Amazon is the largest online marketplace. According to Statistica, Amazon reached 200 million paying Prime members in the first quarter of this year. With 1.6 million active sellers, selling on Amazon is a whole different ballpark to Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce.
What can we learn from someone who’s earned millions of dollars for several ecommerce brands on Amazon?
Liran Hirschkorn is the Founder and CEO of Incrementum Digital, an Amazon Focused Marketing Agency. He’s been working closely with Amazon for the past 7 years. A lot has changed since 2014, and Liran has a lot of wisdom to impart.
We’re delighted to hear Liran and our podcast host Daniel Budai discuss the importance of data-driven selling, adapting quickly to changes in ecommerce, as well as:
✔️ How Amazon has changed
✔️ How to stand out in Amazon
✔️ Using other ecommerce stores with Amazon
✔️ Developing a connection with Amazon customers
Liran says that the Amazon sellers of today are a heck of a lot more sophisticated and knowledgeable than those of 2014. While advertising on Amazon wasn’t really important in 2014, you can’t do without it now.
In 2016 Amazon stopped allowing incentivized reviews. Even if your customer states that they received your product for free in exchange for their honest review, Amazon simply doesn’t allow it. This really mixed things up for Amazon marketers, because, as Liran points out, reviews are fundamental to making sales.
We all saw how Amazon sales absolutely sky-rocketed with the onset of COVID-19. Amazon gained 50 million new Prime customers and ecommerce soared.
It’s no surprise that Liran can’t overstate the importance of adaptability and knowing your data.
Short answer: Not quite, but they are important.
The more positive reviews you have, the more protection you have over your competitors. Of course, this depends on what you’re selling. If you have lots of competitors selling similar products to yours, reviews are going to be a lot more important than those for an original product.
But there are other ways to stand out. Liran says that creatives - specifically good images with infographics - are great for sales. Customers are unlikely to read a wall of text about your product, so highlight (in a few keywords) its best features in your images.
Talking of keywords that sell - make sure you know them. And we’re not just talking about one or two here, Liran wants an extensive list. Daniel and Liran strongly agree that Amazon is used as a search platform much like Google, so SEO couldn’t be more crucial.
When you decide to sell on Amazon, your 1st goal should not be to generate profit immediately. It should be maximizing sales velocity, engaging your customers, and working to generate enough reviews for people to consider your product.
A fantastic way to develop a relationship with your Amazon customers is to put inserts in their products thanking them for their purchase and providing incentive for them to leave a good review and/or head to your landing page. This could be an email or text sign-up to a coupon, giveaway, or a limited-time offer, whatever works best for your brand.
If you’re a Shopify seller, you might feel worried about launching a product on Amazon. Don’t be. You just need to do your research. Some products won’t do as well on Amazon as they do on Shopify, some will do even better! It’s just a matter of knowing which.
There are 200million Prime customers who do most of their shopping on Amazon. At the same time, there are lots of people who don’t shop at Amazon at all. Being on multiple channels gives you the opportunity to appeal to different customer bases. With the right strategy, this will do wonders for your sales.
Amazon favors new products. So make your first sale count. Liran cannot emphasize enough the importance of product research and knowing your data.
Liran recommends Helium 10’s tool X-Ray for checking branded traffic, understanding the best keywords to use, and digging into competitor data.
There’s still so much to learn about Amazon. Liran’s podcast, Ecommerce Mindset is filled to the brim with fantastic advice for succeeding on Amazon and Shopify. Check it out on Spotify and iTunes.
And while you’re on a podcasting kick, why not take a look at our other episodes for more expert advice on ecommerce? The Ecom Show has well over 50 episodes now, so you’re certain to find something perfectly suited to your business goals.
Connect with Liran on Linkedin and visit Incrementum Digital to keep up to date with Amazon’s latest advertising strategies.
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