Three Amazon Marketing Strategies For 2020Forbes

Co-Founder and CEO of Elemerce, an e-commerce marketing agency.

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This year has been very interesting for sales across many industries. With a worldwide pandemic, many businesses have had to deal with inconsistent supply chains, unpredictable economic swings, product delivery delays, decreased foot traffic and a shifting e-commerce scene, among many other challenges.

If selling on Amazon has been a part of your sales strategy coming into 2020 or you’re looking to finally tap into Amazon’s buying audience, here are a few important things to consider when developing a marketing strategy:

1. Take advantage of increased opportunity.

With many shoppers wary of brick-and-mortar visits due to concerns over exposure to Covid-19 or to unpredictable product availability, shopping has been shifting online in record numbers.

With so much buying shifting to Amazon, it’s a perfect time to increase your product catalog online. Take the time to create detailed and optimized listings for your products, and be diligent about getting new products listed quickly. If you’re going to be new to Amazon, get a full product catalog up quickly, rather than trickling out listings one by one over a longer period of time.

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It’s also worth noting that with more shoppers online, advertising opportunities are also better than ever. Ensure your in-house teams are ready to handle an increased Amazon presence efficiently. If they're not, you can consider choosing an experienced e-commerce partner that knows how to leverage social media and advertising channels to drive traffic to your Amazon listings. (A number of companies, my own included, offer these types of services.)

2. Provide strong products and customer service.

Not only are the numbers of shoppers online increasing, but also the behavior of the shopper is becoming more deliberate. It’s never been more important to be able to compete with other brands and sellers in your space on a customer service level and to have solid and positive reviews from buyers.

Based on my observations, foreign manufacturers are also selling directly to consumers in the U.S., either through their own channels or on Amazon. To compete with these manufacturers, it’s vital that you maintain a trusted presence with your buyers. If you are shipping your own sales to consumers, ensure that your deliveries can be as timely as possible. Any delays, from shipping to restocking items, can hurt your brand’s image with online shoppers.

3. Be flexible and patient.

No matter how much you prepare for hiccups, they are going to occur in a world where a pandemic is causing volatility in so many areas. You are going to feel frustrated with delays or breakdowns in communication. Your customers may feel frustrated by the same. It’s important to remain patient, especially with customers, and to keep a friendly and open discourse with them. Be proactive about announcing delays. Be more flexible with returns, and keep your customers informed at all points in the sales funnel and after.

The pandemic won’t last forever, but 2020 is seeing a shift in buying habits online that is going to have a long-lasting impact. The brands that can best take advantage of this shifting market will see the greatest potential for growth in coming years.