Amazon remains one of the biggest e-commerce platforms, and it is used by millions of people every day. Because there is so much competition, it can be difficult to establish yourself as a successful Amazon seller. Thankfully, there are all kinds of specialized software and online tools that can help. Instead of looking at specific sites and products (there are too many to count), let’s talk about the types of services that can be of aid to you.
1. Shipping Helpers
Some of the e-commerce-related programs out there will focus on the shipping aspect, and this is a very important thing indeed. Online business will always involve a lot of business by mail. Software of this type can help you to generate custom-printed shipping labels that make it easier for the postal service to get your package to its intended destination. It will also usually provide package tracking, which can be very helpful in the event of a dispute. High-volume shippers can really save a lot of time this way and time is money. In many cases, it is a good idea to work the shipping costs into the price of the product. This does make your item more expensive, but you can also offer “free shipping,” which appeals to many. Of course, you cannot do that sort of thing without accurate estimates of your shipping costs. You can’t necessarily trust every “online shipping calculator” that you find on the internet, so it might be a good idea to purchase dedicated software for that purpose.2. Advertising Helpers
Once you post an item for sale on Amazon (or any e-commerce site, for that matter), you should not simply rely on the natural traffic of the site. While you might be able to sell your item that way, the odds are against your success. Of course, if you think about it, advertising for an Amazon sale is pretty easy. All you have to do is spread the URL link as widely as possible. Social media is naturally the most common vector by which you can do so. In any case, many Amazon sellers find it helpful to employ an advertising tracker program. These will simply keep track of the various sites and platforms on which you have advertised. The better ones will tell you how many views/hits you have received for various time periods. Some will even give you advice that is customized for specific markets and demographics.3. Pricing Helpers
Pricing is another highly essential aspect that should not be overlooked. If you overprice your item, it becomes unlikely to sell. If you underprice your item, you will lower your profit margins beyond what is necessary. So, how can you find that perfect middle ground? By looking at the prices of similar or identical items. When doing this, it is best to look for final sale prices (as opposed to asking prices). Someone might be asking a lot of money for a particular item, but that doesn’t mean they will actually make the sale. Now that you understand that much, you need to ask yourself: Do I really want to research every single item that I place on Amazon? Of course, you don’t, and neither do most others. In any case, it simply isn’t practical to do that. That’s why you can find various pieces of software that automate the process of pricing research. Software of this type can also track the prices of different goods over time, allowing you to project your vision into the future and see where prices are likely to go. Tools like Viral Launch provide you with an extensive amount of information that you can use to decide what the price of your products should be and when you should run discounts.4. Customer Interaction Helpers
The most time-consuming aspect of e-commerce is that of dealing with the customers. Many buyers will want to ask questions and collect information about a particular item before they even consider purchasing such. Unfortunately, most of them are just “browsing” and won’t actually buy anything. Such people can really waste your time if you aren’t careful. Helpdesk software (and other customer interaction software) is meant to reduce the amount of time that is wasted in customer interactions. Since most customer interactions will fall into one of several categories, it isn’t hard to do this. In general, people will want to collect information about the product, make an offer (i.e., attempt to haggle with you), ask questions about the buying process, and/or make a complaint. With the right software, most of that can be automated.5. Review Helpers
When you trying to establish yourself as a credible Amazon seller, your reviews can make a big difference. Customers who know nothing about your organization will have no other way to judge your quality. Thus, you want to try and make sure that satisfied customers do not neglect to leave a good review. The unsatisfied customers will always be more outspoken, and this can create a false (and ugly) image of you. That’s why you can get certain software that sends your customers reminders and links to pages where a review can be written. It should also alert you whenever a negative review is made so that you can respond as quickly as possible. Sometimes, this can allow you to turn a bad review into a good one.Conclusion
There are other aspects of your e-commerce plan that can be automated, such as payment processing and product sourcing. That being said, we have found that these five will make the biggest difference in separating a successful Amazon seller from an unsuccessful one.
