It’s happening! Your dreams of entrepreneurship are coming true! You’ve created a product and have taken to the Internet to sell, sell, sell! The first place you set up shop? Amazon.
Amazon is an attractive place for new business owners to start selling because it’s easy. You add pictures and product descriptions, and sometimes throw a little money toward their limited advertising opportunities, and you’re off! As you anxiously await the first sales rolling in, you’re understandably excited. But as time goes on, and sales remain steady without growing, you might start to wonder, is there more you can do to build your business away from Amazon?
The answer is a resounding YES!
Amazon is only one channel, but it’s limited. The e-commerce giant has its own self-interests to sustain the brand they’ve worked so hard to build. These self-interests work against your business.
The solution: Build your own e-commerce website and sell independently.
Before you shut the door on this idea and run, hear me out. It might sound daunting up front, but with a little bit of guidance (which I’m willing to give you for free), you’re able to position yourself for more success and more sales.
Here are the top five reasons why every Amazon seller should have their own e-commerce website.
1. You Own Your Customers
Congratulations! You’ve captured a buyer’s attention and she’s added your product to her shopping cart. You made a sale and that’s worth celebrating.
Now, what happens during the checkout process is critical. She gives her name, address, email, and credit card information. Do you have any of that in your arsenal to follow up with your customer about future products? No.
Selling on Amazon means you forfeit your access to critical customer data. You cannot remarket to these customers. You cannot promote future products to these customers. In essence, you’re starting from scratch with the very customer who just bought what you sell the next time she needs something you offer.
This is dangerous for many reasons. Probably the biggest reason, however, is the risk you’re taking by not being able to contact these customers again.
If Amazon decides to shut down your listing for any reason, you won’t have a way to reach the people who have already bought from you. The work you did to acquire the customer up front is lost. That investment is lost. Now, you’re forced to pay the high cost-of-acquisition costs again to attract new or past customers.
On an ecommerce site of your own, you don’t have that same risk. Instead, you own customer data every time a sale is made. Better yet, you can attract personal information from people who are interested in what you have to sell through free giveaways or opt-ins, which ultimately builds your email list. This opens up a world of opportunity to let you continuously market past customers via email marketing (which remains a lucrative channel for e-commerce site owners). You’re building a client roster that Amazon can’t take away from you, no matter what changes in their rules and regulations.
Want to chat about how this works some more? Let’s get on the phone for a free strategy session to map out what this process looks like.
Want to be independent from Amazon? Book a strategy session to find out how2. You Own Your Brand
It’s undeniable. Amazon has done an impressive job of building a brand as being one of the places to shop online. People are excited by the promise of free 2-day shipping and the idea that they can click to buy everything they need in one place.
What consumers aren’t excited by? Your brand.
That’s because when you sell on Amazon, you’re piggybacking on the brand they already built instead of creating a brand of your own.
When a customer goes to buy what you sell again, they may or may not choose you. Many times, they’ll filter based on price. If you’re not offering the lowest price option, your products could get buried. Or, if you are trying to compete on price, you’re minimizing your margins just to show up on top of the Amazon search results. In other words, you have an uphill battle to climb every single time a person needs what you offer.
Your brand, along with your competitor’s brands, are tied to Amazon’s brand. You haven’t differentiated yourself or given your buyer a reason to choose you over the sponsored products on your page or paid listings in the search results. You don’t have the same brand equity that Amazon does, and that makes you blend in, stunting your ability to make repeat sales.
Want to learn how to capture repeat business without having to compete on price? Let’s talk.
SIGN UP FOR A FREE ONE-ON-ONE CONSULTATION TO MAP OUT A PROCESS TO REPEAT BUSINESS3. You Cut Out Constantly Changing Rules and Regulations
No matter whether you’ve sold on Amazon one day or one year, you’ve likely noticed it: The rules and regulations are overwhelming. Amazon’s first priority is to help the people spending money with them – not the sellers. That means, their rules and regulations are designed to make the customer’s life better, which could leave you in a bad place.
Worse yet, Amazon is constantly changing the way they serve the shoppers on their site. This makes it even more difficult for you as a seller and puts you at an even higher risk of getting hurt simply because of their customer-centric standards.
As a seller, you’re forced to spend more time adjusting to the rule changes and protecting yourself from hardship than growing your business.
This isn’t just annoying. It’s hurting your potential.
Let’s get on the phone to map out a better process that’ll put more money in your pocket and free you from the confines of Amazon’s rules and regulations.
Don’t let Amazon own you: Book a strategy session now4. You Can Scale Faster and Bigger
When you sell on Amazon, you’re targeting consumers directly. That sounds good on the surface, but did you know that you’re stunting your growth by pigeon holeing yourself into this channel?
Although your ultimate goal is to reach end consumers to buy your product, there are a variety of channels you can, and should, go through to get your product seen. By selling exclusively on Amazon, you limit which channels you can go through to acquire new customers. More specifically, you limit which businesses you can work with to sell your products.
Here’s an example to demonstrate what I mean.
Let’s pretend you sell wedding decor. On Amazon, you’re able to reach brides and grooms who are looking for decor on Amazon. But what about the people who interface with your target audience every day? Wedding planners, event planners, venues, paper distributors, etc. all see brides and grooms on a daily basis to help them plan their perfect day.
The problem? They won’t recommend an Amazon product to their customers. Instead, they need a website they can send the buyer to.
Worse yet, they won’t buy from you. You’re leaving bulk orders and regular referrals on the table by putting all of your eggs in Amazon’s basket.
By keeping your product on Amazon exclusively, you take away the potential to scale your business through strategic partnerships a lower ceiling on how high your sales can climb. Is it worth it?s. This slows your growth and put
Let’s chat about how you can develop a stronger sales strategy through strategic partnerships on a one-on-one consultation call.
Book a strategy session and learn how to control your own scale5. You Have More Opportunity to Advertise
There are a handful of decent advertising options on Amazon. For example, you can pay to have your listing show up in the list of Sponsored Products on your competitor product pages. Or, you can boost the visibility of your products by bidding on specific keywords.
Although helpful, these advertising options aren’t going to bring in the big sales.
With an e-commerce website of your own, you have a world of advertising opportunities at your disposal. You can still use pay-per-click ads through Google and reach a much wider audience.
You can also advertise your products on social media, reaching a targeted group of consumers. Facebook lets you target your ads based on lifestyle preferences and interests. It’s an advanced algorithm that lets you grow your customer base among people shopping on Amazon and off.
SEO is another type of advertising that many online sellers overlook. By optimizing your website, you can drive more quality traffic to your pages, keep 100% of the money you make on each sale, and build your roster of loyal buyers.
Making the Switch is Easier Than You Think
The benefits are clear. You’ll grow your list of customers, profits, and overall business faster with an e-commerce site of your own, instead of relying on Amazon to continue sending you traffic. So, what’s stopping you?
If you’re like many Amazon retailers, it’s fear of the unknown and the uncomfortable. Won’t it be hard to set up my own e-commerce website? No! That’s a myth and one I’d love to dispel for you in a free one-on-one strategy session. Here, we’ll go over what you can do to reclaim your business and own your success. Join me for this free call and we’ll map out the process together, eliminating the unknown and making you feel comfortable with the process.
What are you waiting for? Book your free session now
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