A Guide to Selling on Amazon for Startups
The key to success when it comes to launching a new startup business is making your business visible. You could have the best products on the market, but no one will buy from you if your products aren’t easy to find. So, how do you go about raising your profile and placing your products where your target customer can see them?
Amazon
There is no better way to do this than to sell your goods on Amazon – a gigantic marketplace where consumers turn when they need any kind of product. Amazon Marketplace allows retailers to sell on their website for a fee which is a fantastic way to sell under an incredibly popular and respected name. Not only this, but Amazon can even store your products, fulfils orders and more which can lighten your workload and make sure that your customers are satisfied and will leave positive reviews (key for attracting new customers).
Getting Set Up
To get started you will need to create a seller account with Amazon where you sign up as either an Individual or Professional. As a startup, you will want a Professional account as you will (hopefully) be selling over 35 products a month and you can sell a greater range of products. Once you have set up your account it is then a matter of creating product listings and you should use keyword research to increase the visibility of your listings.
Managing Orders
While Amazon will do a lot of the hard work for you, it is essential that you manage your own inventory as you will get a lower rating if you do not ship items when they are listed as in stock. Amazon will automatically update stock after an order is placed but if you are selling in other marketplaces and your own ecommerce store then you will need to manually manage your inventory. One of the most effective ways to manage your shipping is to use a reputable courier like TNT Direct. Couriers like this can provide ecommerce delivery solutions with tools which can integrate with your online marketplace accounts for easy, accurate and efficient management of your orders. This also ensures that your shipments are made promptly which is crucial for building a high rating and attracting and retaining customers.
Ecommerce can be a brilliant industry to enter but it is also fiercely competitive and hard to get your products noticed. Selling your products on Amazon is a smart move as this is a gigantic marketplace and often where people will turn first when shopping for any kind of product. By selling here and taking steps to increase listing visibility and by making sure that orders are delivered quickly, it could give your ecommerce business a significant boost and allow you to maximize profits.