There are many ways to improve your sales on Amazon. From enrolling with Amazon FBA services to vigorously researching the market to beat the competition. One increasingly popular option, however, lies with using an Amazon Marketing Agency.
It is entirely possible to handle all your business dealings on Amazon single-handedly. However, when the option for expert opinion is there, many business owners prefer to outsource their work to external agencies. After all, they have a proven track record of scaling businesses on the platform. Why suffer the risk of burn-out and anxiety when there are affordable specialist teams on the market. They even handle everything from ad campaigns to marketing software on your behalf.
A good full-service Amazon agency can take on any challenge. From forming a strategy to analyzing your marketing data. While it could be easy to assume these agencies only deal in marketing services, they can also take on tasks like customer service and support. They can also optimize product listings, and much more (depending on the individual agency). Many offer multiple services that encapsulate most of the selling process on Amazon. Thereby, business owners can save a lot of time and money by hiring a good Amazon marketing agency to help handle their dealings on the platform.
A simple online search can reveal a huge number of marketing agencies specializing in selling on Amazon. However, before making a longlist, it’s vital to have some preconceptions and considerations. What are your expectations from working with an Amazon marketing agency? How flexible is your budget? What services do you value the most?
It may be that your business could do better when it comes to Amazon SEO. Or perhaps you wish to analyze data from your latest PPC campaign. Regardless, make a list of services you are looking for in an Amazon marketing agency, and prioritize finding agencies that meet those needs. Having a clear hierarchy of priorities will make it easier to decide between one agency or another in the long run.
Make sure that there is still some ‘wiggle room’ in your budget, rather than a strictly-defined number. Often, agencies will offer a range of services that they provide individually or separately, depending on the client.
Once your expectations (and budget) are set, it’s time to create a longlist of Amazon marketing agencies that you may want to work with. This doesn’t have to be overly specific. Some agencies on the list may satisfy all the criteria you need. However, others may be more affordable but offer fewer services.
The goal of creating a longlist is to provide a sound jumping board for further research. Especially as not every agency on the list has to be perfect. Simply compile a list of 10-20 agencies that somewhat fit your criteria. They are who you think are worth investigating in further research.
It’s worth making sure that each agency on your longlist offers basic marketing services. They should also have and valuable experience working with Amazon SEO and businesses on the platform (preferably in your niche). Working with an experienced marketing agency means you can save time and money by virtue of not having to trial-and-error their strategies as they learn.
Agencies with experience have already made mistakes. As such, they have additional knowledge and are worth more of an investment than those who are newer to the market. Bonus points if they have previous experience working with brands in a niche or industry similar to yours. This can give the agency specialist knowledge of the search intent and general target market of your business.
Another thing to look out for as you examine a broad range of Amazon agencies is trustworthiness. Does their website look good and run smoothly? Do they have positive reviews on external websites you can examine? Consider looking out for any red flags. For example, a lack of reviews, a poorly-designed website, or a website full of unreasonable promises and overly cheap services.
Once you have a list of 10-20 possibilities, it’s worth narrowing down to a shortlist of 5-10 agencies that satisfy as many of your criteria as possible.
Once you are comfortable with your shortlist, it’s time to reach out to each agency for interviews. Be sure to ask specific questions. Either meet in-person or over a video call, rather than having a purely email relationship. From this, you can then select the best agency to suit your unique Amazon marketing needs.
During interviews, make sure you ask questions specific to how that agency can help your business. But, additionally verify the legitimacy of the agency and its transparency. What qualifications do they hold? What is the team’s background in marketing? How long has the organization been working with Amazon businesses?
It’s also good to ask timeline-based questions about possible issues you may face along the way. Also, ask when your business can expect to see results in full swing.
Take note of how flexible the agency seems. Are they willing to bend their typical marketing strategies to suit your unique business strategy? Flexibility is one major sign of an Amazon agency that is willing to go above and beyond to see your business succeed.
It’s also important to examine how simple and responsive the Amazon marketing agency is in any intermediate communications. Are they quick to answer follow-up questions and initial queries? Keep in mind that any long-term partnership with an Amazon marketing agency will require good communication skills from both parties.
