So you’ve done the evaluation and decided that becoming a seller on Amazon is the right fit for you… we’re here for it. Let’s do this! First of all, congratulations on getting here. We know how hard you’ve worked to get to this point and we are here to root you on and support you in this big step for your brand.
Where do you start?
We’re so glad you asked. Starting from scratch as an Amazon seller can definitely be overwhelming, but with the right framework and systems in place we’re here to help and guide you through it to make it happen with just FOUR EASY STEPS. We’ve been there, done that, and keep doing it everyday with our clients, so we’re confident with these four attributes they will help to gain a solid grasp on what needs to happen before and get your brand launched on Amazon to be set up for success right from the start.
1. BRAND AUTHORITY
Simply put, this is the short but incredibly vital list of what is needed as a brand owner to get you from the conceptual point of business to launched, established and making it happen as a legitimate brand in the world showcasing and selling your product.
Brand registry
Logo
Trademarks
Taglines
Mission
This is the foundation. Before any other groundwork is laid out to becoming an official Amazon Seller, this is your starting point of what steps need to be taken to be a legitimate brand owner. Haven’t gotten to this point yet? Hit the pause button, get your brand authority ducks in a row and we’ll meet you back here when you’re ready. Those of you that are here and ready to go to the next step, let’s get to it.
2. CONTENT FOUNDATION
Now that you and the rest of the world knows who you are, what you do, why you do it, who your audience is and can back it all up, let’s talk content. You’ll hear this from us like it’s a broken record because that’s how important it is when talking about success on Amazon - CONTENT IS KEY. Understating the content you need for your audience is essential in order to be successful on Amazon. This means your brand’s foundation is understanding exactly what content your audience is looking to consume while delivering it to them the most efficient and effective way that aligns with your brand mission and voice. Now that we have your content gears churning, think about where these lie within your brand and the content you’re producing for your audience. Is this your foundation?
P+L (profit and loss)
POS (point of sales) per product
MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) alignment
Channels of distribution
Content creation
For example, let’s say you’re selling some radical electric bikes and you have created content that reads like your target audience is for 60-70 year olds when in fact your audience is 20-30 year olds, then you don’t have the proper foundation of brand alignment through content. This alignment should not only reflect in your content but in your P+L as well. P+L will then get into the cause of the product at hand on the platform while gaining a firm and knowledgeable understanding of your profitability, catalog, competitive edge, etc. - all of that is part of your foundation work.
3. ADVERTISING ALIGNMENT
Now it’s time to create some momentum -
Understanding who exactly is going into Amazon to buy products and what you need to do to get your brand and products in front of that audience involves a proactive and reactive approach. Well, what does that mean? It involves having a really good understanding the following:
Do I have brand equity?
Do I have category market share?
Who are my competitors?
What are my complimentary products?
Once you have a solid grasp on what this looks like for your brand this will get you into the genre of where your brand fits into the market share for that sub category for you to then sell your products on Amazon.
Quick sidebar on market share and sub category - This is determining what your brand’s market share landscape is to see what it’s going to take to be ranked and generate revenue and evaluation on how you’re placed in the market share. Meaning - is your brand competitive enough? Do you have a good understanding of who your competitors are and what they look like? For example - let’s say you’re a new brand on Amazon and there’s a product you want to launch and you know it’ll kill it, but there isn’t any sort of exposure of that product anywhere else BUT you have the funding to support the success of that product. So, the question is, if the #100 product on the Amazon Best Seller rank have 3k reviews, that means in order for yours to be considered in that top 100 list you must have 3k reviews. Essentially it’s taking a look at the current market share and assessing how it’s diversified to see if you have an opportunity to place high on the rank. This may not be a driving factor for you, but it’s definitely something to consider. What is the path of least resistance and what is the path that will yield the highest return? The sub category approach is are you placed in the sub category or are you outside the 200k products. If you have no consideration in the top ranks, top 100 or even top 1k, this can become troublesome because you have to think of a realistic timeframe on when you’ll be able to achieve any kind of exposure into that market share.
4. ACCELERATION
What are your metrics of acceleration?
These metrics are the enablers of your product’s ranking and how close you get to the top 100 best sellers of your category. Also mentioned by many as the A9 Algorithm (future articles). There is much debate on what attributes are captured to increase product ranking, at TrisBell we believe them to be the metrics below:
Organic Sales. Amazon all time sales
180 Day Sales. Amazon all time sales over the last 6 months
Conversion Rate. The percentage of sales based of units sold divided by the product clicks
Click Through Rate** The percentage of clicks based on clicks divided by the product’s impression.
Pay Per Click Sales**. Number of units sold based on advertising
Impressions** Impressions are the times your products appear in front of the customers, often by the amount of advertisement invested or the product organic relevance.
Seller Authority** Ownership of the brand, the Buy Box and other relevant attributes on product authority
Reviews and Ratings** The amount and quality of the rating and reviews of the product and seller
Off Amazon Sales** How much you sell off Amazon (e.g. Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Ulta, etc.)
More on Metrics of Acceleration HERE.
DO S**T OFF AMAZON
What in the world does that even mean?? Easy - drive traffic off Amazon into Amazon. Don’t be afraid to utilize social media and other elements of your e-commerce strategy to drive content back into Amazon. For example:
Drive traffic through influencers
Review contests
Product contests
Giveaways/freebies
Innovative thinking
Here’s the thing, other brands on Amazon are already doing this. Don’t get left behind in the pack because you think it’s not worth your time, effort or whatever the reason is. We’re here to tell you, it absolutely is and can truthfully make or break your short and long term success on Amazon.
These four steps will ensure some really solid traction and set your brand up to be successful on Amazon, but keep this fifth step close by, because this is the one that can really set you apart and take your brand to the next level.
Now you have the goods (and confidence) to launch your brand on Amazon to become a seller. Virtual high five! What’s the next step? Click HERE to learn more on Seller Central vs Vendor Central: What’s Right for Your Brand.
Want more like this? The Trisbell team is here to take your brand next level on Amazon. We’d love to hear from you on how we can support you and your success. Contact us HERE!