September 12, 2023
August 5, 2022
This article was originally published by The Drum on March 16, 2022.
In many ways, Amazon is a great buying environment, but not necessarily a great shopping environment. As part of The Drum’s Deep Dive into The New Customer Experience Economy, Podean’s Travis Johnson explains how you can boost your CX on Amazon right now.
When it comes to e-commerce, Amazon leads the pack. Which is kind of a weird considering that, if you ask anyone about Amazon, very few people will state they love shopping on Amazon. But millions and millions of people go to the website and buy things each and every day.
Instead, people will say they love the low prices, fast delivery, broad range, informative reviews and the many benefits of their Prime membership from music to movies to books and beyond.
But as far as being a great shopping experience, it really isn’t. Maybe that’s the point. It’s purposely not a shopping experience.
Shopping typically involves browsing, discovering new items, trying things on, testing things out, asking questions, having a conversation with a salesperson, then going to another store to do the same… and eventually choosing one item to purchase.
Amazon doesn’t want you to slow you down or give you the opportunity to go anywhere. It wants you to find what you want – quickly – then buy and get on with your day. It’s designed to be fast and frictionless, and that has no doubt led to its massive growth and dominance, but at its core it’s a ’buying’ experience, not a shopping experience.
This needs to evolve and both Amazon and brands play a role. After all, brands want people to find what they want but also discover new items. Similarly, Amazon wants people to buy more so it can make larger fees.
Too many brands are lazy and put minimal effort into enhancing the consumer experience and then lamenting their loss of market share. So, what can brands do to stand out on Amazon?
Make sure your product listing shows clear and high-resolution images, lifestyle shots. Use the images to tell consumers more about your product via infographics and, of course, use video if you have it. Ensure your store is easily navigable and interactive and that your A+ content is informative and allows the customer to learn more about your company and complementary products. Don’t settle for just uploading different angles of the product and packaging. Better content equals higher conversions which equals higher sales which then equals happier customers.
Amazon will tell you it has premium environments (and charge you an additional fee) but beware the different page designs for key categories such as ’luxury’ pages and its ’premium beauty’ ones. The reality is that these designs are worse than the standard ones and include less content to be indexed and bolster your rankings.
If you’re selling a $980 cardigan, you’d likely want to tell potential customers more than four words; ’100% viscose, imported, cardigan’. And if you’re in the premium beauty section, having your few sentences sit below the fold means consumers simply won’t learn why your product is great, versus other page formats that consumers are familiar with.
Monitor customer reviews and the questions they’re asking. If there are key themes, address them in your product page descriptions and make sure you answer the questions consumers are asking. If you are slow and let other customers answer them, they may be incorrect and damage your brand and reputation.
There is no rule book that applies to every brand in every category. The most successful brands on Amazon engage in A/B testing and the platform is built to manage this. Testing different versions of content will help you optimize the consumer experience and lead to sales and loyalty.
Amazon doesn’t regulate who sells on the platform, so unauthorized third-party sellers are abundant. Brands need to monitor these sellers as they may sell counterfeit product, position the product poorly (bad images, bad descriptions, bad titles) and have bad customer service (slow delivery, poor communication on issues). Consumers don’t know who they’re buying from – they are focused on what they’re buying – so actively monitoring, managing and removing unscrupulous sellers is critical. Would Le Mer be happy that the image selling a $198 moisturizer by seller ’CXIA-CAO’ is blurry and the description references ’La Mar’ (misspelling)?
Use Amazon ’Posts’ to generate free coverage and impressions that could lead to sales and also ensure your Amazon store is engaging and informational. The more ’followers’ you can amass, the more you can communicate with them and build their loyalty and lifetime sale value.
Due to scale, Amazon is a highly templated platform. Whether you’re a big or small brand, the product detail pages are essentially identical (except for point 2 above).
Other marketplaces, such as China’s Tmall, allow greater customization for brands to really reflect the brand essence. Amazon’s premium A+ is an indicator the company is allowing more flexibility for brands to tell their story, but curiously it is only offering this better consumer experience to bigger brands that commit to higher Amazon revenues. This will have to change and the brands that have great assets and creativity will be best placed to build better consumer experiences.
Too many brands treat Amazon as a static catalog and it’s anything but. The most successful brands constantly update and enhance the Amazon consumer experience. Amazon isn’t going to do it, so they – and their agencies – need to.
This article was written by Podean Global CEO Travis Johnson and originally published by The Drum on March 16, 2022.
September 12, 2023
September 12, 2023
August 5, 2022
Emily…
James comes to Podean with a wealth of marketplace knowledge having worked at Amazon Corporate for 5+ years. He worked in many different roles and groups during his time there from Seller Support to Vendor Management. From recruiting and onboarding 3P sellers to new categories, handling highly escalated executive level contacts, and managing vendor relationships he brings an inside understanding of how Amazon works. James is passionate about online retail and brings a client and customer centered approach as the Head of US Retail Operations. Before his e-commerce focused life, James worked across industries that have always focused and delivered results in customer service, account management, and inventory management.
With more than 15 years of experience Alejandro has led some of the most edgy projects in the LATAM region and has built-up high-performance teams from both agency and brand sides. Working with Havas he put together a Consumer Engagement unit for Pepsi. He led a WPP digital solution for L’Oréal and while working with Mediacom he redesigned Coca-Cola’s media team. Most recently he was a fundamental part of Danone’s media transformation into a brand salience unit. He was born and raised in Mexico City, loves being outdoors, listening to music and spending time with his 7-year-old daughter.
Danielle leads media globally for Podean. She previously led the Amazon and e-commerce division at performance marketing agency, Merkle (part of Dentsu). Danielle has deep expertise across all facets of Amazon advertising – DSP, sponsored ads, audio, out of home and beyond. She has delivered significant growth for some of the world’s largest brands including Nestle, managing tens of millions of advertising spend on their behalf.
Before Podean, Travis Johnson was Founder and President of Dentsu’s Amazon-focused consultancy, Sellwin. Prior joining Dentsu he was Global CEO of Ansible Mobile in New York, and also held CEO positions in Australia for media agencies UM, Initiative and Cadreon. He was an Adweek Media Allstar in 2017 and has won over 50 International Awards across his career.
Maddie leads our client management team and also marketing for Podean. Maddie’s team operates as an extension of our client’s teams – anticipating their needs, thinking proactively, and always delivering on time. Maddie is also responsible for all aspects of Podean marketing, from blogs and email newsletters to PR, content, and advertising.
Lizzy manages the Podean media team across any, and every, media solution offered by Amazon and other marketplaces. Whether it’s search/sponsored ads, DSP display and video, Twitch, audio or activations we have the experts to deliver. Every client that her team has worked on has seen a step-change in media effectiveness and sales versus their previous operations.
Jonathan Hawkins leads Podean’s European operations, working with clients spanning all categories. His team assists brands with every aspect of setup and optimization across the region including supply chain advice, logistics, retail operations, analytics and media management. P Before joining Podean, Hawkins was Commercial Director of Square Up media, owners of media properties including Escapism, Foodism and Square Mile. During his decade at Square Up he led editorial, content and most recently commercialisation and sales with a focus on digital products and ecommerce growth.
We have hand-picked the best and brightest Amazon talent from around the USA and the world. Our delivery team of 6 New York based, and 17 Amazon and marketplace marketing specialists ensure our clients receive the best campaign performance. They are experts in retail management, performance media optimization, but also video, analytics, AMC, voice, creative and higher impact executions.
Ashley has covered all aspects of digital marketing in his career, having led digital media for Initiative Media Australia, then managed a team of cross-functional digital salespeople at Mi9 (MSN) and was most recently the Managing Director of ecommerce conversion optimization software company, Ve. Ashley’s leadership, collaboration skills and entrepreneurial spirit drive the Australian business.
Mark is a 20+ year digital leader and before Podean was EVP at Reprise where he successfully launched IPG’s Amazon Center Of Excellence. Prior to this, Mark led mobile and innovation agency Ansible. Earlier in his career he was the Founder and CEO of Concep, an email and performance marketing agency with offices in the UK, USA and Australia.
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