Before you decide to start selling on Amazon. There are a few things you need to know. Many new sellers can misinterpret the idea that selling on Amazon is effortless and easy. But if it were that easy, then all of us would be trying to do the same thing, wouldn’t we?
Keep reading to find out the top 3 things that small brands misunderstand about selling on Amazon.
1. It’s Not Your Product, It’s Your Brand That Sells
One of the things that are most misunderstood about selling on Amazon is that new sellers think they can make profitable sales and establish long-term growth without having any effort to build their brand. Yes, you can reach millions of customers through Amazon. But are you willing to compete in a sea of many competitors without distinguishing your brand is first?
Establishing your brand is one of the big aspects of making your business successful on Amazon. Customers often connect with small brands when they know who you are and what your story is. Why? Because customers buy through their emotions.
They need to know what your product is and why they need it. How can it help them serve their needs?
That is why you need to establish brand loyalty. Keep your customers happy and having them want to come back for more. Growth is the key goal here. So, make your brand known and save hundreds in marketing investments.
2. Sellers can steal your listings
Just when you thought you were out of the water, you run into a little issue here. You’ll run into copycats who are trying to gain their share in the marketplace. This can be such a hassle because anyone can literally steal your brand and your product by selling a counterfeit item. The worst part is that YOU would be the one to get negative feedback because the customer may not be too happy when they find that they bought a knockoff.
One of the first steps into fighting a copycat is to list your item for a lower price. This can help you get back into the Buy Box on Amazon. You might lose a bit of profit, but it’s worth it to have your listing show up first before they try to buy from the other guy.
Secondly, you can send a letter asking the seller to remove their listing. If they do not respond, have a close friend buy the copycat’s product and let them make a complaint through Amazon. You may be thinking why not just skip these steps and report them through Amazon? Because Amazon doesn’t really care. So, having someone buy your product and filing a complaint is the best way to go about the problem.
3. Amazon sets the rules
Amazon has the ability to set their own rules. They have the means to collect as much data as they need to about their customers. Which means they will share only a certain amount of that information to sellers. And they can take that all of that data to pick the winning products that Amazon wants to sell on their marketplace.
Amazon is always most likely to win the Buy Box section at lower prices. So, the bottom line is that it’s pointless to try and compete directly with Amazon’s listings. Just put more focus on long-term growth instead of trying to get ahead of the leader in its own ring.