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Amazon Pro-Merchant
Consulting
Mariano Marketing
has extensive experience in managing Amazon
Pro-Merchant store accounts for consumer products, but we do not manage
book seller accounts.
Amazon has been aggressive in adding new sellers and it has become
increasingly competitive within the Amazon marketplace. They have also
increasingly consolidated products listings into shared product pages,
pitting sellers against each other within a single product page. As a
result, the deck is initially stacked against the new seller, as
accumulated sales history and feedback are key factors. You must have
patience and make a long term commitment before you can determine your
potential in Amazon.
Formula
for Success
From our experience, we have observed the need for the following to be
truly successful in Amazon:
- A
unique product
offering
- If not unique, one
with the depth and breadth to reach a large market
- Sufficient inventory
always on hand
- Ability to buy large
enough quantities to get the best wholesale price
- Low operating costs
allowing for tight margins
- Very liberal return
policy
- Competitive shipping
costs
- Ability to ship
products the same day ordered or the next
- Highly focused and
responsive customer service
- Willingness and
ability to appease disgruntled customers at (almost) any cost
- Dedication to stay on
the Amazon program in terms of years
Necessary
Abilities
- Unfortunately,
when
all sellers of the same product are forced to share the same product
page (the Buy Box), the seller with the lowest overall cost (price plus
shipping) usually (see next point) gets preferential treatment. This
means you need the ability to sell at a slim margin
- In addition to
pricing, you need to maintain a very high customer satisfaction rating.
Even if you are the lowest cost seller, a poor reputation will lose the
sale and Buy Box position
- In terms of
reputation, you pretty much live and die by shipping satisfaction. You
need to ship orders quickly and get them delivered within the estimated
delivery time, preferably before. It's the #1 thing customers leave
positive or negative seller feedback on
- While you can easily
add products to Amazon simply by matching them to existing products,
you need to upload product and categorization information for unique
products. However, it benefits you to add as much information as
possible for all your products, whether you need to or not. This means
you should spend the time necessary to add your products other than by
simple matching or uploading only the minimum required data
- The Amazon system
picks one or two sellers to provide product descriptions and photos. It
is often the seller with the best overall rank, but sometimes not. At
any rate, it is in your best interest to see the best product
information used. Merchandising is critical and you should be prepared
to provide high quality and multiple product photos and highly
descriptive and accurate product information. The better the
merchandising, the better the sales potential
- The most successful
sellers are monitoring their best selling products daily and responding
to every competitive move. You must stay on top of the competitive
environment
- We have found that
often the best way to gain ground in Amazon is by having one or two
"winners" in your product offering. These are products that initially
account for the majority of your sales. Sometimes it's hard to
determine what those might be and why, but if you have a winner, the
trick is to build from there
- We have also found
that sales tend to move to and stay at a higher level after a seasonal
sales period. For most, this is the Christmas season. If your products
are seasonal, it is important to make the strongest showing possible
during that time
What
We Can Do
Mariano Marketing knows about all the strategies and tactics
listed above and many more. Amazon is a unique environment. As we often
say, There's e-commerce and then there's Amazon. If you can
successfully tap into the power of Amazon, it can become one of your
biggest sales channels. But, while Amazon has made great strides in
building it's system, there are still many inconsistencies and
idiosyncrasies remaining. Only after years of experience can you fully
understand how the system---and organization---operates and use it to
your advantage.
Initial
Uploads
The initial upload is the most difficult part of selling on
Amazon, especially if you have a large number of SKUs. Many people ask
us to undertake just this part. This is a time consuming, labor
intensive process. Mariano Marketing is primarily seeking long term
clients, but we may consider initial upload projects, so feel free to
contact us about this.
Contact
Us
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