Don’t sell to Amazon, sell on Amazon
In Chapter 6 of Amazon Jungle and this blog, I will encourage you to forget everything you know about the retail business. Amazon listings are an investment. Hard work and an effective brand message that you control will pave the way to increased sales and greater awareness of your brand products. Before digging in, let’s recap what we have learned so far in our previous chapters and blogs:
Rick Cesari and I decided to share our battle-tested plan to lay a solid foundation and stay in the game to navigate “The Amazon Jungle” for success. First, establish your authentic story, then you are ready for the next step. Only selling products with winning potential.
I walked you through my method for identifying winning products and selling them to their full potential. Learning to navigate the platform and utilize the tools available to you may just catapult your product ahead of the competition. Research is the key!
Next, we took a closer look at how to fix that flawed product and build a one-of-a-kind, untouchable brand. We focused on getting it made and making it cool. In Chapter 4, and the next blog, I went over how to set up your Amazon Seller Account and get your Amazon Brand Registered. This is a crucial step! We also looked at creating a knock-out listing with pictures and videos to demonstrate why your product outshines the competition!
Chapter 5 focuses on setting up seller accounts, keyword research, and optimizing listings. Amazon is constantly changing, so it is crucial to launch-listen-learn (repeat!) in order to stay ahead of the game. Now that we have reviewed the key points that led us to Chapter 6, let’s look at why strategies that work for brands in brick-and-mortar stores don’t translate well on Amazon.
The Amazon Mindset
If you start high, your product will not sell.
Amazon listings are an investment. In the Amazon Jungle, you must look at each and every product listing as an investment. You will temporarily lose money on each sale. You will also need to pay twice your selling price in ads to drive traffic to your listing. But luckily, as with any investment, there is always a payoff.
The payoff for your cash investment in your product listing is Search Results Page Rank (SRP) and Best Seller Rank (BSR). The more you sell the more likely you are to receive a product review and rating. If your product is good, and the reviews are favorable, then Amazon customers will trust your product and buy more.
The more clicks and sales you generate with your new product, the more the Amazon ranking algorithm is going to reward your listing with better digital real estate. As your sales and rank grow, along with the volume of good product reviews, you gain pricing power.
So, unlike with retail stores, it is important to list low, generate more sales, and boost your ranking. When your product breaks into the Top 10 for your Amazon sub-category, then you slowly begin to raise your retail price and watch your profits grow!
Product Reviews are King
Product reviews are the absolute best metric to use when evaluating how well your product is performing. If your reviews, or ratings, remain above 4 stars, then the future is bright for your product and your listing.
Study your reviews. Learn from the bad ones. This will help you improve your product each time you reorder from your supplier. The Q & A feature on the product page is another excellent place to search for questions that your customers have about your product. Take any feedback and apply it. Stay alert and look for any problems.
Pay attention to the click-through rate (CTR). This is often overlooked by Sellers, and it shouldn’t be. Even minor changes to the Main Image and product titles can improve the CTR and sales. Make sure they are bright, clear, and get right to the point. This will help customers looking for products like yours, head straight to your listing.
Keep in mind that merely generating traffic to your listing is not enough. The traffic must convert. The better your listing converts to a sale compared to your competitors, the more products you will sell.
When you successfully apply the key steps from this Amazon Jungle Survival Guide – find a great product, create a great listing, and drive traffic that converts – the improvement in sales can be exponential! Your sales and product reviews become the standard by which other Sellers must measure themselves.
Amazon is difficult but following the right strategy can help you beat them at their own game. Avenue7Media is a 30+ person team of Amazon experts running a proven process and delivering an average of 100% growth for our partners. Check out our website at https://avenue7media.com/ for more information.
In Chapter 7, and the next blog, which begins section III in Amazon Jungle, we will focus on how to set yourself apart. My co-author Rick Cesari will share some lessons learned in working to help clients grow sales and expand their brands.