Simplify Amazon Store Management with an Agency Partner

Amazon store setup is designed to be relatively simple for brands utilizing the platform. And while the individual steps required are within the capabilities of most sellers, achieving the desired results is often more complicated. Pursuing the initiative successfully requires a strategic approach similar to developing a direct-to-consumer website. 

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Product organization, creativity and ongoing refinement are essential. However, an Amazon Store also unlocks access to new customer data that can increase conversions and ROI if used effectively. So, rather than an isolated tactic, Storefronts should be implemented as part of a broader campaign to develop followers and strengthen your Amazon business. If this combination of creative design, data analysis and campaign synergy seems overwhelming, you’re not alone. That’s why, for many Amazon businesses, choosing a partner to help build and manage an Amazon store is the ideal solution. 

When to consider outsourcing an Amazon Storefront

As an online seller, you know your inventory and product descriptions better than anyone. Unfortunately, building and optimizing an Amazon store takes more than familiarity with the products it carries. Rather than struggle to find the right formula before the opportunity is gone, e-commerce businesses facing these particular hurdles may find that a little help will go a long way toward winning on Amazon. 

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Lots of Competition

Due to its dominance, Amazon is one of the most competitive sales channels any brand faces. The challenges can be exponentially more difficult for items in highly-popular product categories, and breaking through the clutter can require extensive focus. Unfortunately, most companies don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to the task. As a result, they often juggle the responsibilities of multiple sales channels, product development, customer support and many other business demands. 

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Brands that face particularly stiff competition on Amazon are ideally situated to benefit from third-party Storefront management. Not only can the added expertise help them stand out, but the analytical and strategic edge that an effective agency can offer is also critical to their continued growth on a platform that is becoming ever more important to e-commerce.  

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Growing Product Line

Amazon Storefronts are the face of your entire brand on the marketplace. If your product line is changing or growing rapidly, uploading the latest inventory, optimizing the content and organizing them in your store can be a time-consuming process. 

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When you outsource your Amazon store to a professional service provider, adding a new product listing can become a less tedious step toward your goal of ramping up sales. They will have experience in batch uploading products, using parent-child variations appropriately and navigating the intricacies of copywriting, photography and optimizing content for each product listing. 

Underperforming Sales

In some cases, retailers with a record of success in traditional sales or via a direct-to-consumer website have trouble replicating that profitability on Amazon. Other times, established sellers don’t see any growth after launching an Amazon Store. In either case, the underperformance can be a frustrating experience and hard to reverse. Rather than a problem with the products, the discrepancy suggests a platform-specific weakness in strategy in execution. 

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Clearly, the size, competition and nuances of Amazon make it a challenge to master, even for brands that have found success elsewhere. An agency with deep experience and diverse expertise can ensure that the features and strengths that are working elsewhere reach the right shoppers and translate into conversions on Amazon as well. With a bit of help, an Amazon Storefront can join your other sales channels as a productive opportunity for growth. 

High impact advantages of expertise

A successful brand owner knows better than to dismiss the value of expertise. Instead, they will embrace a partner who can help their business achieve its Amazon goals sooner rather than later. Whether they support transitioning to Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) or completing the Amazon Brand Registry process, there’s no shortage of self-proclaimed experts willing to work with you. However, choosing the right expert to manage your Amazon Storefront can give you confidence in these five areas. 

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Branding

One of the most significant advantages of creating a well-designed Amazon store is its incredible opportunity to raise brand awareness among shoppers. Research has shown that connecting with customers emotionally adds value for companies and that shoppers will pay a premium for products from brands that are aligned with their social priorities. 

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An Amazon Storefront offers sellers a chance to share their brand’s story with shoppers and develop that critical relationship. It’s also the best way to introduce customers to your entire product line, encouraging brand loyalty and using the success of one product to grow others. However, managing an Amazon store that meets these lofty expectations is hard. It demands knowledge of shopper preferences and Amazon-specific techniques to capitalize on the potential fully. 

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Efficiency

Amazon Storefronts are a valuable tool for sellers. Still, most marketplace shoppers will first find products through a traditional search before being introduced to the brand’s entire product line in their store. This structure makes it hard to isolate Storefront management from other areas of Amazon optimization. 

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Partnering with an Amazon agency can ensure your brand stays up-to-date on the latest trends, tools and features from Amazon more efficiently. It also allows you to focus your internal team’s skills and efforts on their current strengths rather than asking them to develop new ones. You can rely on a qualified agency with passionate experts to streamline your brand’s path to winning on Amazon.

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Responsiveness

Although an Amazon seller can expect some support from the global retailer initially, the company’s responsiveness and willingness to address issues are unlikely to satisfy brands in the long term. It’s not unheard of for companies to complain that their ability to get help from Amazon declines as they become more established sellers, and Amazon’s resources shift toward new businesses that will impact their own growth more. 

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When trying to maintain and improvise a feature as important as an Amazon Storefront, you don’t want to be stuck waiting for a response from the Amazon support team when something goes wrong or isn’t performing as expected. When you outsource this responsibility to an Amazon agency, you will know exactly who to contact about your account and have confidence that any problems will be addressed and resolved quickly.

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Optimization

Almost every aspect of selling on Amazon can be optimized for better performance. But Amazon listing optimization requires both SEO experts and familiarity with Amazon retail analytics. So rather than letting the optimization learning curve monopolize your time, why not turn it over to an agency that understands the goal and already has a process in place?

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In the case of Amazon Storefronts, there are a lot of ways for sellers to improve the design, content, and role it has in a company’s marketing plan. However, doing so requires the ability to perform detailed keyword research, data analysis and campaign planning. The decision to outsource Amazon store management is often based on a brand’s capacity to meet the demands of optimization. For many, the value of a partnership with Amazon experts and experience getting the most out of an Amazon Storefront is well worth the cost. 

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Conversions

Typically, shopper conversion is the most crucial measure of success on the Amazon marketplace. Leading prospective customers from search to cart to purchase is the funnel an Amazon store intends to accelerate.

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A results-oriented agency partner understands how to leverage an Amazon Storefront to increase your conversion rate. They can leverage digital marketing and Amazon platform promotions to attract shoppers and rely on high-impact design and features such as Enhanced Brand Content to increase customer orders. Launching and maintaining an Amazon store management requires a substantial amount of work and needs to positively impact your conversion rate to justify the effort. 

Selecting the right Storefront Partner

Finding a store builder suitable for your needs is about more than the services they provide. How they plan to make your Amazon product stand out could be even more critical. The team supporting your Storefront should align with your company in several ways. 

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Experience

Focus on more than just how long the agency has existed. A newer agency may have a talented team with decades of relevant experience. In contrast, an established agency could have lots of turnover that has led to leadership or specialists who have spent minimal time in the industry. You should also inquire how the resume of those managing your Amazon account matches your company’s goals. An agency with direct experience in your product category may seem ideal, but sellers are often better served by comparing an agency’s strengths with the brand’s goals, in this case, Storefront creation and management. 

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Track Record

Remember to pay close attention to an agency’s current roster of clients and past results. Any reputable agency should be able to provide detailed case studies that shed light on their capabilities and tactics. Ask for examples that have parallels to your company’s challenges and will reveal whether the agency would be a good fit as an Amazon partner. As important as who they have been able to help, is when their seller support took place. Amazon’s tools and policies are constantly evolving, and a service provider needs to be able to adjust accordingly. An agency with continuous success over time is more likely to be effective regardless of what lies ahead for the platform.

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Approach

Before settling on an agency partner, confirm their approach to managing your Storefront is a good fit for your company and your communication preferences. For example, find out if the agency relies primarily on a team of offshore specialists, junior staff or director-level staff to service their accounts. The approach will significantly impact the cost and quality of service the agency can provide, and your brand should choose a tier that aligns appropriately. 

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Goals

Much like the products for sale on the site, there are Amazon agencies to serve almost any need. Some specialize in Amazon Vendor Central, not . Others may focus on content rather than logistics. And many service providers will prefer to work with small, mid-size or large sellers instead of trying to attract clients from across the spectrum. 

Much like choosing an agency with the right experience for your needs, outsourcing Amazon Storefront management will likely go more smoothly if you choose an agency with a history of working with similar-sized companies on similar projects. You may find that those claiming to do it all struggle to meet expectations. 

Partner with Amify

The pros at Amify know that the Buy Box is just the first step to winning on Amazon. To be successful, a business needs an integrated and interconnected approach. That’s why we operate as your business partner, providing full strategy and execution throughout the product life cycle on Amazon. From supply chain management, warehousing, content creation, advertising, and more, Amify helps you drive growth where your business needs it. Schedule your Amazon Account Consultation today. 

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