The Advantages of an Amazon Agency

As competition increases for the top spots in Amazon’s search results and  sales on the platform become a fundamental factor for a brand’s success, a growing number of sellers are turning to full-service Amazon agencies to find an edge. 

These Amazon consulting partners can provide significant expertise that enhances capabilities, adds value, supports growth, and solves problems. Keep reading to learn more about the many ways an Amazon agency can take your brand to the next level on Amazon.

An Amazon agency can enhance capabilities

Warehousing

Amazon seller success hinges on a company’s ability to get its products to customers quickly. In many cases, the best way to accomplish this is via Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). The most valuable Amazon agencies can provide FBA-optimized warehousing space that is often advantageously located near Amazon’s shipping hubs. Whether a brand is shipping to Amazon as a vendor, supplying FBA inventory, or fulfilling customer orders directly, the storage, packing, labeling and shipping of a product need to be expertly managed. It’s just one of the many services that an Amazon agency can offer to streamline a company’s operations. 

Logistics

In addition to the warehousing challenges an Amazon business faces, poorly-managed inventory can negatively affect a company’s bottom line. A reputable Amazon agency can provide cost-saving logistics solutions. These agencies have experience with Amazon’s FBA guidelines to ensure that products remain in stock for customer orders and that businesses can avoid the expensive aged-inventory fees that Amazon can charge for stagnant inventory. In addition, their technology and experience can keep the correct number of your items in stock at the right time by offering supply strategy, demand planning, tracking, storage monitoring and returns management.

Platform Management

As the dominant e-commerce platform, selling on Amazon is a high-stakes undertaking for any business. Getting started is relatively simple, but finding success and maintaining it is much harder. An experienced agency can help establish and maintain a healthy Amazon seller account. They will also be able to set up your listings, protect your brand by monitoring and removing unauthorized sellers, and respond to customer inquiries or negative product reviews promptly and courteously. In other words, an agency can take the fundamental tasks accompanying selling on Amazon off your plate and likely complete them more efficiently. 

Content

The competition on Amazon is fierce. And although listing products for sale on the site is a critical first step, it is by no means the end of the effort. Regardless of how many shoppers land on a listing, the most successful Amazon sellers know that high-quality product content is necessary to lead to conversions. Amazon agencies understand the platform’s search algorithm as well as the preferences and behaviors of customers. Their experience in Amazon listing optimization and Amazon search engine optimization (SEO) and keywords, designing eye-catching imagery and developing A+ Content that grabs attention. An agency can also lead the creation of a highly-shoppable Amazon Storefront that organizes and promotes products effectively while building a company’s brand loyalty.

Marketing

Thriving Amazon businesses can rarely rely on content optimization alone. They also need a data-driven Amazon marketing strategy to get products in front of their ideal online customers, even beyond the Amazon platform. Partnering with a qualified agency can give brands access to more efficient advertising and media tactics, including sponsored brand ads, sponsored product promotions, sponsored display advertising, social media and video. Integrating a paid digital marketing plan with Amazon optimization ensures the best possible return on investment. Companies that specialize in helping Amazon sellers are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of such an approach. 

Analytics

Whether from Amazon or elsewhere, one of the advantages of e-commerce is the incredible amount of data sellers can access. There’s often an overwhelming number of reports available regarding inventory, shoppers, advertising, buyers and more. The most effective Amazon agencies will be ready to help your brand identify growth potential and leverage the deepest data to increase brand awareness. Remember, it’s not just about monitoring this enormous cache of data. It must also be appropriately analyzed to reveal actionable insights that optimize and grow sales. In particular, Amazon sellers can benefit from an agency that utilizes the platform’s proprietary reports via Seller Central and supplements those metrics with outside data to create a fuller picture of a brand’s strengths and weaknesses. 

Strategy

Clearly, an agency can strengthen a brand’s Amazon presence in several ways, but one of the most important capabilities it can offer is an informed and well-defined strategy. The relationship between an Amazon agency and a seller can add an invaluable perspective when building a plan to reach their goals in the marketplace. An agency with extensive experience and a track record of success will know which tools to turn to first and how to stack efforts effectively to create synergy for its client. Even long-time business owners can struggle with the intricacies of selling on Amazon and benefit from a strategic plan aimed at growth on the platform. 

An Amazon agency can add value and support growth

Time

Running any business is time-consuming, which gives a lot of value to strategies that reduce workload and delegate responsibilities. This dynamic can be even more pronounced for brands that rely on Amazon to reach customers. The demands of selling on the Amazon Marketplace are diverse and typically require ongoing attention. It’s not an effort that can be established and expected to continue successfully without deliberate focus and refinement. 

An experienced Amazon agency can minimize the time your company spends trying to optimize its sales on the platform. It can provide instant expertise in the highest-impact areas for Amazon sellers or vendors, and minimize the time it takes to adjust to the retailer’s shifting policies and procedures. 

Efficiency

Selling successfully on Amazon is easily a full-time responsibility, and it often takes more time than expected. Launching new product listings, optimizing them for your customers and the algorithm, and setting up and maintaining your storefront, are just the start of a long list of tasks that must be done and then improved over time.  

Rather than dedicate so much effort to something beyond your traditional expertise, an Amazon agency can be sure your brand stays up-to-date on the latest trends, tools and features from Amazon more efficiently. After all, a qualified agency is filled with experts who are passionate about doing just that and ready to help streamline the path to reaching your business goals. 

Knowledge

Businesses love versatile employees, but specialists can be the difference between getting things done and getting them done well. Copywriting, SEO, graphic design and branding are a few of the skills that Amazon success may depend on and that can benefit significantly from actual expertise. Unfortunately, while many people can comply with the site’s standards and recommendations in these areas, they are unlikely to create engaging content that helps brands to stand out and connect with shoppers.

By outsourcing these skills to a full-service agency, you’ll enjoy award-winning product creative that drives conversions. Your listings can be optimized for SEO and keywords. Your customers will be drawn in with eye-catching imagery and A+ Content that grabs their attention. And your brand will benefit from a highly shoppable store backed by data.

Costs

One of the main advantages an Amazon agency can bring to sellers with lots of growth potential is that outsourcing gives your company a more robust team at a lower cost. The alternative of hiring an internal team with similar capacity would be expensive and still likely to result in expertise gaps compared to what an agency can offer.

For many companies, engaging an Amazon agency will be equivalent to hiring one or two full-time employees, but provide access to a broad selection of services with better results. An experienced external team already has all the relevant expertise and is poised to make the proper adjustments quickly and cost-effectively. Meanwhile, companies striving to build an internal team will risk missed opportunities while hiring and training new employees or dealing with unexpected turnover. 

An Amazon agency can solve problems

Underperformance

It’s not uncommon for retailers to find success in traditional sales or via a direct-to-consumer website before attempting to add Amazon to their sales mix. If, however, a brand finds its performance on the leading online marketplace to be lackluster compared with its other channels, that could signal a problem with the strategy or execution on the platform, not a product weakness. 

These circumstances may be a good reason to ask for help from an experienced Amazon agency. Of course, the size, competition and nuances of Amazon make it a challenge to master, even for brands that have found success elsewhere. But, an agency can help make sure the features and strengths that are already driving your sales reach the right shoppers and translate into conversions on Amazon as well.  

Poor Communication

Although Amazon sellers can expect some support from the global retailer when it comes to getting started on the site, it won’t match the service that an agency can provide. In some cases, brands can even see their ability to get help from Amazon decline as they become more established sellers, and Amazon’s resources shift toward new businesses that will impact their own growth more. 

If you’re unable to get the answers you need from Amazon or don’t like the idea of being stuck waiting for a response from their support team when something goes wrong, an Amazon agency could be the answer. With a full-service partner, you know exactly who to reach out to about your account and can be confident that issues will be resolved with urgency. 

Transitioning

Are you making a move from an Amazon vendor to Seller Central? Shifting from seller fulfillment to FBA? Launching a new product? Any of these transitions can be a challenge for Amazon sellers and a practical reason to consider adding an agency to your team. Most likely, the agency you choose will have gone through the process before and can guide you through a less stressful changeover. Before beginning any significant Amazon-related transition that is on the horizon for your company, speak to several Amazon agencies about how they could reduce risks and maximize the benefits. 

Unexplored Tactics

Few of the brands selling on Amazon take advantage of all of the tools at their disposal on the platform. Whether it’s due to a lack of time, missing expertise or a focus on other priorities it could be hurting your company’s bottom line. Brand Registry, A+ Content, Amazon Storefronts, listing optimization, Multi-Channel Fulfillment, SEO service and Amazon ads are just some of the options available. And all of them are proven to increase conversions when implemented effectively. Sellers that haven’t been able to capitalize on these, and other tactics, regardless of the reason, should certainly explore whether an Amazon agency can transform this severe deficiency into a strength.

Inconsistency

Amazon is constantly evolving, so staying informed about the latest policy changes, newest tools and fluctuating costs without help is nearly impossible for most businesses. The ones that try a do-it-yourself approach can struggle to develop a strategy that works consistently for their brand. Obviously, this can lead to unpredictable sales rather than steady growth. A successful partnership with an Amazon agency can minimize surprises and help companies anticipate what lies ahead for sellers on the platform. Because effective agencies are plugged into Amazon’s current trends and deeply understand the status quo, they can make your brand’s experience on the site much less volatile. 

Find the right Amazon agency

Experience

One of the first things a brand should investigate when considering an Amazon agency is the experience the partner brings to the table. It’s typically best to find an agency that can provide vast and deep expertise. Leadership or team members considered Amazon experts can be valuable, but be sure to inquire about how that type of resume matches your company’s goals. If it was in an irrelevant role, it might not be as attractive of a feature. Similarly, an agency with direct experience in your product category may seem ideal, but sellers are often better served by matching an agency’s strengths with the brand’s goals. 

Team & Accountability

Be sure you know exactly who at the agency will be responsible for your account. The last thing your brand needs is to find out after closing the deal that you’ve never actually met the person leading your Amazon plan. Seek clarity on how accounts are managed, how responsibilities are shared among your account team, and who your company’s primary point of contact will be. 

It’s also essential to determine how progress toward your goals will be measured. Remember, immediate success on Amazon is rare and instead requires commitment and determination. That’s why both the brand and its Amazon partner need to be on the same page regarding the milestones that matter along the way. 

Technology

Amazon agencies may have proprietary technology supporting their claims to help a brand win on Amazon. When considering a partner with its own technology, take the time to understand how they use these tools and what data they rely on to power them. Different agencies may focus on their analysis of different functions of an Amazon business, which may vary in alignment with your goals. Also, brands should avoid agencies that position any technologies as the singular solution for a company. Instead, finding a provider that offers a productive mix of tech and hands-on oversight is best. 

Results

It may seem obvious, but don’t forget to pay close attention to an agency’s previous results and current client list. Reviewing case studies, especially those with parallels to your company’s challenges, can reveal insight into the agency’s fit as an Amazon partner. It’s also helpful to examine Amazon accomplishments over time. Have they been able to find success as Amazon has evolved, or is it limited to a smaller window that raises questions about their current or future effectiveness? 

Partner with Amify

At Amify, we have helped premium brands achieve their Amazon goals for more than a decade. From Amazon SEO to enhanced brand content, teaming up with us puts world-class, up-to-the-minute platform knowledge on your side. 

Our industry-leading expertise can unlock the full potential of a product listing, build a branded Amazon store, or determine the best ad spend for your Amazon advertising campaign. If you’re looking for a comprehensive, results-oriented approach to growing your Amazon business, contact us today to learn more. 

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