help customers launch quicker and seamlessly maintain their storefronts.

“We offer training through on-demand e-learning, virtual or on-site one-on-ones, our BigCommerce Community, and educational videos. Any customer can work with our team, from small businesses to developers to enterprise companies. We can also conduct more personalized training for larger Enterprise plan customers to fit their exact needs.”

What’s the best way to work with the Training team as a new customer?

Richeson: “I recommend customers work with an Implementation Project Manager (IPM) because they will bring the Training team in at the time that makes the most sense for the customer.

“Once you begin working with our team, you should form a partnership with your trainer and let them know what you want to learn so you can get the most out of their services.

“Lastly, understand that we are there to teach you, not do the work for you. It’s most helpful when the person who will be setting up the store is the person we're teaching and is engaged in getting those elements done in between training sessions.”

Can you tell us more about how personalized training works?

Richeson: “We offer more personalized and tailored coaching through our on-site training. Instead of being designed for launching a store, the training is designed for the customer’s teams that will be directly using the platform. This is highly beneficial for larger Enterprise plan customers with different teams in charge of their ecommerce store.

“With our personalized training, we find out what the customer’s specific needs are and build a curriculum that’s taught one-on-one to those teams over a five-day period. This training can be delivered in person or virtually.”

What is the BigCommerce Community, and how can customers take advantage of it?

Richeson: “The BigCommerce Community is a free service that any customer or partner can use to ask questions, share best practices, and learn from others within the BigCommerce ecosystem.

“We’ve set up different groups in the Community. We recently relaunched the News and Updates group, which mimics the posts we do on our Community Facebook group. That way, if you're not in our Facebook group, you can still see the exciting messages about releases. There’s also a place where customers and partners can submit their ideas, which can surface to our Product and Engineering team.”

What are the most common issues that brands run into, and how can they avoid them?

Richeson: “One of the biggest issues that smaller customers without an agency run into is decision fatigue. They want their ecommerce site to have the best design, integrations, and payment gateways, but building that can be daunting. This leads customers to feel stuck.

“One of the things we try to do as trainers is make it very simple and let customers know they just need shipping, payments, and products. You only need a few things to get a store up and running. Those extra elements can be built later, potentially even by an agency.”

What are your top tips for a successful launch on BigCommerce?

Richeson: “Have some sort of interaction with an expert from BigCommerce. Being able to talk with someone and ask questions helps tremendously. There are many opportunities to engage with people who understand the platform and can help you meet your site goals.” 

What’s your favorite BigCommerce partner?

Richeson: “Feedonomics is an excellent addition to any ecommerce store. I also love Avalara because it helps minimize back-end work when it comes to taxes.”

What’s an example of something you’ve seen a customer do that made them successful?

Richeson: “Customers who trust their Professional Services teams and communicate effectively with them are the most successful. If we say that you're going to need 100 Solution Architect hours, it's because we know from experience that's what you're going to need. Our goal is to get you the proper services that you need based on your requirements. We've done it before, and we know that this is what it takes.”

What are some of your favorite BigCommerce brands?

Richeson: “Larq and Lammes Candies are two of my favorite brands on the platform.”

The final word

Countless customers take advantage of our Professional Services teams to build and maintain their ecommerce site. SKDA is a business on our platform who continuously leverages these teams to help optimize their site. Combat Corner is another brand who used this service to turn their vision for a headless framework into reality. 

For new and existing customers on BigCommerce, our Training team is one of the best resources for learning how to navigate the platform. With their help, you can more efficiently create and maintain your ecommerce store, saving you a significant amount of time.

Check out our other Professional Services teams and join the BigCommerce Community on Facebook to collaborate, share advice, and learn from the success of other customers on our platform.