Holidays are probably the most awaited period for, not only the buyers but the sellers as well.
It's that time when the buyers go on a shopping spree.
And for sellers, it's the time when sales are at their peak.
And remember, 70% of the customers don’t go beyond the first page of the search results.
So, how can you set yourself apart and make money during this shopping spree?
Keep on reading!
-Optimise your listings
Go through your product listing and fill in all the details that you might feel are missing.
It can be the tiniest of details, like the heel length of stilettos to the diameter of the kitchenware.
You can even add some holiday-related terms for higher rankings.
For example, rather than just lighting, you can write Diwali lights or Christmas lighting.
There are other things you can do to fully optimise your product listing.
Update your images: You can add holiday-themed photos of your product. It can be a photo of your product with a festive background or a product shot in a specific setting.
Rehash your keywords: Do thorough research on keywords and understand which keywords are to be used for a specific festive season. Look for keywords that are in trend during the season and add them to your listing.
Videos: This time, try adding videos of your product. They tend to give a better understanding of your product to the user. Videos will also help them gauge how the product will be once they receive it, hence, increasing the chance of converting the lead.
Details: Fill up all the details available about the product. Make your listing a one-stop page for the details related to a particular product.
-Adjust your PPC budgets
Now, let's come to your PPC bids.
Amazon, during the festive season, will see a sharp increase in user traffic.
As the traffic increases, the PPC ads become more competitive.
This means that you will need to increase the budget of your keyword bids to stay in the competition.
Adjust your budget for PPC ads so that your ads keep on running during the peak season.
You will see an increase in clicks during the peak season, which may exhaust your budget before time.
To keep running the ads profitably, you can increase your daily budget by an expected number.
Understand your RoAS and ACoS to get the desired results during the festive season. You will be shelling out more, so it's better to have some metrics in hand.
In Seller Central's Campaign Manager, you can also try changing your bidding strategy to 'Dynamic bids—up and down'. Here, Amazon will adjust the bid on a particular keyword based on its likeability to convert into a sale. The bid will be lowered by Amazon if the ad conversion probability is low.
Through the brand registry, you can unlock a lot of many marketing features that non-registered brands might not have. With Sponsored Brand Ads, you can redirect the customer to the custom landing page catering solely to your product without being bombarded with ads by competitors. On the other hand, Sponsored Display Ads will allow you to place your product’s ads in your competitor’s listing. Moreover, you can retarget the customers who had visited your listing but didn't buy the product. Talking about Sponsored Brand Video Ads, these aid in setting your ad apart from others by putting a video ad within the search results of Amazon.
Don’t forget to add holiday-related keywords to your listing.
Rather than just decor, add Christmas to the decor. Or keywords such as ‘last-minute purchase’.
These keywords will increase your ranking in the search results.
-Reviews
Just like Reviews on Google and TripAdvisor or even on Yelp are important for businesses, Amazon reviews are important to you, as an Amazon seller.
Just like on Google or Yelp, the higher the rating, the higher will be the chances of conversion.
So, increase your reviews.
And speaking of reviews, the positive ones.
You can either send the review request manually or, you can enrol yourself in Amazon Vine Programme.
Here, you will be sending your product to select reviewers for them to use your product and write a review about it.
No monetary compensation is given to the reviewer, so the reviews are generally honest.
-Eye-catching deals
Do you know why shoppers wait for the holiday season so much? Deals! It's because of deals.
Go with the flow and create some had-to-miss deals for your buyers.
The deals can range from exchanges to discounts to free shipping to even BOGO free!
All you have to do is Seller Central>Advertising Tab>Deals Tab> Create a New Deal.
Viola, your job is done!
Amazon will list the deals your product is eligible for but yes, it comes with a price.
Amazon will charge you a fee for running the deals, ranging from $150-300.
Another thing you can do is create a coupon.
The coupon is visible on search result pages on the products so that the customers would know where they would be entitled to a discount.
The process of creating a coupon is the same as that of a deal.
All you have to do is Seller Central>Advertising Tab>Coupon Tab> Create a new Coupon.
Remember that there is a minimum budget required of about $100 to run a coupon, along with a redemption fee of $0.60 on every sale.
One last card that you can play is the Prime Exclusive Discount.
This is where you offer good discounts on your products but, just for the prime users.
This will give you an edge over your competitors.
-Looking out for potential delays
Delay in shipping is to be expected during the holiday season.
So, any delay from your side can mean a missed train.
Anticipate the delays and restock your inventory at least a month before the date.
Make sure to restock and expand your restocking limit for the festive season.
You can even create an FBM offer on your listing so that in case of any delay from the FBA fulfilment centre, you being the seller can take the matter into your own hands by delivering the products on time.
In this way, you will have an edge over your competitors.
Customers will be loyal to your listing as long as they get a quality product, and that too on time.
-Get ready for returns
If you sell a product via Amazon, returns are inevitable.
This happens, in a high percentage, especially during the festive season.
This is something that the seller shouldn’t take to their hearts, as it's just a part of the business.
You are all set to leave your mark this holiday season!
Happy Selling!
