How to Bring Your Product to Amazon
Adding Amazon to the places companies sell products increases conversions and gets a brand in front of its target audience. Most retail businesses should at least consider whether the online shopping giant offers a good opportunity to reach new customers.
How to Sell Products on Amazon
In a survey of over 2,000 Amazon sellers, researchers found 89% are making a profit and many plan to expand into global Amazon markets this year. Setting up an online store on the big box e-commerce platform is fairly easy. Understanding the commission structure and rules requires a bit more effort.
If a company wants to sell products on Amazon, there are a number of things they must do to succeed.
1. Register for an Amazon Seller Account
The first step to becoming an Amazon seller is to set up an account. Sellers can use a current personal account and start selling or set up a new account with a business email.
It’s best to keep business and personal accounts separate whenever possible, so company leadership may want to divide the two accounts out. Just be sure the brand isn’t violating any terms of service (TOS) for the site.
2. Link a Bank Account
Businesses bringing their products to Amazon need to ensure they can receive payments. The site will ask for a bank account, make two small deposits and wait for confirmation before linking the seller account to a checking account.
Information they’ll need includes the bank name, routing number and account number. Make sure everything is set up and working before listing any products or it will be difficult to receive payment.
3. Understand How Amazon Ads Work
Around 200 million people subscribe to Amazon Prime, and about 91% of them head to Amazon to shop first without checking anywhere else. Getting a handle on how to target ads to the right audience on the platform will save a company advertising dollars and ensure the brand makes the most sales possible.
When taking out sponsored ads on the site and getting them in front of the right people, companies increase brand awareness. One crucial component is knowing who competitors are so the business can reach their customers and provide an alternative to their listings.
4. Take High Quality Photos
Amazon is still a visual medium. Customers want to see the product from as many angles as possible. Take photos from the top, bottom and every side. If there are color variations, add in photos showing each one.
Some brands take a 360-degree view video to highlight the item and also show how it’s used or further promote it.
5. Choose the Best Category and Subcategory
A business might have the best anti-aging product to ever hit Amazon, but if they list it in home goods, they aren’t going to get as many hits because some people will search in the beauty category.
Whatever a company’s niche is, check out what else is listed there. What are the top ads for that category? What keywords pull up results similar to what the brand already sells?
6. Choose the Right Products
Think about which items to list on the platform. Business owners will have to spend time answering questions, checking reviews and reaching out to customers, so many experts recommend only selling what brands can gain a 20% or higher profit margin on.
Factor in all the costs, including commissions, shipping and advertising fees to see if the product falls into the best return on investment (ROI).
7. Create the First Listing
Log in to the seller account and add photos, product description and details such as SKU number and number in stock. Think about any questions a potential buyer might have and answer them in the description.
Preview how the listing looks to customers and make any needed adjustments to grab user attention. The more engaged the customer is, the more likely they’ll save the listing and perhaps follow through with the purchase.
8. Select Fulfillment Options
Brands have two options for how to fill orders. They can either manually pull and mail orders as they come in or ship items to Amazon and let the warehouse ship them out. An advantage of letting a third-party do the heavy lifting is the ability to send and forget while moving on to adding new products or finding other things to sell. The advantage of filling orders is controlling presentation and quality and saving a few dollars.
Keep in mind that some people shop for products and move the Prime toggle to the on position. They only want to shop for items that ship free and fast.
9. Add Keywords
If the brand did the right research in the beginning of the process, they should have a list of potential keywords customers seek when looking for their products. Add these to the keywords tab to tell Amazon search engines how the product matches user intent.
Some words must be avoided, such as “free.” Don’t make it look like Amazon is promoting the product or endorsing it.
10. Follow Up
Send a short message after the item is delivered and ask the customer if they’re satisfied with their purchase. Offer a way for them to contact the company if they need help but ask for a review if they’re 100% happy.
While businesses shouldn’t tell customers how many stars to give, it’s okay to ask for reviews from real people who’ve purchased the product.
Ramp Up Sales
Finding new customers is never an easy task. Getting products listed on Amazon puts them in front of a wide audience looking just for what the brand has to sell. The platform’s algorithms create an opportunity for strong ROI and free up business owners to develop new products and focus on promotions.
