Amazon is a powerful sales platform offering tremendous opportunities from a global audience, but only if you know how to properly set up your business from square one. For success on Amazon, you need to have a strategy that focuses on long-term growth.
A lot of sellers view selling on Amazon as a passive income or instant success without having a long-term vision in mind. These instances happen but are so rare that you cannot depend on them or put all your investment and dreams into hopes of overnight success.
With the pandemic breakout, we have witnessed many companies trying to profit by selling sanitizers, mask dispensers, and similar products in great demand. But they weren’t in it for the long haul, which is why we don’t see many of those brands present today.
If you want to leave a footprint and truly impact the Amazon world, be sure to avoid these three mistakes.
Mistake Number 1: Not Investing in the Quality of Products
This part of the process is usually the most rushed one.
When starting in the Amazon marketplace, it is essential to understand that there is a lot of competition. Amazon has over 300 million active customer accounts and over 1.9 million-selling partners worldwide.
The best way to determine whether or not your product will be successful is by researching the product, market, and competitors and looking at how many other sellers are offering similar products. If multiple sellers offer similar items and they seem successful, then people want what they’re selling! Consider investing in a product that will have lasting value and not just something that will be popular this week or month. At BellaVix, we love using Helium10 and DataDive Tools, but many other tools will help you with this process.
To create a top-quality product or service, your brand needs access to the right resources. You need the time and money for research and development, and be prepared to make difficult decisions about what is worth investing in and what isn’t.
Companies that do not invest in top-quality products or services will likely fail on Amazon. Why? Because Amazon is a massive eCommerce market and most Amazon sellers focus on selling subpar products, which won’t stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Investing in the best products and customer services will maintain a good reputation. Otherwise, you are more likely to lose customers and be outdone by competitors.
Mistake Number 2: Lack of Marketing Strategy
A marketing strategy is a foundation upon which your Amazon presence is built. Without this foundation, you are flying blind and hoping for the best. This is a recipe for disaster—and it’s incredibly common among first-time sellers who don’t know any better!
It’s not just about paid advertising and discounting your products; it is about how you plan out your marketing efforts for every stage of the customer lifecycle. A marketing strategy that isn’t aligned with your business goals or brand identity is ineffective.
It’s crucial to ensure your Amazon presence aligns with your overall business objectives and brand personality.
Believing that your product is different and unique enough to sell without marketing or advertising is a big mistake.
The first thing to do before you even think about selling your product is to decide how you will market and promote it. Remember, brands must get people interested in what they offer and persuade them that they need it.
If you can do this and educate your potential shopper, then the next step will be much easier – convincing people to buy your product.
Marketing is the key to success. It is the lifeblood of any business. Many brands and sellers rely on Amazon PPC, which is a mistake. There’s a lot more to consider in the marketing area, and paid advertising is just one piece of that puzzle!
An excellent long-term strategy incorporates an understanding of your market, trends, customers, brand values, and product. The holistic approach is what it takes to achieve success. We love what Semrush has to offer. Semrush is a critical solution for all companies serious about online presence, offering 55 products, tools, and add-ons across online visibility management, including tools for search, content, social media and market research, and data for more than 142 countries.
Mistake Number 3: Lack of Long-Term Planning
This is such a common mistake and concept that simply must be addressed. Companies may have a good idea and want to get started, but they don’t think about how they will keep their business going in the future.
You’ll need a solid plan in place if you want to succeed. This includes investing in a website, a product selection strategy, a marketing strategy, and a high-quality branding strategy.
While expanding your eCommerce business on Amazon can be a lucrative opportunity, it is vital to remember that it is a long-term investment. Choose your products and services wisely, and be prepared to invest in long-term planning.
Profit cannot be the only motivation. If it is, the long-term vision will be lacking, and you will be stuck when figuring out the short-term goals. Short-term goals are essential to achieve the long-term vision, but the long-term vision is the key to success.
Following are some common problems while launching a PL business on Amazon:
- No clear idea of the branding and the purpose of your brand
- Rushing into the process of launching at all costs, with poor content and poor visual assets
- Not knowing how to run Amazon PPC or having someone by your side who understands PPC
- Not having a launch strategy at all
Finding a profitable product and niche is not the most challenging part. Even with so many products available on Amazon, there is always an opportunity. But if or when you do find your gem, don’t get blinded by it, but ask yourself the following questions:
- Can I create a strong brand for this product?
- Can I create any relevant products that might match well in the future?
- Do I have digital assets that meet the highest standards?
- Do I have a reliable launch procedure?
- Do I have enough budget?
- Will I have enough money to restock if this is successful?
- Am I aware of my lead times for production and shipping?
- Does this make financial sense? Am I profitable?
- Do I understand the margin I need to maintain growth?
When selling on Amazon, you need to consider short-term goals and how they will help your business grow over time.
GETIDA is a tool that’s proven to be quite handy. It can help you prevent unnecessary financial losses. GETIDA is the global leader in Amazon FBA auditing and reimbursements. An approved solution provider on the Amazon Seller Central AppStore, GETIDA audits billions of dollars of FBA transactions daily. Make sure you use the code ‘BellaVix400’ at the checkout to get $400 credit.
Conclusion
Amazon presence is something you need to invest in for the long term, and it will take time and effort before you start seeing the results. This should be pretty straightforward if you have an established business or already have some experience selling online. But if you are just starting with your first online store, then things can get very complicated very quickly!
Don’t expect instant success on Amazon – instead, focus on building trust with customers through good service and quality products at reasonable prices. Once people start trusting your brand, they will naturally gravitate toward it!
If you need additional help with your Amazon journey, don’t hesitate to contact the BellaVix team.
Keep up with the latest Amazon and Walmart news updates and subscribe to our BellaVix newsletter 👇👇👇