Amazon has become the retail juggernaut it is today largely thanks to its massive third-party seller marketplace which enables entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes to leverage Amazon’s platform and reach hundreds of millions of customers. However, successfully selling on Amazon long-term requires much more than simply listing your products and waiting for sales. Proper seller account management is essential and involves everything from understanding Amazon’s terms of services to optimizing listings to managing inventory and shipping. Here are some key areas Amazon sellers need to stay on top of:
Review and Account Agreements Policies Thoroughly
Before listing your first product on Amazon, thoroughly read through all the agreements, policies and terms of service related to selling. Understand all the associated fees like referral fees, variable closing fees, shipping fees and storage fees. Know Amazon’s advertising fee structures inside out. Be fully aware of policies related to returns, refunds, prohibited products and more. You want no violations or surprises down the road that could jeopardize your account’s standing. Stay fully compliant.
Optimize Listings and Product Pages
Product listings are the digital storefront for your items so making them shine is a must. Craft titles with relevant keywords buyers are searching on Amazon. Write detailed bulleted descriptions highlighting features and benefits. Include multiple quality images showing the product from different angles and in-use if applicable. Fill in all possible fields like dimensions, weight, color variations, etc. Run listings through Amazon’s free LISTING QUALITY DASHBOARD to catch issues. Meet all Amazon requirements for your product categories like proper nutrition fact labels for food items.
Stay on Top of Inventory and Fulfillment
Carefully manage inventory availability ensuring Amazon never shows products out of stock if you can fulfill orders. Run out too often and you risk suspension. Ship orders within Amazon’s prescribed timelines based on shipping method advertised in listings. To avoid logistics headaches, leverage Fulfillment By Amazon letting them pick, pack and ship items to customers. Just replenish FBA inventory regularly. If going the “seller-fulfilled” route, upload tracking info within stated timeframes. Inventory and shipping performance directly impact seller rating.
Monitor Metrics and Optimize Listings
Check your Seller Central dashboard regularly to identify bestselling items as well as products getting little traction. Dig into listing metrics clicking “See more details” on each product page. Evaluate impressions, clicks, add-to-cart rates, sales history and bestselling variations. Use these insights to adjust listings by tweaking titles/descriptions, images, pricing, parent/child variations and details like size/color offerings. Let data guide optimization for maximum sales.
Drive External Traffic to Listings
While Amazon draws tons of buyers inherently, you boost sales further by driving external traffic to product listings through marketing. Run Amazon PPC ads to rank listings higher in searches. Promote listings through email, social media, blogs, YouTube reviews. Capture emails through lead magnets and alert subscribers about offerings. Surfacing your listings outside Amazon primes buyers to purchase once they reach Amazon through your links.
Cultivate Reviews to Build Social Proof
Product reviews greatly influence what buyers purchase on Amazon. New listings without reviews struggle to convert. Proactively collect feedback by following up with recent buyers via email requesting a review. Offer discounts on future purchases for those leaving reviews. Product insert cards with review requests help. Avoid incentivizing only positive reviews which violates terms. Address negative feedback directly and make improvements. Reviews establish critical social proof.
Stay on Top of Buyer Messages and Respond Quickly
On each order, buyers can contact sellers with questions or concerns before/after purchase via Amazon Messaging. Check messages daily and respond promptly to build trust and preempt issues. Delayed responses frustrate buyers. Issues left unaddressed often result in negative reviews or worse. A rating of “Poor” for late shipment responses can severely damage your account’s standing and sales. Communicate thoroughly and transparently.
The above covers just some of the key elements critical for Amazon sellers to master. While success on Amazon starts with listings done right, maintaining and diligently managing your seller account daily, weekly and monthly determines long term prosperity. Fall behind on inventory, shipments, communication and optimizations – and account suspension becomes a real possibility. By staying on top of everything with proper account management, selling on Amazon can be a highly profitable endeavor for years to come.
