Are you looking to take your business idea to the next level? Maybe you already have a brick-and-mortar operation and a website but want to reach a larger consumer audience. Either way, one of the best places for e-commerce is Amazon.
An Amazon store gives you instant exposure to a dedicated space within Amazon and is ideal for selling your products. You have probably shopped there already and know how easy it is to make a purchase but are not sure how you can be part of this major shopping hub.
While it does take some upfront effort and ongoing monitoring, being part of the Amazon site gives you credibility and access to their global reach and loyal customer base. If you sell your products online, this is, by far, the best way to do it.
Ready to get started? This is how to build and maintain an Amazon store.
Create a Seller’s Account
You must set up a seller’s account first to be eligible for an Amazon store. This is enrolling your brand in an individual or professional plan. Here is the difference:
Individual Plan
An individual plan costs $0.99 per unit sold. It makes sense if you sell less than 40 units per month.
Professional Plan
This plan costs $39.99 per month. It is an affordable option if you sell more than 40 product units. With this upgraded plan, you also get advanced tools like reports and analytics, restricted selling categories and Amazon catalogue new product page creation.
Go to Amazon and click the “sell products on Amazon” link, choose your plan and hit the “sign up” button. This will open up a page where you put in all your details, including:
- Account name
- Business address
- Bank statement
- Bank account information for deposits
- Tax number
- Payment details
You can also enrol in Brand Registry, which gives you brand management tools and helps to protect your brand.
Amazon Fulfillment Services
You work hard to build your Amazon storefront and manufacture or acquire the products that you sell. Once you start making online sales, you must fulfill them, which requires an entire logistics network working harmoniously. Fortunately, there is an easier way, and this is through Amazon fulfillment services.
Using their fulfillment services puts you into a logistics funnel, which means your customers get the same service with your store that they expect from Amazon. An advanced fulfilment network is beneficial because they have the equipment, facilities and manpower to ensure your products are cared for. They include:
- Storage of your product line at their facilities
- Multi-channel fulfilment
- Product picking and packaging
- Product shipment
- Use of their customer service management
- Return operations
Create Your Store
This is where you create your storefront on the site, and it all starts with your homepage. There are different templates to use, making it easier to start, knowing you can tweak it later. You can also create your template with a drag-and-drop model incorporating text, images and video. Design templates include:
Product Grid
For a practical arrangement, this is a grid formation to display all your products.
Marquee
The marquee template gives you large images that attract customers’ attention to your popular products.
Product Highlight & Showcase
You can also highlight specific best-sellers or other offerings with images and video.
These are also customizable, so take your time and set up your homepage exactly how you would like it.
Product Pages
You have your home page, so it’s time to create product pages. Click on Page Manager and start adding pages.
Each page needs a description and your chosen template to fill in. You can add additional subcategories of pages up to three levels deep within each page. This enables you to have dedicated areas of merchandise you sell and keep them separate for better customer navigation.
Use the Tile Manager to arrange your product images and text on each page and preview it often as you make changes. Once you are happy with the look, press Submit for Publishing, and your pages will be moderated and set. This approval can take a few days, but your store will be visible to all Amazon shoppers once it is live.
Ongoing Maintenance
Once you have everything set, you can leave it to function independently, but that may not get you the best financial bang for your buck. You need to use the analytics and reports tools to learn what people are doing while visiting your store and make strategic changes to keep it relevant, enticing and vibrant.
Visit other popular stores for inspiration and make changes often, especially to your home page. This gives you complete control over your design to build loyalty, trust and credibility with your online shoppers.
