So you’ve done the evaluation and decided that becoming a seller on Amazon is the right fit for you… we’re here for it. Let’s do this! First of all, congratulations on getting here. We know how hard you’ve worked to get to this point and we are here to root you on and support you in this big step for your brand.
Where do you start?
We’re so glad you asked. Starting from scratch as an Amazon seller can definitely be overwhelming, but with the right framework and systems in place we’re here to help and guide you through it to make it happen with just FOUR EASY STEPS. We’ve been there, done that, and keep doing it everyday with our clients, so we’re confident with these four attributes they will help to gain a solid grasp on what needs to happen before and get your brand launched on Amazon to be set up for success right from the start.
1. BRAND AUTHORITY
Simply put, this is the short but incredibly vital list of what is needed as a brand owner to get you from the conceptual point of business to launched, established and making it happen as a legitimate brand in the world showcasing and selling your product.
1. Brand Registry
2. Logo
3. Trademarks
4. Taglines
5. Mission
This is the foundation. Before any other groundwork is laid out to becoming an official Amazon Seller, this is your starting point of what steps need to be taken to be a legitimate brand owner. Haven’t gotten to this point yet? Hit the pause button, get your brand authority ducks in a row and we’ll meet you back here when you’re ready. Those of you that are here and ready to go to the next step, let’s get to it.
2. CONTENT FOUNDATION
Now that you and the rest of the world knows who you are, what you do, why you do it, who your audience is and can back it all up, let’s talk content. You’ll hear this from us like it’s a broken record because that’s how important it is when talking about success on Amazon - CONTENT IS KEY. Understating the content you need for your audience is essential in order to be successful on Amazon. This means your brand’s foundation is understanding exactly what content your audience is looking to consume while delivering it to them the most efficient and effective way that aligns with your brand mission and voice. Now that we have your content gears churning, think about where these lie within your brand and the content you’re producing for your audience. Is this your foundation?
1. P+L (profit and loss)
2. POS (point of sales per product)
3. MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) alignment
4. Channels of distribution
5. Content creation
Save this for later - it’ll be a great resource. Documentation for brand registry information can be found HERE. The idea behind it is that you have a trademark already registered in the US. If you have trademarks registered in other countries, Amazon will let you do that, but all the requirements are on the website. The benefit of brand registry is brand ownership, ultimately you own the content of your brand and nobody can take it away from you. You may not be able to remove third party sellers that are legitimately selling your product/s, however, the program makes it easier for brands to be able to remove (eliminate?) counterfeit products, as well as to contest brands, products and individuals who are using your trademarked name in their Amazon listings or packaging to gain a competitive advantage.
Simply put… brand registry is key. It also lets you build your brand store, lets you build content and in some cases Amazon won’t engage in changing any of the content on titles, bullet points, or above the fold images (link for another article here) you set in place if you have a brand registry. It is key especially if you are a distributor. If you’re a distributor and don’t have the Brand Registry it becomes really difficult for you to have any exposure to the brand because you can’t do anything with it at all. The only thing you can do is put an offer. So, again… brand registry is huge. It also allows you to ensure you can disclose your brand’s taglines, mission and then really do a deep dive into the content of your brand, products and the history of the brand and products. This will only strengthen the connection with your audience.
STRATEGY FOR FINANCING + FEES
This is where you’ll do a deep dive into your financials and profitability per unit. Again, just like we tried to establish in our Amazon Basics article where we did an overview on short and long term strategy for your brand, this is where you are trying to determine your product’s profitability. Essentially when you are looking into your finances, you’re doing a breakdown of each individual product’s profitability to then determine whether or not all of your products’ current pricing is aligned to an Amazon financial strategy.
For example - Let’s say there are some products in your catalog that are very affordable, so you sell them on Walmart for $2 or $3. As a competitive assessment those products are not a good fit for Amazon customers unless you are selling them in bulk. Meaning you have to put 3-5 units in for each bundle to sell as one item. Is the product conducive? If you have an all purpose cleaner that sells at Target or Walmart for $2 the likelihood of you pricing that product for $2 on Amazon and being profitable is unlikely unless you make it a bundle item - i.e. you have an all purpose cleaner, a bathroom cleaner, window cleaner and now you sell them all for $10. This strategy is more likely to be successful, but you are still going to suffer from profitability.
Statistically speaking, the majority of products that are priced $15 or less on Amazon suffer from profitability regardless because you have to be either less than $10 and claim to be a small item or are less than $7 so you claim the Small and Light program and you partake in lower fees on Amazon depending on your category or you are priced above $15 in order for you to be profitable. Without this strategy unfortunately you won’t make it very far on Amazon’s economy of scale and you will have to sell hundreds of thousands of units in order to see some sort of profitability. We don’t want to sugar coat anything, because we all know maximum profitability is our goal so we’re going to be straight with you (because let’s be honest, not everyone will) so you can be set up for success from the start. So, just keep this in mind and take it seriously. That’s how important it is.
MANUFACTURING, STORAGE + SHIPPING
If a product is being manufactured overseas, products and brands in the Amazon ecosystem have seen a ton of issues receiving those products especially since the start of the pandemic. Getting products into the US, especially to the Amazon fulfillment center, has been extremely difficult because of manufacturing constraints. We have seen multiple brands experience getting their products stuck in the carrier port. All we’re going to say is please be aware of your manufacturing capacity and where your products are coming from. This is something that can easily be overlooked and can be detrimental to short and long term profitability.
Amazon has also constrained direct imports (DI), so let’s say you are shipping the product directly from China into Amazon through a container then you take on the risk of being at the mercy of potential trading issues with customs or with both the Chinese and US government or you may also see some constraints with tariffs. Importing is huge when we talk about manufacturing. The other thing that should be considered during the manufacturing process is the lab results for products that are primarily in the Health and Personal Care, Beauty, or Baby categories. Products that are hazmat, topicals, or consumables in nature will need other FDA approvals. Anything that has any issue with manufacturing and claims and approval processes can be detrimental to your brand’s success. For example, hazmats for storage are complicated as well because Amazon will limit the cubic feet storage for hazmat items so that is something to consider. In terms of shipping issues, consider this - How is the product being shipped if you are shipping let’s say a mattress or blankets that are heavy and bulky? Items like this typically carry a huge shipping cost. These are all the things you need to consider for logistics. Oh, and one more thing - FBA products have to be combined into the same box. We’ll get into this more later.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Amazon handles your customer service if you are doing FBA, but if you are MFN/FBM then you have to handle your own customer service. Any type of delay on customer support can trigger negative reviews pretty much immediately on your Seller Central account.
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