Amazon Prime Day is being rescheduled to the fourth quarter from its usual July date due to the pandemic.
A date for Amazon Prime Day 2020 hasn’t been formally announced just yet, so that means there’s still time fo get ready for the day if you’re a small business seller on Amazon.
And Prime Day is definitely not one that small business Amazon sellers can afford to ignore, this year or any year, for that matter.
Back in 2018, small business sellers tallied more than $1 billion in sales and that number was even higher last year.
Small Business Seller Tips for Amazon Prime Day 2020
We contacted some Amazon selling experts for their advice on how to approach this unique Prime Day in 2020. With ecommerce sales through the roof this year, despite the downturn in business for many, Prime Day 2020 could potentially be the biggest one yet.
Here are some key tips to consider ahead of Prime Day 2020:
Keep An Eye On COVID Stats
The restrictions are different across states. If you’re selling on Amazon you even need to consider any international limitations. Your best bet to be ready for Amazon prime day is to monitor COVID 19 status.
Supply chains all over the world can be affected.
Here’s a link that can help you to stay on top of developments.
Pick An Event
With Prime Day being pushed back, sellers need to decide between several events that come close together. Dan DeGrandpre, the CEO and Co-Founder of DealNews.com,explains.
The biggest challenge for the fourth quarter of 2020 is sellers have to decide between Prime Day in October, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November. Or, the Christmas shopping season in December,” he writes.
He suggests that if you can only pick one, sellers should choose Prime Day for the best sales.
Consider the Competition
“If Amazon decides not to do Prime Day in October and rolls it to early November, then there’s even more reason to bet on Prime Day,” DeGrandpre says.
He reasons that if Prime Day falls in November, the competition will cut into sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Put Together Lightning Deals
Like the name suggests, these appear on the Amazon deals page. However, they only last a few hours. These are easy to create since Amazon suggests products to you.
Have Packaging Ready
You should have your physical products packaged and ready to send for Prime Day.
“The last thing you want to do is not be ready for consumers to receive their items,” writes Matthew Dailly, Managing Director, Tiger Financial. “That could result in a surge of negative feedback and attention.”
Now is the time to check your inventory. Here’s a list of the best inventory management software that helps. Remember to consider your Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) numbers.
Offer Coupons
Coupons attract customers. You’ll need to remember that these become active two days after you create them. That means you should plan accordingly.
Use PPC
Troy DeVille from Core Mountaineering suggests using some proven marketing techniques.
“If you’re already running PPC and you plan on still using it remember cost per click will go up,” he says.
Here’s another helpful tip. Setting up automatic campaigns helps you to find the latest keyword trends.
Optimize Listings
Optimizing your product listings is extremely important. Revamping the titles and descriptions to engage your buyers can make a big difference. Make sure that your brand voice comes through on these pages.
Tracking your competition to see which keywords they’re listing for is a good place to start.
Bump Up Sponsored Ad Spend
Now is a good time to increase your spend on Amazon sponsored ads. Make sure to pick the search terms that have a high volume and relate to your goods and services.
Two notes of caution here. You need to track your spend to make sure you’re staying within your budget. And you need to make sure you have enough inventory.
Diversify Marketing
DeGrandpre has the last word on how to cover all the bases if Amazon bumps Prime Day to November.
“Go back to your playbook from March when Amazon closed down FBA,” he says. “Plan for FBM and list on other marketplaces. Use non-Amazon marketing like Google campaigns, sponsored products on Walmart, and sponsored placements on DealNews”.
Image: Depositphotos.com
With the advice to use PPC, don’t forget about the paid advertising opportunities inside Amazon itself. With all the traffic Amazon brings to the site for their event (and all the press coverage and even competitors efforts) you can leverage that to your benefit.
Techimply
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