A question I’ve been thinking about a lot recently is this:
Are businesses actually getting the most out of Amazon?
I think that applies whether you’re already selling on Amazon, or still trying to work out how important the channel could become for your business.
Sometimes, if sales are going well, nobody really stops to look at what could still be improved.
And other times, Amazon never quite becomes the sales channel the business hoped it would be, so attention shifts elsewhere instead and it slowly slips down the priority list – perhaps never reaching its full potential.
I guess my point is, Amazon doesn’t have to be going badly for there to be room to improve.
In fact, some of the biggest opportunities can be found in accounts that are already doing well.
Sales are coming in, products are selling, reviews are building, and from the outside everything looks fine. But when you look more closely, there may still be areas where sales could increase, costs could reduce, or products could be easier for customers to find and buy.
For example:
- There may be listings that haven’t been updated since they first went live, even though customer expectations, search terms and competitor listings have changed.
- Perhaps your branding has been updated, or you have better images, but Amazon hasn’t yet been updated to reflect that.
- There might be products that convert well when people find them, but they could be getting much more visibility if ads were tested properly.
- There may be great products that have very few reviews, which makes it harder for customers to feel confident buying them.
- There may be simple operational changes that could save money, such as reviewing how products are fulfilled, packaged or sent into Amazon.
- And there may be newer products in the range that have never had the same attention as the original bestsellers, so they never really get the chance to grow.
The same is true if Amazon hasn’t taken off yet.
It doesn’t necessarily mean Amazon isn’t the right place for the product. It might simply mean the account hasn’t had the right attention yet.
- Listings might not be clear enough and answer the questions customers have.
- The product may not be showing up for the relevant searches.
- Ads may have been tested, but without enough time or data to learn what was actually working.
- Reviews may not have been prioritised early enough, or at all.
That’s why “are you getting the most out of Amazon?” is such a useful question.
It applies whether Amazon is already doing well for you, or whether it still feels like a channel that hasn’t quite hit its potential yet.
I’ll be talking more about this at my next Amazon Sellers Support & Connect call.
Amazon Sellers Support & Connect is a free monthly online call for brands and sellers who want practical, honest conversations about selling on Amazon. There’s a short focused discussion at the start, followed by open Q&A and conversation.
It’s also suitable if you’re not selling on Amazon yet but are considering it and want to understand what’s worth thinking about before you start.
The next call is on Wednesday 3 June at 12:30pm UK time.
You can book your space here:
https://calendly.com/vickiweinberg/new-meeting