As an Internet celebrity start-up in the United States, PopSockets has been an Amazon supplier in the past and authorized sellers to sell its branded mobile phone holders on Amazon’s third-party platform. The warranty for PopSockets products is available through Amazon, authorized sellers and PopSockets’ own website.
PopSockets once regarded Amazon as an integral part of its business development. However, as Amazon’s requirements increased, PopSockets gave up supplying directly to Amazon. Instead, it chose to cooperate with product distributor iServe on Amazon, and iServe sold its products.
However, Amazon was not satisfied with what PopSockets did. In order to further control PopSockets, Amazon tried to ban iServe from selling PopSockets on Amazon through policies. But PopSockets did not back down, but resolutely withdrew from Amazon.
As a brand that has long relied on Amazon for business development, where did PopSockets get the courage? And how can you still thrive after leaving Amazon?
Fortunately, PopSockets has been committed to building its brand image, making PopSockets a brand recognized and sought after by consumers. Additionally, PopSockets enjoys an extensive web presence and is not limited to just one channel, Amazon. It is precisely these two points that allow PopSockets to remain uncompromising under Amazon’s high-pressure policies. This is what all brands that rely on Amazon for development need to learn.
Although a brand is made up of products, products can be copied, but brands are difficult to copy. Brands will differentiate your products from competitors. A good branding strategy will connect you with consumers. Diversified sales channels make brand development more stable.
Many brands are hesitant to sell on Amazon, mostly because they fear Amazon will compete with them rather than help their sales. In some ways, these concerns are legitimate. However, from the perspective of building brand awareness, Amazon is still a good tool. Making good use of this tool will help you get more valued customers – turning Amazon customers into your loyal fans.
The following are the specific brand awareness-building strategies PopSockets adopted when developing on the Amazon platform. It is these strategies that enable PopSockets to still develop well after leaving Amazon:
1. Product portfolio
List your products selectively on the Amazon platform, and do not list all your products. Remember, your ultimate goal is to direct Amazon buyers to your own website.
There is a very practical strategy here – sell products in combinations and do not provide users with single product replacement.
Take razors as an example. Suppose you have several different razors. Then you can only list some entry-level set combinations on Amazon. For example, a set includes a razor handle and multiple razor heads. , a set contains 1 razor handle and multiple shaving heads, shaving cream, etc. Be careful not to list separate replacement products on Amazon. In this way, when a customer purchases a certain package and uses up the shaving heads in the package, it is inevitable that the customer will need to purchase a new head. However, since he already has a shaving handle, the customer does not need to purchase a new one. , at this time the package is not affordable for them. Most customers would prefer to purchase individual shaving heads, but since you do not list individual alternatives on your platform, customers will need to contact you through Amazon.
But when customers contact you through Amazon, you cannot directly guide them to your website to purchase products, because this violates Amazon’s regulations. Therefore, you can tell your customers this:
“Hello, XX (customer name). Thank you for contacting us. We apologize for the inconvenience. Currently, we do not sell these items individually on Amazon. Thank you for your interest. Once related products are available for sale , we will definitely notify you.”
This answer may disappoint the customer, but you have other ways to get those customers who want to make repeat purchases to contact you. You can print your contact information and self-operated website URL on the product packaging. According to statistics, more than 70% will find you through this website or call the number on the package to order directly from you, although they may complain that they cannot buy it on Amazon.
2. Product packaging and insertion page
Amazon does not want sellers to frequently change their product packaging, which will harm the customer experience. But this does not prevent sellers from printing their website URL, phone number and brand information on product packaging. Sellers must attach this information. After all, this plays a vital role in the brand’s acquisition of customer conversions.
In addition, it is also very important to put advertising inserts in the packaging. Although Amazon does not allow users to enter your website directly, nor does it allow sellers to add coupons from their own website in the packaging, you can promote your products on small inserts and provide suggestive suggestions.
Suppose your product requires relevant video guidance, or needs to be tested accordingly, or you have other recommendations for the use of the product, then you can print “Important information about your product” in capital letters and bold on the advertising insert. Then attach the link. In this web page, in addition to promising to provide customers with useful information, you can also recommend more matching products. In addition, you can set up a registration pop-up window on this page to suggest users to register as your member and purchase products directly through your website.
3. Provide high-quality products and shopping experience
Good products are the basis for brand reputation. After all, no consumer is willing to buy products with low cost performance.
In terms of customer purchasing experience, creating a good listing is the most important. You can use tools on the Amazon platform (such as Amazon Enhanced Brand Content EBC) to highlight your brand in the listing. Note that the product photos in the listing should be consistent with the brand tone, and the content should be vivid and concise. After all, good content helps consumers Create a connection with your brand.