Sell on Amazon through an agency or on my own?
You’re considering selling on Amazon but unsure where to start? Should I do it internally with my current staff? Should I hire an agency to help? This article will show you the considerations to help with your decision.
Read on to learn more.
Why sell your products on Amazon
Selling products on Amazon can be an excellent way to grow a business online. Whether you sell clothing, electronics, or any other type of product, you can probably list it on Amazon.
You can enjoy a couple of benefits from selling items online with a massive platform like Amazon. Consider a couple of reasons why you should use Amazon.
Shoppers start online
When people make purchase decisions online, they first go on Amazon or Google, compare models, look at prices. When they know what they want, they either purchase it online on Amazon, on your own website, or find a retailer and purchase in-store.
Some people even go on amazon while in the store to see the reviews and get more details before purchasing. Most importantly, if you were not on amazon, you are not considered
Access a Larger Market
Even if you’ve built up brand awareness and loyalty, it’s still worth it to sell on Amazon. People use Amazon to search for new products, so they may not know of your business before they buy from you.
You have access to customers anywhere, from coast to coast in Canada, the USA, and even Europe. This is made possible with the Amazon structure.
It lets you reach new customers with fast delivery and free shipping anywhere in the world. You can even receive a new dealer request from someone noticing you on Amazon.
However, a lot goes into running an Amazon seller account, and it’s not easy for many business owners.
Things to know about Amazon
Before you launch your first item, you should know what to expect and how that may affect your decision to hire an agency. Maybe you know about these factors because you’ve tried selling on the platform.
Then, you’ll be able to make the most of your Amazon seller account.
Not the Most Control
For one, you will not have as much control on Amazon as you do on your own website. You’ll need to agree to and follow Amazon’s terms and conditions, and you will need to comply with any changes.
The platform is constantly and rapidly evolving. Maintaining the level of expertise necessary for its management is a challenge. Hence, keeping your brand image consistent and managing the inventory takes a lot of time, and a lot of businesses don’t have the resources for that.
To save time, it’s well worth hiring an agency to manage your Amazon account. They can keep up with all the changes and maintenance tasks efficiently while you devote your time to other aspects of your company.
Time to Market
The time to market can make a massive difference when launching its products. Getting things up and running quickly is possible with Amazon, which is nice if you have inventory ready to go.
One of the benefits of agencies is that they can help you get on Amazon even faster. A good agency knows how the platform works, so they can list products efficiently and make sure Amazon approves those products.
If you go on Amazon on your own, it can take months to launch and see results because you have to learn how it works. An agency can get you selling within weeks without the risk of major errors.
Making a Profit
The best agency may also help you increase your profits, so you can grow your overall business. It sounds counterintuitive because doing it yourself can help you save money.
However, through its expertise, an agency will sometimes reach a much higher level of sales, and will also increase the profit margin. You’ll end up with more money, even considering the agency fee.
If the agency you select has hands-on, comprehensive experience with Amazon, it will save you time and money.
Necessary Resources
Hiring an agency is also beneficial if you aren’t ready to hire more people to work for you. Managing an Amazon seller account for your business can require a lot of resources, and it’s too much for one person.
Roles to fill include:
- Amazon specialist
- Advertising specialist
- Graphic designer
- Photographer
- Translator
- Operations manager
- Customer service agent
You’d either need to hire for those roles as part of your in-house team or work with contractors. Either option can involve a lot of time and money, but hiring an agency makes that easy.
A full-service Amazon agency will have a team of people to fill all of those roles. That way, they can get your products on Amazon, and your team will assist only for value-added activities.
Managing Your Account
Managing an Amazon account may sound easy, but a lot of work goes into keeping an account in good standing. If your team is small, you might not have the resources to respond quickly.
An agency can also help provide customer service, even in multiple languages. If you want to expand internationally, you’d also need to manage taxes and finances, but an agency can do that for you.
Benefits of hiring an agency to help with Amazon
When looking at options for agencies to hire, consider if they offer the following benefits. Then, you’ll be able to outsource that part of your business and get rid of some of the stress that comes with Amazon selling.
Listing Your Products
The simplest way that an agency helps you is that its team can handle listing your products. Writing good product listings requires skills, experience, and an understanding of how Amazon works.
You can hire an agency to help with writing product titles and descriptions that will encourage sales. They may even help take and edit images that make your product look better.
Other services include writing A+ pages and updating your descriptions. That way, you can keep your listings at the top of search results so that you can get more sales.
Running Amazon Ads
As helpful as it is, advertising of any kind can be hard. You need to know which keywords to select to place your products on as ads, and you have to monitor the performance of those ads.
Amazon has many internal programs that you need to understand and master. If you don’t know how ads work, you can waste a lot of time and money on Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brand, and Sponsored Display.
Even if you handle other parts of your Amazon account, consider outsourcing ads. That way, you’ll be able to work with a company that can help you get more conversions.
Full-Scale Management
A full-scale agency can do much more than you think. Some can include purchasing your products, so you don’t have to worry about marketing, logistics and maintenance.
With this type of solution, you don’t have to worry about inventory level, forecasting demand and managing shipping to amazon warehouses, or filling customs paperwork and receivables.
The agency may even follow up with customers who leave product reviews to learn how your business can do better.
While you can manage all of those tasks, it takes a lot of work, and it helps to outsource to an agency with a dedicated team that can keep up with your business on Amazon and the new Amazon trends.
How will you sell on Amazon?
If you’re looking to grow your business and sell on Amazon, you can do so. However, you have to decide if you want to manage your own account or outsource the task to an agency.
Sometimes, an agency can help with smaller tasks or handle your entire business. Then, you’ll be able to focus on other sales channels to make your overall company a success.
At ProMerit, we offer two different services:
1) Account management solution:
ProMerit works alongside your team to sell your merchandise via your Amazon account. We manage your online sales, while you track your inventory and accounts receivable.
2) Partnership / Full-scale management:
ProMerit purchases your merchandise and sells it via our own Amazon account. We invest to boost sales, manage logistics, pay taxes, and handle customer service. The ProMerit Amazon seller account receives 100% positive feedback from consumers. Its unparalleled reputation can propel your brand forward.
For a free consultation with an Amazon expert to discuss your objectives, contact us.