To navigate the challenges of launching your business from scratch, particularly in a competitive market inundated with emerging brands, the “Velocity Sellers” podcast recently delved into the topic. Hosting two key figures from the company, including senior marketing analyst Stephayny Morrison, who brings over 7 years of experience working with Amazon sellers and brands before joining Velocity Sellers in 2020. Accompanying her is Cutter Streby, the head of marketing manager, renowned for expertise in social media campaigns and advertising strategies. If you’re aiming to kickstart your venture on Amazon, this discussion serves as a valuable guide through the entire process, emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy.
Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy: Early Planning & Growing Your Brand
Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy involves more than just launching sponsored ads on Amazon, as highlighted by marketing analyst Stephany Morrison. While many may focus solely on initial success through such advertisements, experts stress the significance of a holistic approach to brand establishment. This includes:
- Working on the visual appearance of the brand on social media
- Trying to involve it in a different platform apart from Amazon
Taking into consideration that the market is full of Chinese sellers too, the new startup brand development through social media will be very beneficial, even if there will be strong competition. But, now, you will ask, how to grow the brand, and which way is better?
The actual way of creating the brand
The marketing manager, Cutter Streby, separates two terms: Growing a brand and starting a brand. Regarding starting, it is essential to consider the visual cohesion, such as the accessibility of your product, in case of transferring it to another social media, would be apparent to the customer. This does not meant write thousands of pages about one item, but it simply means presenting the basic information.
Regarding growing off the channel, the marketing manager emphasizes several things. One of them is a narrative approach, which means you have to be able to tell a story in a short period, keeping the audience engaged in the content. To grow your brand off-Amazon, the professional brings three terms: hook, retain, and reward. In essence, it does not matter what you are selling, but it does matter to find the targeted customers for that product. For example, the Toddler Tower will be more interesting for mothers.
But in this case, the Amazon case can be really helpful since you can see similar products and understand how yours is going to be different and solve the question that others do not. With all these details, it is also very important to have a concept design, and a good avatar, indeed, can be a key in social media. Hence, if you are new in this sphere and are about to start, be sure to invest in your brand properly. Then, try to engage your business off-Amazon, and success might happen with even organic ranking on Amazon. This can happen in various ways, and one of them is email building. That is, in simple words, letting people know about the product launch from different social media. This is what exactly the marketing analyst of “Velocity Sellers” did at the time.
Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy: Building Up Your Social Proof
From the beginning, crafting an effective Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy to boost SEO and visibility in the market seems quite challenging. However, according to the marketing manager, the reviews for your website can have a huge impact since they will make your website more trustworthy. You can achieve this by giving people some testimonials so that they will have an idea of a product and can express their opinion. This will also give you a chance to build user-generated traffic for your business. Stephany Morrison also suggested collecting these reviews not just from Amazon but also, for example, from the Shopify website and using different websites as well.
But how do you get positive reviews? The marketing analyst reveals the secret, which is giving a gift with your product. Let’s imagine that there are 100 units of your product, and you also include a very small gift, explaining why they received it, telling them a bit more about your company, and congratulating them for being their client. Receiving a letter from the owner can have a huge impact on your brand.
Establishing your customer base
Building your customer base is important, and here comes social media, which is a powerful tool. Based on her experience, the marketing analyst mentioned that using social media to upgrade sales is a very good technique since people in this way have chances to get some discounts before going to the Amazon website. However, follow-up is also essential, as Cutter Streby thinks, because nowadays, communication with the client and doing it as a human being is very impersonal and is something people need. Thus, after sending the gift, you can send another promotion, remind them about you, and tell them about your brand. Both specialists agreed that showing your passion for your products and putting effort into them will be rewarded sooner or later.
Brand Referral Bonus, Buy with Prime, & other Amazon Programs
Before delving into strategies for Amazon’s customer retargeting, let’s unpack the significance of Amazon’s Brand Referral Bonus. This initiative allows you to earn a bonus by leveraging non-Amazon advertising to guide customers to products within the Amazon store as part of your Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy. These bonuses accumulate as credits, offsetting referral fees for future sales when Amazon Attribution tags are integrated into your ads. In essence, the company offers a 10% discount if you drive traffic post-sales. For example, if a product costs $150, $15 is collected, and with monthly sales of, say, 10 products, you could receive $150.
This benefit extends beyond mere savings. As Stephayny Morrison underscores, it bolsters Amazon’s Best Sellers rank, consequently reducing the reliance on advertisements by amplifying organic traffic. The marketing analyst also praises the Buy with Prime feature for its trust-building prowess. This feature enables consumers to purchase with the Prime guarantee, significantly boosting conversion rates. Based on extensive studies by the Amazon Prime team, brands that embrace this feature witness an average conversion increase of 25%. This could translate into substantial gains for businesses.
Amazon’s Partnership with Meta
In the landscape of surprising collaborations between major corporations, the Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy in 2024 proves that such alliances are not only real but thriving. The Marketing Manager perceives this as an opportunity to drive traffic, facilitating seamless transitions from the Meta platform to Amazon. For instance, purchases made on the Instagram shop can seamlessly translate into activity on Amazon. This integration not only benefits businesses but also enhances data collection capabilities, leveraging insights from both companies. Unlike in the past, where some information remained elusive, this partnership promises a paradigm shift. One notable challenge, however, is that product selection for Meta postings will be controlled by Amazon rather than individuals. Nevertheless, both specialists eagerly anticipate the outcome of this collaboration and its impact on the market.
Concluding Insights and Advice for Your Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy
Discussing strategies to build your business from scratch can seem like an endless journey. Here are key insights from this article. Stephany Morrison emphasizes the importance of incorporating Google ads into Amazon listings using the brand referral bonus attribution link. For SEO, the marketing manager advises leveraging techniques like Google Trends and SEMrush, stressing the importance of understanding your product, target audience, and the problems you aim to solve.
Ultimately, as highlighted by the marketing analyst, trust remains paramount. This can be established through the aforementioned strategies and by providing comprehensive product information. Even for established companies, organizing a press release to inform people about your brand can foster trust. Additionally, focusing on driving traffic is crucial, with another strategy shared to boost sales.
Consider this scenario: a person purchases a cat collar. It would be strategic to identify the user and suggest a complementary product like a cat bowl, recognizing the potential need for related items. This cross-selling approach can effectively redirect interest from one product to another. Armed with this insight, you can navigate your business journey with intelligence and a strategic Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy in mind.
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