A quick guide to selecting the best partnership for your brand.
In light of COVID-19’s impact on all of our consumption habits, Amazon's popularity and online shopping have skyrocketed by up to 44% growth from last year. This growth particularly impacted the rapidly expanding niches such as Patio, Lawn, and Garden, Tools & Home Improvement, Sports & Outdoors, Beauty & Personal Care / Health & Wellness, Pet Supplies.
The trend of online shopping began long before the pandemic and is not going away anytime soon; in fact, all studies indicate that online shopping will take up a larger share of our lives in the coming years.
If you are a brand owner or manager looking for ways to leverage Amazon and e-commerce as an additional sales channel for your company, this article is for you because you have a number of options to choose from.
There are two main solutions available to brand owners who simply do not have the time, resources, or expertise to fully and professionally manage their brand management on Amazon:
1. Working with a wholesaler or retailer - third-party sellers
2. Work with an agency or an Amazon consultant - you are the sellers.
To assist you in determining which solution will best suit your brand, we will compare and examine the pros and cons of each option in depth. (If you ever want to consult with us and discuss your options, you can find us here.)
Which is better? Working with third party sellers, connecting with Amazon vendors, or you directly selling on Amazon or through an agency.
First option: Third-party sellers - When you work with Amazon sellers / store owners, you are actually selling your products to third-party sellers (or sometimes a large number of sellers) who will resell the same products on Amazon on your behalf. This does not require much of your intervention and control.
Second option: Amazon Vendor - If Amazon is interested in your product, you can connect with them and sell directly to Amazon through the Vendor Central program. This is a program that can save you a lot of trouble. You, the brand's manufacturers/owners, sell to Amazon in accordance with the order you receive from them; they are responsible for storing, marketing, selling, and providing sub-customer service to customers. This requires no further intervention on your part.
Option three: Using your own Seller Central account - Here, you are the "homeowner" and manage the sales pages, inventory, shipments, advertising, and a variety of other responsibilities for proper account and sales management. Management can be done by yourself or through our services and provision of comprehensive solutions.
Furthermore, each option has advantages and disadvantages that will be discussed below.
The advantages of Amazon wholesale (1 + 2 options)
Either Amazon or a retailer will pay you in advance for your products via purchase orders.
Take away all of a seller's required Amazon responsibilities, from customer service to managing inquiries and problem solving with Amazon (and there are quite a few)
Access to a team of Amazon advertising experts who can improve advertising campaigns and thus increase your products’ sales for some third-party sellers.
In some cases, you will be assigned a personal contact (your customer manager) who will assist you in expanding into new Amazon products and managing your overall platform.
Disadvantages of Amazon wholesale (1 + 2 options)
The profit margin is smaller.
Untrustworthy sellers can cause price drops from the recommended price to the consumer.
You have no control over the marketing of your brand, which can be customized by Amazon or another 3rd party seller once they have access to your product listings.
Giving up complete control to Amazon or an unknown third party can be detrimental to your brand's credibility with customers, especially if you have a reason to doubt their credibility or they are having difficulty responding to your requests. Some examples would be low pricing / promotions / poor customer service / lack of information on the sales pages / missed sales potential, unsatisfactory advertising, and more.
Is Amazon wholesale sale the best option for you?
There are several advantages to selling your products to other sellers or to Amazon itself if you want to take on all of the responsibility of running your own Amazon store. However, it should be emphasized that it is critical to find transparent and dependable third-party sellers in whom you can place your brand's trust. Do your homework before handing over the keys. You must be well aware of the risks involved before entrusting so much control of your brand to unknown sellers.
A better scenario would be selling to a single third-party seller who can really access your brand on Amazon as a whole by managing end-to-end marketing, advertising, and logistics. This way, you can expand to more products and brands.
Amazon Agency / Amazon Consultant management
Working with an Amazon agency is similar to working with a marketing firm or a consultant.
You retain complete control over your brand's listings (product pages), logistics, and presence on Amazon. Working with an agency means having a dedicated team of experts to assist you in making decisions and guiding you in all aspects of your Amazon business. You can also have access to a professional team that can cost you much less than hiring an internal employee. Of course, this will depend on what you work on.
Working full-time for your company, Amazon Brand Management Agency can take care of any creative, optimization and execution of strategies for your Amazon product store and brand store, marketing and advertising strategy (PPC), and much more so you can address all other concerns.
The advantages of collaborating with us / a professional Amazon agency
You get to keep your brand and ownership on Amazon
You manage Amazon's inventory
Increase in profit margins
Pricing management
Amazon's Full Potential
A team of experts manages the store to maximize sales and brand recognition.
Complex tools and integrations are used to achieve higher and more efficient control.
Access to a team of experts' advice and guidance
Reduces the costs of hiring new employees and investing in their training on a regular basis
Saving money on "tuition," time, and mistakes for beginners
The disadvantages of your partnership with us / Amazon Professional Agency
Unlike collaborating with someone who will buy your products in large quantities and without your (almost) intervention, it takes time, especially at the start, to set up the activity in front of us.
Unlike selling your products to a third party, working with an agency does not transfer all of your responsibilities. However, we will specify the options and provide recommendations that are available to you for the future.
Is working with an Amazon agency the best option for you?
Before deciding whether or not you require Amazon Store Store Management Services, ask yourself or your team the following questions:
Do we have the resources and time to run Amazon on a daily basis?
Can we keep up with changing trends and best practices?
Will we be able to run the store in the most efficient and profitable manner?
Are we happy with Amazon's marketing and performance strategy?
If you answered "no" to one or more of the preceding questions, an Amazon agency would be the best option for you. If you are still unsure whether an agency is the right choice for you, please contact us and we will advise and guide you in a way that will be tailored to your specific needs.
Should You Sell by Yourself? (Without agency)
Having read this far, you may be wondering, "Should we abandon any kind of partnership, agency, retailer, or wholesaler and handle everything ourselves?"
If you have the time, expertise, and motivation to build a profitable presence for your brand on Amazon, selling yourself is without a doubt the best way to limit expenses while maintaining a high margin profit.
For many brand owners, however, this is simply not an option.
Doing everything necessary to succeed on Amazon while also managing all other aspects of the business is a difficult task, and even if you feel prepared for the challenge, you may still miss growth opportunities that a seller or an experienced agency can foresee.
AMZ-EXPERT can help you take your brand to new heights.
If you are confused, frustrated, or dissatisfied with Amazon's current performance, why not seek a change?
AMZ-EXPERT invites you to join us and experience the transformation and growth of your Amazon brand.
As a management agency, we work as an extension of your team to meet the needs of your business, whether it's Amazon marketing assistance, advertising, logistics, shipping, brand management, or customer service.
Do you want to learn more about your options as a wholesaler or as our customer?
Contact us.
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