Amazon brand or own website brand?

[GrahamB41]

Hi,
I’ve run a branded website with all the bells and whistles such as social media pages, Google ads and heavily gone for the branded route but. I’m thinking of setting up another product line completely in a different industry and thinking of just going down the Amazon route. What have you done? I get with a branded Ed site you can also have an Amazon account but I’m talking about solely using Amazon for my new venture.

 

[thinkfast]

If you are managing own brand then you can promote another brand / new product line from current brand very well. I will recommend for own brand promotion, you can use Amazon account also if need to get some sales from there but own branding is always best option than other options.

 

[GrahamB41]

If you are managing own brand then you can promote another brand / new product line from current brand very well. I will recommend for own brand promotion, you can use Amazon account also if need to get some sales from there but own branding is always best option than other options.

Thanks for your reply. I’m not using amazing at all for my current brand and have no intention to. This would be a completely new product and industry that I’d be setting up. I just wanted to hear of others to see which route they took.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Don't go down the Amazon only route. What happens if they pull the plug on you?

Amazon should be part of a distribution strategy.

 

[GrahamB41]

Don't go down the Amazon only route. What happens if they pull the plug on you?

Amazon should be part of a distribution strategy.

Ah! I did not think of this. I think i have been blinkered by someone I know of who created a successful amazon business and luckily for him, he sold it last year for a sizeable figure. Although he did use to say to me that i did it the right way and he wished he didnt do it the wrong way but that's a debate to be had i guess I do hear Amazon can be particularly harsh on brands and the possibility of them closing or blocking your store is one that can occur often. Lots to consider. Thanks!

 

[DontAsk]

Why would you want to line Amazon's pockets if you are capable, as you say, of running your own branded website?

 

[GrahamB41]

Why would you want to line Amazon's pockets if you are capable, as you say, of running your own branded website?

I suppose I want to kind of have a different model whereby i don't have to deal with the relentless social media side of a branded business. Im great at designing, creating products, website building and branding but having seen someone i know of sell their Amazon only business in half the time i have had my website for significant numbers, it made me wonder is all.

 

[fisicx]

I suppose I want to kind of have a different model whereby i don't have to deal with the relentless social media side of a branded business.

Why do you think this necessary? A number of brands have pulled back from SMM as the ROI was so poor.

 

[antropy]

What happens if they pull the plug on you?

I would always try to avoid becoming too dependent on any single other company. That's why Shopify is such a bad idea.

Paul.

 

[GrahamB41]

Why do you think this necessary? A number of brands have pulled back from SMM as the ROI was so poor.

Social media is a big part of a lot of businesses.

 

[fisicx]

Social media is a big part of a lot of businesses.

No, they make it a big part because it’s hip and trendy. Most businesss survive quite well without it.

Most social media success come from what other people post not what you post yourself. The trick is to get others to do your marketing for you.

 

[HFE Signs]

Build your own brand and enjoy the success of your hard work rather than letting someone else benefit from it, use Amazon, eBay or anything else you like but keep your brand as yours.

 

[GrahamB41]

Build your own brand and enjoy the success of your hard work rather than letting someone else benefit from it, use Amazon, eBay or anything else you like but keep your brand as yours.

I am starting to see the benefits of the way i did this first time round. Thank you for your comments.

 

[GrahamB41]

No, they make it a big part because it’s hip and trendy. Most businesss survive quite well without it.

Most social media success come from what other people post not what you post yourself. The trick is to get others to do your marketing for you.

I agree to a point. I certainly use others to help promote my brand and it works nicely although that in itself does need a bit of upkeep. I would love to not have social media but worry in my next venture that if i dont, it's a huge part of revenue that could not come in.

 

[japancool]

I agree to a point. I certainly use others to help promote my brand and it works nicely although that in itself does need a bit of upkeep. I would love to not have social media but worry in my next venture that if i dont, it's a huge part of revenue that could not come in.

Is your new venture creating your own products, or reselling someone else's products?

 

[GrahamB41]

Is your new venture creating your own products, or reselling someone else's products?

It'll be creating my own products. The actual product itself isn't new to the world but the designs and prints are exclusive to me. It'll be fully branded under my new brand.

 

[japancool]

It'll be creating my own products. The actual product itself isn't new to the world but the designs and prints are exclusive to me. It'll be fully branded under my new brand.

OK, just remember to factor in your Amazon marketing costs. Getting the buy box can end up being expensive.

Personally, I wouldn't use Amazon as the sole outlet for my own brand. I think your own website and channels allows you much more control over your brand identity, but that's my preference. I also think selling on Amazon cheapens the brand, since Amazon's market strategy is to simply make everything as cheap as possible (excluding their own fees, obviously).

 

[GrahamB41]

OK, just remember to factor in your Amazon marketing costs. Getting the buy box can end up being expensive.

Personally, I wouldn't use Amazon as the sole outlet for my own brand. I think your own website and channels allows you much more control over your brand identity, but that's my preference. I also think selling on Amazon cheapens the brand, since Amazon's market strategy is to simply make everything as cheap as possible (excluding their own fees, obviously).

Thats really great thanks again for your thoughts. I am really starting to see more the benefits of being branded and having all the bells and whistles attached to that.

 

[DontAsk]

No, they make it a big part because it’s hip and trendy. Most businesss survive quite well without it.

Most social media success come from what other people post not what you post yourself.

Both of these statements are spot on.

I create my own products. I post in forums where my customers hang out, but only in response to requests for help. I don't need to promote myself, other users do that. I've never found the need for any direct insta-faece-twatter engagement.

 

[fantheflames]

As someone who has worked on various Amazon stores, you should ONLY use Amazon if you intend to make your product better value outside of Amazon for your customer.

I've worked with clients with and without a website, and the most profitable ones have always been the ones that have a website that offer more outside of Amazon.

People use Amazon mostly for the next day delivery aspect. But if your product is good, they will check out your website to see if they can find more value.

In essence, use Amazon as a type of advertising platform to showcase your product. Make sure your storefront highlights your products well.

Might be worth mentioning the bigger your product is (in size, weight etc), the less profit you will take from Amazon as Amazon have different kinds of fees for sellers.

Also another thing worth mentioning is Amazon will always side with the customer, which can be quite frustrating for sellers on Amazon.

 

[GrahamB41]

As someone who has worked on various Amazon stores, you should ONLY use Amazon if you intend to make your product better value outside of Amazon for your customer.

I've worked with clients with and without a website, and the most profitable ones have always been the ones that have a website that offer more outside of Amazon.

People use Amazon mostly for the next day delivery aspect. But if your product is good, they will check out your website to see if they can find more value.

In essence, use Amazon as a type of advertising platform to showcase your product. Make sure your storefront highlights your products well.

Might be worth mentioning the bigger your product is (in size, weight etc), the less profit you will take from Amazon as Amazon have different kinds of fees for sellers.

Also another thing worth mentioning is Amazon will always side with the customer, which can be quite frustrating for sellers on Amazon.

This is a really great insight so thank you. My product is small so not too concerned about the shipping of it but this is a really great insight and I will certainly take it onboard. Thanks again.

 

[fantheflames]

If your product is small enough, you could be approved for Amazon's FBA Small and Light program.

Best course of action would be to include inserts in your product packahing so your customer can be diverted to your website - ask for feedback, offer them 20% off their next order, etc.

A lot of sellers do this, but is technically against Amazon's rules as far as I know (unless they've changed them).

So if you're worried about getting caught, perhaps you can enlist your social media accounts instead as that's completely fine (as far as I know).

Read into it.

Contact your customers after 10 days asking them what their experience is like to encourage more reviews on your Amazon account. Just don't ask for a positive review.

Best of luck @GrahamB41

 

[blueocto]

Instead of having all your eggs in the Amazon basket, why not setup a simple store on Shopify, which easily integrates with Amazon (and other popular platforms)
At least that way you have the ability to sell on multiple channels if you so wish and the startup costs are low (if its a new product or MVP).
Any business will need some time/money invested in marketing, regardless of the platform.

 

[thinkfast]

Any business will need some time/money invested in marketing, regardless of the platform.

What is your opinion about monthly or yearly price of Shopify or other related platform ???? In short you need to invest money on any places, if you are looking for good ROI ... just note one thing that review twice about company, firm or agency before hire them because market is full with spammer with cheap and attractive offers.

 

[blueocto]

What is your opinion about monthly or yearly price of Shopify or other related platform ??

I don't really have a strong opinion about it, it is what it is. You're effectively getting hosting within that monthly cost with Shopify, which you'd still have to pay for regardless (e.g. self-hosted Wordpress). In addition, all the CMS/admin infrastructure, easy setup of Free themes and merchants integrations ... it's a small cost to the business, when you're expectation would be to have an ROI higher than the monthly fee.