Amazon is the world’s most powerful online retail marketplace and home to millions of sellers and a broad customer base. With its global reach, advanced fulfillment network (FBA), and customer-first approach, Amazon has redefined how people shop and how brands grow. But in this highly competitive global marketspace, simply listing your products isn’t enough.
To succeed on Amazon, sellers need the right strategy, which requires a thorough understanding of Amazon’s A9 algorithm, optimizing listings for both search engines and customers, managing PPC with precision, and maintaining high seller metrics. It’s a combination of data-driven decisions along with a customer-focused strategy.
This blog post wil work as a detailed guide for sellers looking to maximize their Amazon presence. Stay with us if you’re ready to unveil a powerful set of strategies and expert tips for unlocking sustainable growth on Amazon.
1) Choosing the Right Selling Model
When it comes to order fulfillment, Amazon offers two primary models: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM), each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The choice a seller makes directly influences the brand perception, profitability, and overall customer experience.
Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA)
Fulfillment by Amazon enables sellers to send their inventory to Amazon warehouses, where Amazon handles everything from storage and packaging to shipping and customer service.
Pros of FBA
- Prime Eligibility: FBA enables access to Prime shipping, which in turn helps sellers reach millions of high-intent shoppers who prefer fast shipping.
- Improved Customer Service: FBA offers enhanced customer support in addition to fast shipping, resulting in a better customer experience and improved ratings.
- Scalability: With logistics being taken care of by Amazon, sellers get to focus on marketing and scaling their business without worrying about shipping and deliveries.
- Buy Box Benefit: FBA sellers are more likely to win the Buy Box.
Cons of FBA
- Storage Fees: FBA charges fees for storing products in the warehouses. High-volume and long-term storage can often get costly.
- Less Control: Sellers get less control and limited access over customising the end product or packaging.
- Return Policy: Amazon’s flexible return policies may sometimes trigger higher return rates and restocking fees.
2) Fulfilled by Merchant
With the Fulfilled by Merchant model, the sellers are responsible for managing the entire logistics process from storing and packaging to shipping independently or by tying up with a third-party logistics provider.
Pros of FBM
- Greater Control: Sellers get to control the end product packaging, logistics provider, and how the brand is presented.
- No storage Fees: Sellers do not have to bear additional storage fees and costs, making it ideal for high-margin and low-volume products.
- Inventory Flexibility: More control over stock movement as sellers are not restricted to storage limitations or prep requirements.
Cons of FBM
- Lack of Prime Badge: FBM sellers miss out on reaching the Prime customer base.
- Customer Experience: Slow shipping or inability to meet customers’ shipping needs and expectations may affect the overall ratings.
- Higher Workload: FBM sellers often have to manage it all on their own, making it difficult for them to efficiently scale their Amazon business.
Choosing Between FBA and FBM
- Consider your Margins: For sellers with a tight margin, FBM might be the ideal shipping model to cut down on additional costs and fees.
- The importance of the Prime Badge: Sellers in competitive niches must opt for FBA to compete for higher rankings and better visibility.
- Infrastructure: Sellers with additional storage space or warehouses can consider an FBM setup; if not, the cost of an additional space might cost more than FBA.
- Considering the product type: Bulky and heavy items often incur higher FBA fees, while fast-moving small products are ideal for FBA shipment.
- Business Vision: If you’re looking to build a memorable brand experience, FBM is better, while FBA offers speed and convenience.
3) Products Research and Selection
Selecting the right product category forms the foundation of a successful Amazon business. To excel on Amazon, sellers need to consider the following factors:
- Opt for high-demand, low-competition products.
- Keyword search and competitor performance analyses play an important role in determining long-term success.
- Tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, and Keepa can be helpful for research and analysis of products.
- Google Trends and TikTok virality can be instrumental in exploring market opportunities and differentiating factors in saturated markets.
4) Creating Optimized Listings
Amazon Storefront and a well-crafted product listing serve as an online storefront of your Amazon business. A few non-negotiables when it comes to creating well-optimized product listings include:
- A clear, concise, and keyword-rich title directly impacts how clickable a product is.
- Craft persuasive bullet points that highlight benefits and uses over features.
- Use interactive images and impactful videos to improve customer engagement.
- Use compelling language and multimedia-rich A+ content to improve storytelling.
- Use relevant backend search terms to boost visibility through the A9 algorithm.
5) Pricing and Profitability
Setting the right price for the products is a key factor in determining the profitability of any business. Let’s consider a few important points while pricing products;
- Highly priced products impact sales, while products priced too low disturb profitability.
- Consider Amazon’s referral, fulfillment, and storage fees using FBA calculators.
- Stay relevant using tools like SellerApp, RepricerExpress, or Aura to set competitive pricing without affecting profits using the dynamic pricing feature.
6) Advertising and Promotions
Amazon PPC is essential. Start with Sponsored Products to drive initial visibility, then scale into Sponsored Brands and Display Ads. Structure your campaigns with clear goals—awareness vs. conversions. Allocate budget wisely and use exact, phrase, and broad match types to refine results. Boost conversions further with coupons, lightning deals, and limited-time offers.
7) Drive visibility by tapping into the world of Amazon PPC.
- Sponsored products are highly beneficial for boosting sales and reach.
- Sponsored Brands help boost brand awareness.
- Display Ads help suggest similar products and categories.
- Use PPC wisely to structure your ad campaigns with clear goals.
- Budget allocation plays an important role in boosting conversions.
- Use exact phrases and broad match types to refine results.
- Use coupons, promotions, and lightning deals to attract the target audience.
8) Reviews and Customer Feedback
Reviews and feedback offer social proof and help improve conversion rates. Use Amazon’s
Request Review button to generate authentic reviews while offering an excellent shopping experience to create an impactful customer journey.
Promptly address negative reviews and feedback while professionally addressing customer complaints and concerns.
9) Data Analysis and Optimization
Use the Amazon Seller Central Dashboard to track important metrics and analyse business performance to optimize for scalability. Tools like Datahawk and Brand Analytics help monitor KPIs like CTR, Conversion Rates, ACoS, and many more to maintain performance and complement growth.
Staying Compliant
Staying informed and compliant with Amazon’s terms and conditions, guidelines, and policies is highly essential to stay clear from account suspension risk. Use Amazon’s Seller University and Policy Updates to stay compliant and maintain account health. Stay clear of review manipulation, listing inaccuracies, and other unauthorized activities to ensure smooth account functioning.
Conclusion
Maintaining the right and consistent strategy while staying updated and relevant in the marketplace are the keys to unlocking sustainable Amazon success.
Staying compliant, maintaining a healthy Amazon account, and optimizing Amazon listings while managing the daily operations is getting too overwhelming for you?
Krolog’s got you covered! Our end-to-end Amazon Account Management services offer professional guidance and support to sellers for maximizing their performance and reach on Amazon.
Connect with us at www.krolog.com to learn more about our professional services and solutions to scale your business and achieve sustainable growth and success on Amazon.
