The Ultimate Guide to Selling on Amazon - Chapter 4 - Staying Ahead of Your Competitors

Pricing Your Products

One of the main routes to becoming a successful seller on Amazon is pricing your products competitively. If you’re an Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) seller, for example, you’re going to want to match what Amazon and other FBA sellers are offering as close as possible. After all, if you’re the only seller who’s priced a $14.99 item at $15.00, customers are hardly likely to choose you unless you bring something very special to the party, such as a sparkling customer reputation, for example.

Keeping an eye on competitors’ prices is what you’ll want to do if you want to stay ahead of the competition, but most importantly, you’ll have to keep up with the biggest competitor of all – Amazon itself.

Now, let’s be clear. We’re not suggesting you try to out-price the mighty Amazon. That’s a war you will not win because Amazon’s buying power and its relationship with its suppliers mean it can afford to drop the price on pretty much any item on its vast inventory to $0 if absolutely necessary, and it won’t even make a dent in the company’s bottom line.

No. What we’re saying is, if you can, you should aim to price match Amazon if and whenever possible. But remember – you’re in this game to make a profit. There’s no point trying to price match competitors if that results in you making next to nothing on the back end. This is why, until their business grows to a suitable size, many sellers prefer not to go up against the big boys.

There are plenty of ways to make a decent profit on Amazon without slugging it out with businesses far larger than yours. Find your feet first, concentrate on getting your product listing right, build up your customer base, get lots of excellent customer feedback, fulfill your orders, grow your business and then, and only then, think about getting into the ring with the heavyweights.

SEO, Listings And Keywords – How To Move Your Products Up The Search Rankings

Amazon’s in-house search engine is a very powerful tool. Indeed, the company estimates that three times as many items are searched for using its search engine than are searched for on Google. With a customer base numbering in the many millions, that’s a lot of searches. So, how do you make sure your products appear when people search for them? Well, there are a few easy steps to follow to achieve maximum search engine optimization:

Visibility

Believe it or not, there are still sellers out there who list items with fuzzy, low-res images, and with terrible product descriptions written in a rough estimation of English. Crisp, concise listings with good quality images that catch the eye and illustrate your products in their best light are what you want to be aiming for, as customers will look more favorably on these types of listings.

Relevance

One of the things Amazon’s ‘A9’ search engine algorithm factors into its calculations when a customer searches for a product is relevance. That is, how relevant is that product to a customer based on previous product purchases and searches and, most crucially, will it lead to a sale?

Conversion

This refers to the probability that a search will be converted into a sale. Amazon prefers to direct its customers towards sellers with ‘Best Seller’ labels, good customer retention and service rates, regular winners of the ‘Buy Box’, FBA members, etc. The more established and better seller you are, the more likely Amazon’s algorithm will direct a customer towards your product as it will calculate that you will have a better chance of converting their search into a sale.

Amazon has this to say on search optimization:

“Customers must be able to find your products before they can buy your products. Search is the primary way that customers use to locate products on Amazon. Customers search by entering keywords, which are matched against the information (title, description etc.) you provide for a product. Factors such as degree of text match, price, availability, selection, and sales history help determine where your product appears in a customer’s search results. By providing relevant and complete information for your product, you can increase your product’s visibility and sales.”

First and foremost, a fully optimized product listing is key to your product coming high up in a search result. This is what your potential customers will see when directed to them by an Amazon search, and a good listing is what Amazon’s algorithm is looking for when it makes its calculations.

Customer Service

Just as important as having the right stock to sell bought at the best possible wholesale price and clear, concise and attractive product listings is making sure you offer excellent customer service. Familiarize yourself with Amazon’s refund policies, and make sure you follow all the rules.

Make sure you set up a separate email to deal with customer complaints and feedback, and make sure you check your inbox regularly and – crucially – answer all your emails. An ignored customer is a customer who can go on to Amazon’s Marketplace and leave a scathing, one-star review that will not only drag your product down the rankings, but also damage your reputation too. What previous customers say about you influences future customers. They are far less likely to buy from you if your products are littered with bad reviews.

Successful companies bend over backwards to answer their customer’s queries and deal with any issues they might have, and you should do the same. By maintaining a good relationship with all of your customers – even the awkward ones! – you’ll find they’re far likelier to use you again.