56% of customers believe that Amazon understands their individual needs. The numbers are of course not so promising for traditional retailers. Amazon wins hands down here. Understanding what the customers are looking for has helped for sure. No wonder then, Amazon has as many as 310 million active customers. Guess what, so could you. If not millions, at least enough to achieve a favorable return on investment (ROI).
Amazon consultants could help to a great extent, if you already have a store. In fact, their services could also come in handy, if you are yet to set up one. And make no mistake. You will continue to be at the helm of affairs, while the consultants work as an extended arm. Let them handle your Amazon store, while you get down to the core aspects of your business.
Here’s what their services would include:
1) Setting up your Amazon / Amazon pro merchant account
2) Listing products
- Ensuring that the listings include all the relevant details. Details such as product descriptions, images, and pricing. Details that your customers would be looking for. It’s all about developing a better understanding of their needs, right?
3) Optimizing your e-store
- Implementing suitable SEO (search engine optimization) strategies
4) Leveraging Amazon APIs
- Taking advantage of the Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS)
5) Levelling the playing field
- Conducting competitor price analysis. Customers value a fair pricing policy.
6) Offering back-office support
- Taking care of inventory management, and order processing
- Providing email chat support, if required
But that’s not it. Consultants, or experts, can help you with pretty much everything Amazon-related. They help you in setting up your account, to begin with. And once done, maintaining and updating it at regular intervals. The best part is that whether you have a vendor central account or a seller central one, they could help. Or can they?
Here’s how you could tell:
1) Amazon did hit the 178 billion dollar mark in 2017 (net sales), but these sales were of course from all parts of the world. You could very well be selling out of Spain, UK or Canada. Are the Amazon consultants you are about to choose, familiar with these marketplaces? Could they help you make it big on your home turf?
2) Setting up a store is easy, especially once you get the hang of it, but optimizing one is a different ball game. Do the consultants know their way around categorization? How about creating unique and keyword-rich titles? Are they good at it? And not to mention, they should be able to come up with relevant product descriptions and reviews. Because if they can’t, you have to keep looking.
3) Optimizing your e-store is not a one-time task. The consultants have to be on their toes, with ongoing monitoring, support, and advice. Your store, and especially your listing, must perform well. That’s the goal, right?
4) Their services should be rather comprehensive, and address each of your pain points.
- Need help with Amazon bulk product upload? They should step right in and upload them in no time. They might need to use listing tools like Vendio, Turbo Lister, etc., but then, they should be well-versed.
- That said, it’s advisable to take a look at some of their prior stints:
- Are their product descriptions engaging? Could they compel the customers to buy your products?
- How good are they, at editing images? Clear and eye-catching images could make all the difference.
- What all details do they include in the listings? Do they miss out on attributes and technical specs? Of course, they shouldn’t.
- Do their product reviews look credible? They ought to. And then, these reviews should be well-balanced as well. Yes, the features of your products are important, but so are the benefits. Do they highlight both of these?
5) There might be a lot of back-end tasks involved. Tasks like managing inventory and customer orders. Make sure they handle these on their own, letting you focus on your business.
6) Coming back to the details, where do they collate these from? Can they extract information from product catalogs and other sources? How about the manufacturer’s or supplier’s website?
7) Also, you need to make sure they cater to your industry in the first place.
Amazon has a lot to offer. Whether you succeed at grabbing your share of the pie or not depends on the exposure you have had. The consultants here at Data4Amazon have cross-industry experience. They have helped sellers dealing in apparels, jewellery, electronic equipment, etc. Reach out to them at info@data4amazon.com, and get started!