The sales and marketing worlds are colliding online. It’s a tumultuous and exciting time in your organization, but everyone is scrambling to figure out how to win on Amazon. Suddenly, the executive leadership is demanding significant growth in the eCommerce channel, Amazon didn’t send a PO last week and a brand manager is upset that an old logo is on a product page. Not to mention, there’s a random third party selling expired products and winning the Buy Box. What do you do first?

You’re going to need some help. Because going it alone is tough.

Here are just a handful of reasons partnering with an Amazon agency not only alleviates some of your pressure and workload, but makes the most strategic sense in an eCommerce channel that’s a constant moving target.

How to Sell an Amazon Agency in to Executive Leadership

The only constant on Amazon is change. Some agencies have full teams that just submit tickets, resolve issues, and dig through knowledge bases to solve problems that arise on a daily basis. Why isn’t that gallery image appearing? Why aren’t we winning the Buy Box? How do I create variations on Amazon? Why did a third party hijack my ASIN?

You can’t phone Amazon, but you can phone a friend—the next best thing.

By using an Amazon agency, you have access to a team of people who have already experienced and solved 90% of the issues you face on your own. Searching for solutions by Googling and digging through Amazon forums can get very time consuming.  If an Amazon agency doesn’t know the answer, they have the manpower and contacts to quickly resolve a problem so you can focus on other things.

Would you bring your PR, Media or Print campaign work in-house? Just like any other channel, there’s an art and science to winning on Amazon. That’s a lot of responsibility (and pressure) to put on a small in house “eCommerce” team (or often, a single person). From logistics, to product setup, to content, keywords, pricing, and fulfillment, it takes a village to rise to the top.

It’s not enough to just get your product on Amazon. Successful brands on Amazon have internal people or teams that lead eCommerce functions, but have realized that adding an Amazon agency gives them the competitive edge. As a bonus, Amazon agencies save you time and money because they’ve mastered the nuances of the self-service model.

For the same reason that you hire a PR agency or a digital agency, an Amazon or eCommerce agency has the expertise, insights and resources to not just “get your products up on Amazon” but create a digital shelf that impacts the brand and drives sales. It’s been proven that the more (quality) imagery and valuable content provided during the shopping experience significantly impacts conversions.^[1]  

While your brand or digital agency might have the ability to upload images, they most likely don’t have the experience or understanding of unique Amazon shopper needs in your category. The strategies and tactics used offline (or not on eCommerce) are different, and investing in the right Amazon partner to create best-in-class content will pay dividends.

Before you can create and syndicate great eCommerce content, a manufacturer must ensure their assortment and availability is stable. If you’re a mid-to-large-size company, you’re most likely facing supply chain and inventory management challenges, the rectifying of which is required to win on Amazon. While your Amazon agency focuses on the digital experience, you’ll need to collaborate with sales, logistics, demand planning and last-mile delivery solutions to keep up with the new pull strategies required by Amazon. Do you have the right selection? Are people interested in buying? Can you keep it in stock? Can you get it to the consumer in 48 hours without melting or breaking?^[2]

Did we mention Amazon changes every day? A great Amazon agency is already poised for coming changes, and will proactively provide solutions to avoid missteps and beat the competition. You can take advantage of what’s new and now on Amazon…and sometimes capabilities that haven’t even been widely released yet…with an Amazon agency that knows how to push the envelope and pull strings with elusive Amazon reps.

They’re experts on the latest Amazon best practices and can help optimize existing assets for Amazon or even create an Amazon testing environment for a brand, product or campaign. They can assess your ASINS, handle reporting, and provide Amazon success metrics. Amazon agencies at the top of their game possess a deep understanding of how different pieces of the Amazon puzzle click together to bolster clients’ efforts without breaking the bank…or a sweat.

A dedicated Amazon agency can also arm you with thought leadership and forward thinking strategy on a rolling basis in an often confusing and cluttered eCommerce space.

About CT Ad Agency Scrum50, an Amazon Agency that uses One-of-a-Kind Amazon Agile Methodology

Scrum50 is the first born agile advertising agency. Their mission is to marry world-class strategic creative with efficiency by embracing agile marketing approaches — employing shorter production sprints managed by uniquely-talented hybrid teams. They focus on three competency areas for clients: (1) Agency Services, (2) eBusiness, and (3) Digital Transformation.

^[1]Lisac-Ramirez, Maria, The Sales Impact of Product Content, Salsify Transformers Blog, 2018 https://www.salsify.com/blog/the-sales-impact-of-product-content  

^[2]Pull Marketing Strategy, CFI https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/pull-marketing-strategy/