Q4 Readiness: Amazon Advertising Strategy

Amazon Advertising Strategy

Q4 Readiness

 

 

Plan for Sufficient Inventory Levels

Inventory, Inventory, Inventory! Having enough inventory to support an increase in sales volume is crucial to maximizing your stores BFCM potential. Amazon recommends that sellers have their holiday inventory into the fulfillment centers no later than November 2.  With everyone rushing to get their inventory in before that cutoff, there will inevitably be transit and receiving delays. Forecasting enough inventory to last you the season, being mindful of the transit and receiving delays, and avoiding excess inventory at the end of the season is a daunting task for many.

 

How to Drive Conversions with Amazon Campaigns

Having an always-on advertising strategy can help grow your brand during Q4. Consider the lead-up phase of the 4-6 weeks before BFCM for growing brand awareness. Amazon surveyed customers recently and found that 49% of shoppers said they begin shopping in October. Established Amazon brands can utilize broader tactics to attract new customers with Sponsored Display outside the product category. In contrast, newer Amazon brands can focus on in-category product audiences to tell their brand story using Store Pages and Sponsored Brands. During the event, remarket those customers using Sponsored Display and drive conversions with Sponsored Products campaigns featuring products on promotion.

Promotion participation is essential and isn’t just for driving one-and-done customers. Nearly 43% of customers surveyed will repurchase the same product after purchasing from the event, even if a deal is not present. Use remarketing purchase ads to drive those repurchases, as 31% of customers rely on ads to drive repurchases after the event.

Research Historical Data

Looking at historical data can help you gauge how much inventory will be needed this year. Consider how much sold last year around this time. What was your highest sales driver? Which ASIN underperformed?  Sending in that inventory in as soon as you can, will help you position yourself to run your coupons, Prime Member Promotions, and other deals without the worry of being out of stock.  We recommend coupons as part of your advertising strategy because Prime Member Promotions are only available to Amazon Prime Members, which limits your reach.

 

Amazon Store Fronts are Key to Driving Traffic

Having a brand store front is also an absolute necessity. Amazon recently announced additions to their Customer Engagements Tool. In short, if a customer is a “follower” of your store, you have a potential for larger email campaign reach. A brand storefront is also a great landing point for all your products. You can reference your entire assortment here and suggest products you offer that customers may have not been aware of before they clicked. Amazon also announced Premium A+, this allows A+ to include videos and a wider array of modules to showcase your product and your brand.

Things to Avoid:

  • FBM SKUS – Many sellers only have an FBA offer for their inventory, but we recommend having a back up FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) SKU in case your FBA inventory is delayed in receiving or if you simply run out of stock before you can replenish. Make sure that you’re familiar with the FBM metrics that Amazon uses and that your business has infrastructure in place to handle this fulfillment method before creating your FBM SKUS.
  • Avoid any major listing updates. Amazon has a “blackout” period in November where no listing updates will be accepted. If you want to update your copy content, images, A+  and brand story now is the time to do that.

 

Reach out to us at https://hingecommerce.com/contact/ to learn more about how we can help manage your inventory, maximize your advertising strategy, enhance your digital content, recover reimbursements, and help you have an incredible BFCM.

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