Conversations with our customers about Amazon often start like this:
- "No, we are not interested in being present"
- "No, we cannot enter because we would be in conflict with our distributors"
- "We want to do it but we are not sure how".
It is true that Amazon is not for everyone, but looking the other way is not the best solution. Regardless of the characteristics of "your product" and your brand strategy, we suggest that you do the exercise to study whether it is in your interest to have your own presence on Amazon.
It often happens that brands that do not want to have their own presence on Amazon, turn out to be through third-party sellers.
Therefore, despite their reluctance, their products are available to the more than 25 million unique users that the platform has in Spain alone (or more than 100 million Prime users globally). This has many implications, including the fact that there is no homogeneity in the product files (titles, descriptions, images, etc.), you are not aware of any doubts/questions/suggestions about your products, etc. This means that you have no control over the contact with YOUR customer or YOUR brand positioning.
Although it is easy to see Amazon as the Great Predator, it brings great value to both end customers and the companies that sell through the channel. Moreover, the evolution in consumer trends is what it is - more than 55% of first product searches are done on Amazon, compared to 23% on Google (eMarketer).
Therefore, when we start working with a client, the first exercise we carry out is a brand consultancy on Amazon. It is necessary to know aspects such as:
- Is the brand present on the platform?
- If yes, is it own presence or are the products sold by others?
- How many sellers are selling your products?
- How many catalogue items are uploaded on the platform?
- Who are your main competitors on Amazon?
- Which items are ranked in the top 100?
- What is the monthly search volume for keywords close to the brand as well as for the products? - What is the monthly search volume for keywords close to the brand as well as for the products?
At the same time, before implementing the strategy, even before conceptualising it, we asked them for a briefing to learn about its characteristics and particularities:
- What is your current communication plan? How does your brand relate to your audience?
- What about your marketing resources? Creative (product, packaging, in use, lifestyle)...
- What people do you currently have to carry out the project? You may already have an ecommerce manager, or an entire team.
- What are your operational resources? How do your business logistics work? What is your distribution model? Do you have warehouses in other countries?
- Who is your competition? Have you analysed your competition on Amazon?
- What is your margin? Not everyone has a place on the platform.
This initial analysis allows us to have a global vision of the brand. Having this information will allow us to minimise the risks in the implementation of the brand strategy on Amazon.