Amazon Account Launch Checklist for New Sellers in 2023
The prospect of launching or growing your brand on Amazon is an exciting opportunity. There is no guarantee your brand will be successful on Amazon, but familiarizing yourself with the platform, policies, and its nuances is essential.
Here is a checklist of items that new Amazon sellers should be aware of as they proceed with launching their business on the platform:
Leverage a Professional Selling Account: Amazon offers two different seller accounts, Individual and Professional. Professional accounts provide the programs, reporting, and resources requisite to scaling your business.
Learn Amazon's fee structure: Amazon charges fees for the sale of products, such as referral and fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees. They also have fees associated to storage, prep & labelling, disposals, and returns. Ensure you are aware of these expenses and incorporate them into your pricing strategy.
Obtain GS1 Certified UPCs: Amazon requires barcode identification for every item shipped to their warehouses (with some exceptions). They expect your identifiers to be certified by the GS1 organization.
Organize your product data: Having accurate, detailed, and expert product data is essential for success on Amazon. This consists of product titles, descriptions, images, and prices. Check out our other posts on content fundamentals and image fundamentals for more detail.
Select a delivery method: You have the option of fulfilling orders yourself or utilizing Amazon's FBA service. Consider the costs and benefits of each alternative and select the best one.
Develop a pricing strategy: Competitive pricing is essential for success on Amazon. Execute market research to identify a competitive pricing band for your products. Ensure that your retail is profitable and incorporates Amazon's fee structure, fulfillment, and advertising investment.
Comply with Amazon’s policies: Amazon's product listing and selling practices are governed by stringent guidelines. Ensure you comprehend these policies and adhere to them to avoid product suppression or account issues.
Use Brand Registry: if you have a trademark in the US or internationally, register your brand to get additional marketing opportunities and access to Amazon programs. If you don’t have a trademark, consider submitting a trademark application (note that wait times can often be 12 to 18 months in the US).
Leverage Amazon's reporting & insights: Amazon offers a variety of tools to assist sellers in managing their businesses and increasing sales, including Amazon's Inventory Management, Amazon's Order Management, and Amazon's advertising tools. Utilize these resources to maximize your success on Amazon.
Be customer-centric: Amazon built its platform thinking of the customer first. Reflect on how you can incorporate this into your business practices and your products. Identify how you can provide customers with stellar customer service or ways that your product will add value over your competition.
Monitor customer reviews: customer reviews impact your search rankings and sales. Having accurate content will eliminate some negative experiences but know how you will adapt to 1 or 2 star reviews. Removing reviews is exceedingly difficult but reading the feedback and adapting will allow you to improve the customer experience for future shoppers.
Maintain strong performance metrics: Amazon evaluates Sellers across their inventory, shipping, and performance ratings. Poor performance may lead to the loss of the BuyBox or constraints to your FBA storage capacity.
Continuously assess and enhance: Regularly assess your performance on Amazon and make necessary adjustments. This may involve optimizing your product information, modifying your pricing strategy, or altering your fulfillment method.
Incorporating the recommendations above will prepare your business and increase the likelihood of success of scaling your business on Amazon. Success on Amazon requires persistence, ingenuity, and commitment, but the rewards can be lucrative. Happy selling.
ARMR has helped over 200 brands to succeed on Amazon. Whether you’re looking to launch on the platform or grow your existing business - we can help.