Healthy Habits for Your Amazon Business
Growing an Amazon business is no easy feat. Whether you are a brand owner, dropshipper, or arbitrager, managing an eCommerce business takes a lot.
There are so many things business owners have to keep track of. When do you do your taxes? How do you do your taxes? Software subscription renewals, authentication for third-party services, listing updates, onboarding…the list goes on.
In an effort to help you stay organized, get the most out of your business, and stay profitable, we’ve detailed what you need to do to succeed, broken down by when you need to do it.
We’ve had the honor to work with thousands of brands who sell on Amazon and connect with even more of you as we’ve traveled to events (in the past) and connect on webinars. We’ve been gathering these tips over the years from our experience as well as yours.
Daily Healthy Habits for Your Amazon Business
These habits should be like muscle memory. You work on your Amazon business each and every day, so implement the habits that will help you be more successful and more efficient.
1. Log in to Seller Labs PRO!
This is the best daily habit to develop for your business! With our Start Your Day Dashboard, you can get a quick glance at the performance of your eCommerce store. Take note of where action is needed, see how your sales are doing, monitor budgets and goals, verify inventory levels, and so much more.
2. Check your product listings for changes.
This can be a variety of things. Check to see if someone has taken the Buy Box or is reselling your product. Make sure that the content and images are still as you intend them to be. For more information, read our full guide on how to increase your conversion rate with listing optimization.
Need help increasing your Amazon sales conversion rate? Listing optimization is the best way to convert browsers into buyers with Seller Labs Pro.
Caroline Powell3. Verify your top performers.
You never know if or when a product might go viral. Have your sales skyrocketed overnight? If a product is picking up traction, adjust your SKU-level strategy to capitalize on the lift and improve your sales and conversion rates.
Weekly Healthy Habits
Whether you start your week or end your week with these habits (or get a little crazy and do it on a Wednesday), add a reminder on your calendar to put aside one hour or two (or maybe a little bit more) to do these habits.
1. Check out your Seller Labs PRO Suggestions.
Paid advertising cannot succeed if it is coddled. No more than once a week, log in to your account and review your Suggestions, take action where you’d like, and dial in your ads.
2. Check your keyword movement.
As you’re tracking keywords, see how they’re fluctuating with shopper trends. Seasonal keywords are great, but see if or when they pick up traction and when they drop off. No one wants to see chocolates optimized for “Valentine’s Day” in the middle of August. Beyond seasonality, shopping trends and behaviors change too.
3. Review recent product reviews and seller feedback, as well as any returns you may have.
Reviews, feedback, and returns are all great places to see what buyers love about your products and where you may be able to improve. (Yes, feedback on FBA orders is important too!) Then, turn around to improve your listing or make changes that will lead someone to be more likely to convert.
Monthly Healthy Habits
These habits tend to be a little more “big picture” in the grand scheme of your business. You’ll check on progress every month. The more nitty gritty details of your business are generally touched more often.
1. Monitor goal progress.
Most businesses models tend to have quarterly and yearly goals as a starting point. By checking in on them monthly (at the very least), you can begin to make adjustments to help you achieve and surpass those goals. Need help setting the best goals for your Amazon business? Jeff Cohen, Seller Labs’ CMO, discusses how to create an audit plan that works for you in this webinar.
This year, it’s time to change the way you run your business. Start your day with Seller Labs and see the difference it will make.
Caroline Powell2. Pull your numbers and review.
For whichever metrics you’re closely monitoring, see how you’ve performed month over month. This is different from monitoring your goal progress because these numbers and metrics are often the foundation of your goals.
3. Download your Category Listing Report.
This report is the most complete way of getting all of the data from the back end of Seller Central, as it relates to your product listings. You will have to request access for this report from Seller Support. Generally, you’ll get access to the Category Listing Report for seven days.
4. Review opportunities for FBA reimbursement.
Have there been fee changes on your products? What about lost inventory? Returns? Once a month, make sure you locate any money that Amazon owes you. This article outlines the top 3 Amazon FBA reimbursement opportunities for your business.
Amazon sellers need to be aware of these top 3 FBA reimbursement opportunities. Whether the product is lost, damaged or unreturned, there are opportunities.
Brandon Checketts5. Audit account permissions for employees or contractors.
Turnover is a natural part of business. Ensure that there are no extraneous points of access for former employees or contract workers in your account. The last thing you would want is someone disgruntled coming in and messing with your business.
Exhausted Yet?
Let our Managed Services team take some of the load off your shoulders. We can help you with all sorts of eCommerce advertising, listing creation and optimization, product photography, and so much more.
Quarterly Healthy Habits
The following habits are ones that you shouldn’t forget about, but they don’t need to be done more than once a quarter or twice a year.
1. Update and refresh your Buyer-Seller Messages.
It’s so easy to set up emails when you start with Seller Labs PRO and just forget about them. However, think of these messages as an extension of your overall marketing strategy. Refresh the copy, add in some more time-relevant m entions, and bring new life to that part of your brand. Don’t forget that Amazon can change the rules on the Buyer-Seller Messaging. Keep up to date with our guide to Amazon Communications Policy Changes.
There are always changes to Amazon’s communications policy. Remember, when using buyer-seller messages, you can ask buyers for reviews!
Maria Navolykina2. Renew authentication for third-party softwares and services.
Authentication generally expires once per year. By staying on top of the authentication, you can ensure you never have a lapse in services.
3. Review your inventory.
Long-term storage fees kick in after a product has been on a shelf for six months. Take proactive measures to ensure effective inventory management. Consider Subscribe & Save and other special programs that help FBA sellers manage their inventory. Find products that Amazon considers unfulfillable and remove them.
4. Check your fees.
Between Amazon fees, COGS, advertising, overhead, etc., the small fee changes or variability can really add up. Stay on top of your finances by staying on top of all of these fees. At the end of the quarter, are your products still profitable? Read up about every kind of Amazon Fee with this guide:
How much does it cost to sell on Amazon? It depends. Amazon seller fees vary by the category of product, how much you sell, etc.
Ashley Kochans5. Refresh your A+ Content!
A+ Content is one of the greatest tools Amazon gives sellers to engage with their potential buyers. By keeping it updated and refreshed, you can be sure you’re consistent with the time and seasonality.
6. Refresh your Amazon Storefront.
Another powerful tool for Amazon sellers! Keep your Storefront up to date. We’ve even seen great success with brands who update their Storefronts around different holidays and milestones.
7. Conduct an in-depth competitive analysis.
Businesses cannot operate in a vacuum. Knowing what your competition is doing is integral for you to be able to keep up, especially in eCommerce. Make it a healthy habit to research your competitors once a quarter to check promotions, pricing, and their listings. Also be sure to see what they do on big sales holidays like Prime Day or Cyber 5.
Annual Healthy Habits
Chances are, you’ll have a variety of annual healthy habits. Maybe it’s a purge of extra paper around your office or coworker field trip.
1. Renew your business liability insurance coverage.
Premiums are often tied to your annual revenue and product selection. Make sure your business is covered. Learn more about liability insurance in our interview with Ashlin Hadden.
2. Host a company-wide brainstorm!
This sounds a little crazy, but hear us out. Connect with your company a minimum of once per year. Your warehouse workers may have an idea for how to improve the efficiency of packing boxes. Your marketing team may have an idea for how to “hook” customers through your packaging. At least once a year, just give your team a chance to improve your business model.
If you want to learn more about some healthy habits for your Amazon business, James Thomson is one of Seller Labs’ oldest friends. Founder of The Prosper Show and Buy Box Experts, he works with Amazon brands just as often as we do. James took the stage at Resonate 2018 to discuss how he and his team audit their clients’ accounts. Check out “What A Successful Account Audit Each Month Does For Your Amazon Seller Business”.
See something we missed? Let us know! No two businesses are the same, but we can all be successful with a little help in our corner.
Caroline is an Event Manager, Partner Specialist,and Marketing Expert at DISQO. When she's not offering excellent customer support she's doing pirouettes and cheering on the UGA Bulldogs.
