What You Need to Know Before Selling on Amazon

There is no denying that Amazon is the world's largest online marketplace, with several billions of goods being sold on its platform. In 2019, estimates revealed that almost every individual in America possesses an Amazon Prime membership, and the numbers are bound to rise.

The recent pandemic is a contributing factor to the rise of Amazon's value as the mandatory lockdown required individuals to stay indoors, resulting in more orders than usual. Even Amazon's CFO, Brian Olsavsky, dubbed the period as "unusual" since this quarter of the year is often slow for the giant.

This prosperity is exclusive to 2020 as approximately 3.3 million new sellers have joined the platform since January 1st, 2017. This rise in Sellers is due to the exposure the company offers in countries like France, the US, Singapore, UK, India, Canada, and many more, granting the seller more revenue.

If you plan to get a boost in revenue with Amazon, this article will provide you what you need to succeed. Here is how to get started.

1. Choose A Model

Before rushing to upload products on the eCommerce giant, choose a business model for selling on the platform, and there are two types: 1P and 3P.

In a 1P business system, your brand sells directly to Amazon at wholesale, and the platform handles the tedious process required to sell the products. This option is straightforward for most brands, as it requires very little involvement.

However, this model comes with zero customization and control as you won't determine the price, content, and any other factor - everything depends on Amazon.

Alternatively, the 3P business system is the most popular choice for sellers as it uses Amazon to connect with consumers. This option enables your brand to have more control over how it's represented on the platform and decide on the content, pricing, customer experience, etc.

However, this model requires many resources to manage as you're responsible for every facet of the business - from product description to your customer's buying experience.

2. Improve Product Details for Search

Amazon delivers over 2.5 billion products yearly, and one way for your items to be on the list is to make it easy for customers to find your offering and compare it to similar products.

Fortunately, Amazon makes the search more comfortable by allowing customers to filter their search by different product attributes. This method is how a buyer goes from women's shoes > loafers and slip-on >Sperry's >Top Sider >Tan > Size.

Nevertheless, to enable a customer to precisely find what they need, you need to ensure your offering appears on top of the product search results. This challenge is achievable with accurate product information as Amazon matches them to the customer's search terms.

The information doesn't only revolve around the title but the description, size, colour, identifiers, and many more. These details are vital because they're how your customers will know they're buying the right thing.

3. Use Competitive Pricing

Due to the pandemic's devastating effect on the global economy, most buyers will be out looking for the lowest price for items. Therefore, you will need to know your competitor's price range for your current offering then list your product at a competitive price.

If your item isn't popular and meeting your competitor's price is difficult, you can look into other similar products and see how much they cost. Keep in mind that having a lower price is a sure-fire way to have your items appear on top of the search list.

If you feel keeping tabs on all these factors might be challenging, you can opt for tools like a Product Information Management (PIM) application to efficiently handle this aspect.

4. Take Exceptional Product Images

While a detailed product description and competitive pricing will get customers to engage with your offering, low-quality product images and videos will send them away from your virtual store.

This behaviour is due to your buyer's inability to physically assess the item they wish to purchase, causing them to rely on your images to guide their purchase. If the photos aren't clear or sufficiently engaging, the discomfort will cause them to try somewhere else.

Therefore, instead of grainy product photos taken with your old cellphone, consider trying something more significant and different. We recommend hiring a professional photographer through our Launch Control program. This program will match you with professionals in photography with experience in shooting engaging and highly captivating (as well as converting) imagery. This team also ensure that your images comply with Amazon’s product image guideline that specifies the quality and image size required.

5. FBM vs FBA – Choose your Fulfillment Method

Delivery is always a problem for new sellers, and super-fast, accurate fulfilment of orders is vital for success on the platform. In other words, if you - or any shipping service - can't deliver orders as quickly as possible, you'll be out of business in a short while.

Fortunately, Amazon provides a system that enables you to fulfil orders as swiftly as possible, allowing you to focus on your business's more critical aspects. This service is called Fulfillment By Amazon (or FBA), and it provides your buyers with the same excellent delivery service that made Amazon famous.

Although this service provides many benefits, it's not for everyone as the feed might not pair nicely with your offering and profit margins. Consider researching Fulfillment by Amazon to see if it's perfect for your business.

If FBA isn't the option for you, perhaps you can try the alternative: Fulfillment By Merchant.

Fulfilment by Merchant (or FBM) is where the seller ships directly to the consumer, leading to higher margins but longer order fulfilment time. Additionally, FBM is less forgiving on your account; if your consumer doesn't get the shipment two to three times, it will result in a suspension of your Amazon account.

6. Manage Your Inventory Proactively

It's easy to get carried away and forget to monitor and manage your inventory since it's not directly in front of you such as with a brick-and-mortar store. This advice might seem unnecessary, but Amazon has suspended multiple accounts that accidentally sold goods that weren't physically available.

Therefore, item availability is a crucial part of winning on the platform as Amazon considers how many items you have left and compares them with how quickly you're selling them.

7. Use Product Reviews To Your Advantage

Product Reviews are an inevitable part of being an online seller, and they can go either way for your brand. A positive review will compel other buyers to purchase the product, while a negative one will decrease your sales.

Reviews are the most crucial factor to consider as an Amazon seller as people will instinctively leave them based on how your product impacts their life - positively or negatively.

However, make sure not to use fake review services, giveaways, chat funnels, Facebook review groups etc. as Amazon has bots that seek and suspend sellers that apply any of these methods.

The best way to go is to simply: Rock your listing, have a great product, and advertise smartly on Amazon. Eventually, you can use Amazon Attribution to take people to Amazon from alternative sites.

Additionally, sending an email after a buyer successfully purchases from your store is recommended for getting them to leave a review. If their experience with your product is negative, an email will give you the chance to set things right before they leave a bad review.

Conclusion

There you have it; the top 7 tips you need to know to succeed as an Amazon seller and take your brand to the next level.

It's worth noting that while Amazon is the world's leading online marketplace, it's not the only one as other options are available that offer unique benefits. Consider looking elsewhere or contacting the professionals if you run into colossal complications on Amazon.