In this episode of Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Show, the guest speaker is Will Haire, BellaVix’s cofounder, an expert with extensive experience in the direct-to-consumer retail industry and a proven track record of implementing successful marketing strategies on renowned platforms like Amazon and Walmart, talks about the process of “Surviving Slow Sales: Strategies For Improving Your BSR During Quiet Periods”.
No matter if you’re a well-established brand or just starting your journey, this episode is packed with informative and inspiring content that will empower you to overcome slow sales periods and achieve consistent growth in the fiercely competitive e-commerce landscape. Don’t miss out on “Surviving Slow Sales: Strategies For Improving Your BSR During Quiet Periods” and unlock the potential to take your business to unprecedented heights!
Tune in on Jule 11, 2023, at 12:00 pm EDT to listen to the whole conversation. Tune on some of BellaVix’s social media:
Key takeaways: / Short Summary:
The Impact of Best Seller Ranking (BSR) on Amazon Sellers
- Definition and influence of BSR: BSR, or best seller ranking, is an indicator of how well a product sells in a specific category. Will emphasizes that BSR can be influenced through search engine optimization, product availability, advertising, and marketing.
- Understanding BSR fluctuations: BSR rankings vary based on category, marketplace, and region (e.g., US or UK). BSR is an effective tool for assessing competition and the popularity of a product among customers.
- The significance of category selection on Amazon: Sellers have the ability to choose their product categories on Amazon, emphasizing its importance in achieving success on the platform.
Picking the Right Category on Amazon for Supplement Products
- Incorrect subcategories on Amazon can lead to decreased sales without notification.
- Use tools such as Helium 10 to determine the best category for your product.
- Look at Amazon’s bestselling list in a category to narrow down subcategories.
- Consider split testing if your product falls into multiple categories.
- Test different categories by updating information on the back end.
- Measure the visibility and page views in each category to determine the ideal placement.
- Allow at least 30 days for reindexing and testing.
- Consider product relevance and competition when choosing a category.
- Opt for lower competitive categories for better chances of success.
Strategies for Maintaining Relevance and Competitiveness on Amazon
- Relevance to Category: It is crucial to ensure that your product falls into a specific category rather than choosing a generic one like home kitchen gear.
- Use Tools to Measure Competition: Utilize tools like category scrappers to determine the level of competition. This can be done by checking the number of sellers in a specific category or narrowing down a search by subcategory.
- Consider Product Competitiveness: Assess factors such as pricing, reviews, and product assets (main image, video, A+ content) to determine how competitive your product is in the market.
- Difference between Seller Central and Vendor Central: While there is not much difference between the two, changing categories is relatively easier on Seller Central through a flat file upload. On Vendor Central, category changes require additional casework and may be more challenging.
- Seasonal Impacts on BSR: BSR is a sales indicator, so sellers should focus on increasing sales to maintain a top position.
Maximizing Sales on Amazon Off-Season
- Selling products with seasonal demand can be challenging.
- Bathing suits, sunblock, and winter gear have opportunities for continued sales year-round.
- Case study: A sunblock company maintained sales velocity during the off-season through strategies like programmatic advertising, improved images, promotions, and bundling products together.
- By advertising off-season, the company generated the best sales on Amazon when the season picked back up.
- The strategy of maintaining a level of advertising during the off-season impressed investors and the board of directors.
- The Amazon Flywheel Effect contributes to increased sales and justifies advertising spend even if the ACOS is not highly profitable.
- Overall, testing marketing, improving conversion rates, and maintaining a strong DSR year-round are vital for maximizing sales on Amazon.
The Amazon Flywheel Effect and Increasing Sales through Advertising Spend
- The BSR (Best Seller Rank) is an indicator that reflects sales velocity and can be influenced by factors such as organic influence, cost of sales, ACOS, and seasonal thresholds.
- To generate more sales, it is important to consider fulfillment, sales, relevant text, rockstar images, advertising strategies, A+ content, and promotional tactics.
- The goal is to push sales smartly and within the limits of profitability, while also creating a halo effect and measuring it through brand analytics and search impression share.
- Amazon badges, such as the Bestseller badge and Amazon’s Choice badge, can greatly impact sales and are tied to BSR. The process of obtaining each badge and their corresponding sales impacts are significant.
Strategies to Maintain Best Seller Rank (BSR) on Amazon
- Amazon’s top-selling programs continued to have high ratings and reviews, indicating their success and relevance.
- The Best Seller and Amazon Choice badges have a significant impact on sales and visibility in search results.
- A minimum of 100 competitor listings is required to qualify for these badges in a specific subcategory.
- Off-season tactics to maintain BSR include split-testing promotional bundles, leveraging social media and influencers, building remarketing pools, and utilizing email marketing lists.
- Selling evergreen products or year-round items can help sustain relevance and avoid advertising at low margins in the off seasons.
- Additional strategies include optimizing A+ content, running promotions, and investing in advertising.
Effective Strategies for Maintaining BSR and Adapting to Changes in Amazon Algorithm
- To maintain BSR, programmatic advertising DSP is recommended as it allows for building in-market and retargeting audiences, yielding a larger return over time.
- Investing in programmatic advertising year-round leads to increased sales during the peak season, while PPC should still be utilized for keyword ranking.
- Changes in Amazon’s algorithm can impact a seller’s BSR, affecting sales and page views. Staying updated on Amazon News RSS feed in seller central helps sellers adapt to these changes.
- Troubleshooting sales and impression share can identify the influence of external factors such as competitor actions on BSR.
Strategies for Maximizing Profitability and Tracking Competitors’ Stock
- com focuses on bestseller ranking, algorithmic changes, video advertising, and AI technology.
- Selling premium kitchen gear, the brand faced competition from a cheaper alternative with similar aesthetics and good reviews.
- Learning from the competitor’s sourcing issues, they raised prices when the product went out of stock to increase profitability.
- Monitoring competitors’ stock and inventory using software like analytics and Helium10 helped them capitalize on market gaps.
- The recommendation is to track both own products and top competitors, while avoiding going out of stock by using FBA and FBM listings.
- Keeping listings active even during off-seasons can ensure availability and prevent a negative impact on Best Seller Ranking (BSR).
Importance of Operational Efficiency and Common Mistakes for Maintaining a Strong BSR
- Operational efficiency is crucial for maintaining a strong BSR as going out of stock can significantly impact BSR.
- To maintain inventory and a healthy amount of inventory on Amazon, operational efficiency is necessary.
- When a product sells out of stock or is discontinued, the BSR can quickly skyrocket out of control.
- Losing thousands of BSR points can take just a week, while rebuilding it can take months.
- Recent sales velocity is a key factor in determining sales rank, but a long gap in sales can be detrimental.
- Inventory orders and demand forecasting are essential for consistent stock availability.
- Using the fulfilled by merchant setup can ensure timely shipping and minimize the impact of delays on sales.
- Common mistakes for maintaining BSR include pulling back on advertising and reducing advertising budgets.
Maintaining Budget and Efficiency in Advertising Campaigns
- During the scale-back process, it is important to consider the challenges of scaling back up and losing efficiency due to increasing competition and different marketing strategies. It is better to maintain a healthier budget to ensure ads can run all day without running out of budget.
- Top keywords should be identified to rank higher in search results
- Staying within budget is crucial during big promotional events like Prime Day to maximize profits. Regularly checking accounts and using AI software can help track and maintain budget throughout the day.
- Efficient campaigns should be run on the campaign level rather than using a generic budget.
- Leveraging software and AI solutions can help handle budget and efficiency monitoring.
- Adding more budget may be necessary in specific cases, especially for relevant search terms or competitive conquesting.
Tune in on Jule 11, 2023, at 12:00 pm EDT to listen to the whole conversation. Tune on some of BellaVix’s social media:
Or listen to the previous episodes on the different platforms:
Links:
- LinkedIn – Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willhaire/
- Branded – Linkedin: https://www.bellavix.com/
“Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Show” is sponsored by BellaVix. To learn more, head over to https://sellingongiants.com/
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