Introduction

E-commerce platforms such as Amazon provide various opportunities for everyone, big or small in scale. In this piece, let's look at sellers trying to reach a large audience and expand their businesses. However, there are plenty of complications and complexities through which one must navigate through, as online retailing can be a daunting process, especially for newcomers. Many sellers make mistakes that can really hinder their success and growth on Amazon. 

 Regardless of your experience in being a seller, it is very important to understand the common pitfalls and learn how to avoid them. There are a few common but avoidable mistakes we can explore, along with some great actionable tips for rectification. 

1. Ignoring Product Research  

2. Poor Product Listing Optimization 

3. Not focusing on Customer Reviews and Feedback 

4. Pricing Inconsistencies 

5. Ineffective Inventory Management 

6. Ignoring Amazon's Policies and Guidelines 

7. Ineffective advertising 

8. Failing to Build a Brand 

9. Not following trends on Analytics  

10. Not focusing on delivery dates 

1. Ignoring Product Research:

In one of Atom11 podcasts, we discussed how a bad dish cannot save a restaurant. Choosing products solely based on personal preference or perceived demand may lead to intense competition, low sales as well as low-profit margins. Without proper research, you may end up investing time and money in products that either have a limited demand or high competition.   

Solution: 

Using competition research tools can save you a ton of time that goes into doing the trial-and-error method yourself. Research tools help analyze demand for chosen products and the competition around the same. It also helps with the technicalities of looking into products with high demand and low competition to increase your chances of success. 

2. Poor Product Listing Optimization 

You have a great product, but in-adequate imagery or not enough information for a customer to make a buying decision. This will not only lead to low search ranks, but also low conversions. Efficiently optimizing your listing of products is essential for attracting potential buyers and leading to higher ranking on Amazon's search results. However, many sellers neglect this very important step, leading to lower visibility and lower sales. The more information provided for customers the better trust it builds leading them to purchasing a product. 

Solution

Optimize your product titles (name of the product), for better visibility. Use tools like Nitty Gritti or Perci.ai to improve your listing and image quality. Using high-quality images, sizes to compare and the proper policies such as return policies etc. also gives a customer a proper idea of the product being sold as well as trust in the seller.  

3. Not focusing on Customer Reviews and Feedback 

Reviews and feedback provided by customers play a significant role in influencing purchasing decisions on Amazon. Customers hesitate to purchase from sellers that have questionable feedback. Hence, ignoring or not rectifying the feedback you get on your product can damage a seller’s reputation and keep away future customers.

Solution:

As a seller, customer satisfaction is the top priority, as their feedback and reviews carry a lot of weight. If you have low conversion on your products, figure out if it is due to (a) low number of reviews and ratings OR (b) bad reviews and ratings. If it is the former, encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews of your product. There are multiple tools available for this, for example, Helium10, FeedbackFive, and Starrboost. 

 If negative/ bad reviews and ratings are the problem then actively make changes to your product and address negative feedback in your questions, A+ content and bullet points.  

4. Pricing Inconsistencies 

One of the main causes of this inconsistent prices across platforms for the same product. Failing to adjust prices according to appropriate market standards and price elasticity can drive away valuable customers.   

Solution: 

By utilizing tools that can help adjust prices in real-time based on factors like competitor pricing, demand fluctuations and seasonality, businesses can maintain a more consistent pricing structure across various channels.    

5. Ineffective Inventory Management 

Inventory management plays a major role in determining your profits and sales opportunities. Overstocking can result in unnecessary storage fees, and general loss of business while running out of stock for products that have good demand will result in the loss of a significant number of easily convertible sales. Oh Well, starting May 1’24, even low stock will lead to low stock fee.   

Solution: 

Implement inventory management software to track stock levels, forecast demand and automate reorder processes. Use Amazon's FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) service to outsource storage and shipping, reducing the burden of inventory management.   Other than good inventory management, you can be holistic and use inventory aware PPC tools like Atom11. With atom11, you can go pause product ads that are low in stock.  

6. Ignoring Amazon's Policies and Guidelines 

Like any other company offline or online, Amazon also has strict policies and guidelines governing product listings, advertising and seller behavior. If any of these policies are violated it can result in account suspension or closure, which will jeopardize your sales.   

Solution:

Pay full attention to the rules and regulations of the company, understand the framework as to how the company expects you to run your business at full optimization. Familiarize yourself with Amazon's policies and guidelines and ensure that your listings and business practices comply with them. Stay informed about updates and changes to avoid violating any rules. Ask for help when you have doubts or do not understand certain policies. The easiest way to do this is hire a competent service provider who will optimize your Amazon needs based on your products and do a thorough analysis to ensure full compliance with the Amazon guidelines.  

7. In-efficient Advertising and Promotion:

70% of Amazon sellers use ads to promote their product. But less than 5% use it effectively. Making mistakes like spending on irrelevant keywords, in-efficient bid management and missing out on search term negations lead to wasted spending and little impact on total sales.   

Solution: 

Look into Amazon advertising and marketing techniques. There are many resources to improve ad efficiencies available on the internet. A few of them are listed here:  Improve ACOS: https://www.atom11.co/blog/strategies-to-reduce-your-acos Use dayparting to run efficient ads: https://www.atom11.co/blog/dayparting-framework Improve bidding strategies: https://www.atom11.co/blog/bidding-strategies-on-amazon  By using effective Amazon PPC automation tools like Atom11, you can increase ad efficiencies and save time.  

 8. Failing to Build a Brand

Selling products on Amazon goes beyond just listing them on the site, it involves ensuring conversions to sales by ensuring your brand is trusted. Building a strong brand presence is crucial for long-term success. Building a good brand presence will also ensure that you need not try too hard for all your products, sometimes buyers also prefer products solely because they are being sold by a particular brand, this can reduce your ad costs and help you optimize your ad spend. Failing to differentiate your products or establish brand identity can make it difficult to stand out in a crowded marketplace.  

Solution: 

Look into effective branding efforts such as creating an impactful logo, packaging style and design. Use distinguishable brand colors, use witty and comprehensible content on your ads, ensure all your product descriptions are clear, concise and informative. Having a USP (Unique Selling Point) is a mark needed to stay on a customer’s mind for any product. Also, pay attention to delivering consistent quality and customer experience and this will automatically lead to building trust and loyalty among sales. We did a very detailed podcast on brand building using advertising on atom11 podcast. Do check it out here.     

9. Not following trends on Analytics 

A good business always starts with data, data and more data. Effective data analysis is always essential for optimizing your strategies and to maximizing your sales. Failing to track or avoiding tracking and analyzing key metrics means you're missing out on valuable insights and information that could inform your decision-making process, which may be the key to your success. For example, only through historical data analysis will you know what product is worth spending on – in terms of ad spend and in terms of manufacturing itself.   

Solution: 

Use Amazon Seller Central's analytics tools to keep track of sales performance, track customer search behaviors, observe their purchase patterns and identify areas for improvement. Analyze data such as conversion rates, traffic sources and customer demographics to refine your strategy and drive growth. There are both online and offline tools and services available to ensure that your Amazon seller journey progresses smoothly. Using atom11, you can bring together seller central/ vendor central and advertising data together in one place.     

10. Not focusing on delivery dates: 

One of the most important factors that influence or help decide a customer’s purchasing decision to buy a product are the shipping charges and dates. According to a survey done, more than 80% of people shopping online are reluctant to buy a product due to its high shipping costs or more than 2-day shipping charges.  

Solution: 

Before starting your business and product listing on amazon make sure to have all the right details and that you have calculated your margins keeping in mind the shipping costs. Apply for FBA so that you can control delivery dates.   Some of these are eligible for Amazon Prime shipping, providing faster delivery rates and it involves the option of Amazon taking care of customer service and processing returns. By implementing these solutions, sellers can provide a more satisfactory shopping experience for customers. 
 By conducting thorough research, collecting regular data, optimizing your listings, providing excellent customer service and staying informed about Amazon's policies and guidelines, you can position yourself for long-term growth and profitability in the competitive world of e-commerce.  

Summary

Atom 11 specializes in making your life as a seller easy! For the first time ever, you can combine retail data with advertising and run more efficient ads. Everything from thorough data analytics, providing quick insights into the root causes of sales fluctuations, competitor analysis, to helping put out the most effective ads, and helping with effective product listing, Atom 11 got you covered! Book a call with us here.