Fabian Serger
Amazon is the third largest shop in Switzerland in terms of sales, and more and more users are starting and finishing their product search directly on Amazon. By far, Amazon already dominates the e-commerce market of our European neighbours. No wonder Amazon was an omnipresent topic at the OMK, both in the lectures and in discussions with participants. We have compiled the top 10 things that a Swiss company needs to know before entering into the Amazon Marketplace:
1. Logistics: To be an active seller on Amazon, you must be able to send parcels across the Swiss border. For amazon.de, for example, timely shipping to Germany is a prerequisite.
2. Trademark Protection: We recommend that company trademark owners register with Amazon in order to be better protected against counterfeiting. In addition, registration gives you more influence and control over your brand's product offerings on Amazon. Prerequisite: An actively registered company trademark.
3. Shop Connection: To avoid a manual comparison of two inventory lists and to ensure smooth management in the warehouse, your shop system should be connected to Amazon Seller Central via connectors. Most large shop systems offer this possibility.
4. Amazon Advertising: Sponsored Amazon ads help to prominently promote selected products to users. As with Google, the bill is calculated per click, but unlike Google, Amazon paid advertising has a direct, positive influence on the organic result (SEO).
5. Brand Presentation: Amazon Brand Stores allow brand owners to set up their own website on Amazon in order to optimally position the brand and exclude competitors.
6. External Channels: Especially when first starting to sell on Amazon, other marketing channels such as newsletters, Facebook, Google, or all of them should be used to direct traffic to Amazon's own listings and thus boost performance.
7. Product Presentation: Content, images, and videos must be optimized for user engagement. In combination with relevant back-end keywords, this has a positive effect on visibility, click rates, and conversion rates and thus sales.
8. Service: This has top priority for Amazon sellers. If Prime shipping via Amazon (FBA) is not an option, at least premium shipping should be used. In addition, the support regarding communication and returns must function flawlessly. Otherwise, negative evaluations will occur, which in turn will have a negative effect on performance. If delivery is late on more than 4% of orders, there is already a risk of the account being blocked.
9. Package Inserts: Ratings are essential and should be requested, for example, via inserts in the packages or via e-mail. Attention: Never ask for positive ratings!
10. Patience: Whether becoming an Amazon seller will be a success for your own company cannot be determined within a few weeks. It takes a longer time period and, above all, the will to actively push the platform within the company.
These are the most important tips on how your company can successfully establish Amazon as a sales channel and avoid critical mistakes. Next, you should define clear measures to increase sales on Amazon. We will be happy to help you create an Amazon concept for your company to help you build and improve Amazon as a revenue channel.