Amazon DSP offers a unique opportunity for brands to advertise directly to their target customers. But what is it, and what makes it different from Amazon’s other advertising solutions?

That’s exactly what we will be answering today. 

What is Amazon DSP? 

Amazon DSP, Demand Side Platform, is how you can buy those display ads you see everywhere. These banners and video ads vary in appearance but have incredible reach. That alone makes them something you should consider in your next marketing campaign. 

These ads are able to reach target audiences in specific places and times to encourage conversions.

Plus, once these ad campaigns collect enough information, DSP providers can optimize the campaign to perform according to Amazon DSP campaign goals. 

What’s the Difference Between Sponsored Display Ads and DSP? 

So, what’s the difference between Amazon DSP and Sponsored Display Ads?

First of all, Sponsored Display Ads are self-service, have no minimum, and have a low barrier of entry.  They’re also remarkably easy to build. So, what’s the downside? The answer is that they lack the precision that makes an effective ad campaign.

In contrast, Amazon DSP ads give brands significantly more control over their campaigns and provide a more powerful alternative to Sponsored Ad Displays. With DSP, brands decide who, what, where, and even when your ads appear. This is what makes it stand out among Amazon’s marketing solutions.

How to Use Amazon DSP to Reach Your Target Customer 

Before we discuss how to use DSP, we need to understand what the goals of your advertising campaign are, and who your target audience is. Figuring this out first will help you communicate your goals with your DSP provider for a more effective ad campaign. 

Always remember, that targeting your ideal customer is a key component of an ad campaign. This is the customer who will value your product the most and resonates with your brand’s purpose.

For a more in-depth guide on identifying your ideal customer, take a look at our guide on making a listing that stands out by keeping the customer in mind. 

From there you can consider the customer’s journey with your ideal customer in mind. 

• Awareness – The customer isn’t engaged. That means you first need to make them aware of your brand. Measure awareness by searches and click-through rates.
   
• Consideration – The customer is considering what they want. They’re engaged, but they’re not certain. You can measure consideration by detail page views and total detail page view rate.
  
• Purchase intent – Similar to consideration, the customer is uncertain. However, they are now intending to make a purchase, and are comparing you and your competitors for the best value. The metrics for purchase intent include add-to-cart and total add-to-cart rates. 
• Purchase Evaluation – The customer at this stage is reviewing the product before making a purchase in its category. 

• Purchase – The customer has finally purchased and converted on your Amazon listing. Which you can, of course, measure by purchases.
  
• Loyalty – More valuable than the purchase, customers at this stage have not yet subscribed or saved your offers to return again. 

It is vital to take every step of this journey into careful consideration. What does it take to get your ideal customer to continue on this journey with you? What does this say about your campaign goals? Answer that, and you’re ready to begin with DSP. 

Finally, it’s time to start with DSP.

The best part of this is the ability to take relevant DSP ads and put them in front of your targeted audience. 

We recommend that you begin your journey with DSP in small steps. Run tests on Amazon shoppers who have already viewed and/or purchased your product. From there you can tailor your DSP ad campaigns accordingly to the results you garner from these tests. 

What Else You Need to Know

Before you jump both feet into Amazon DSP, there’s some important information you need to know.

First off, you do not own any of the data through DSP as it’s an entirely separate platform from your Seller Central portal. What’s more, you will typically need to have Amazon run your DSP which usually incurs a $35k spending minimum.

Alternatively, you can work with another DSP provider that may offer lower spending minimums.

And as we discussed before, always know your Amazon ad goals before you commit to DSP. An unfocused ad campaign is certain to have a poor ROI.  

Conclusion

A poorly executed ad campaign can lead to a significant loss for any brand. That is why it is important to understand your goals and to understand the platform you’re interested in using, such as Amazon DSP. You don’t have to go at it alone. 

Contact us today for help managing your Amazon Marketplace and getting the edge you need. The services we provide range from education to the total handling of your Amazon profile. This frees you to work on the big picture. 

What is your experience with DSPs? 

Everyone who sells on Amazon should be familiar with Seller Central. It’s the place where they manage their listings and makes it possible to sell directly to Amazon customers. It’s the go-to for making a new listing or managing existing ones. 

However, what about the lesser-known Vendor Central? What’s the difference? What platform should a seller use? It’s enough to keep you up at night.

That’s what we’re going to look into today. 

The Big Difference 

Let’s start with the biggest difference between the two platforms. This is likely what will decide whether Vendor Central or Seller Vendor is for you.

The difference between Vendor Central and Seller Central is simply who is doing the selling. With Seller Central, the seller sells directly to the Amazon customer either through FBM or FBA. It offers the flexibility to manage your Amazon marketplace, including the price and inventory.

Vendor Central, on the other hand, the seller isn’t selling their products directly to the customer. They’re selling typically bulk orders of their product to Amazon. Amazon then resells the product to their customers. While this is a quick way to move whole inventories, it also comes with a loss of control.

The bottom line is that Seller Central gives third-party sellers a lot of control over the selling process. Vendor Central provides instant credibility and quick revenue. 

And although this is the biggest difference, let’s take a look at how else the platforms differ. 

Amazon Seller Central 

This is the platform most of us who work with Amazon are familiar with. It enables independent sellers to sell directly to Amazon customers. 

Independent sellers are responsible for more than half of everything sold on the platform. 

These third-party sellers work through Seller Central. They’re responsible for creating their product listings, Amazon storefronts, and are the essential digital retailer. Whether you’re a brand owner or another vendor, you’re most likely working with this platform. 

Here are some quick facts on Seller Central: 

• You sell directly to Amazon Customers
• You control the pricing structure
• You either ship products yourself or use FBA
• You have full control of what you’re selling 
• Inventory Management is your choice 
• You are responsible for your own advertising 
• It’s open to anyone

Most of the sellers that operate through this platform are either smaller sellers or those invested in the direct control of their sales. Additionally, most of these sellers are using Fulfillment by Amazon for their shipping and storage needs.

If you’re interested in this option, take a look at our guide on how to leverage FBA for online sales success. 

Amazon Vendor Central 

Vendor Central is a more specialized platform that connects manufacturers and customers. Which is typically beyond smaller individual sellers. Rather than selling directly to a customer, sellers sell to Amazon which functions as the middleman.

VC sellers sell their products to Amazon at a lower profit margin in large volumes. Amazon then resells the product under its brand. These sellers are first-party sellers rather than third-party.

This means rather than functioning as an independent retailer, you’re now the supplier of an Amazon product.

That means, once invited to the platform you will be able to negotiate prices and terms with your Amazon buyer as you would a traditional distribution model. You will then sign a vendor agreement, receive a purchase order, and you will ship the agreed-upon product to Amazon. 

As the product sells, you will receive replenishment purchase orders.

Here’s what you need to know about Vendor Central: 

• The platform is invitation only
• You sell directly to Amazon 
• Amazon controls the final retail price
• You’re finished once you ship your product to Amazon
• You’re responsible for advertising as you are on Seller Central
• Amazon decides what they think will sale
• Amazon controls the inventory management

Vendor central is naturally appealing to those who want to free themselves of small orders, dealing with fulfillment, or the associated costs. However, whichever you choose is highly dependent on your business model. 

What are the Advantages of Vendor Central?

Working through Vendor Central has some advantages over seller central that are worth mentioning. 

• Seller Support – Vendor Central provides support from Amazon itself. This includes catalog updates and management to customer service. 

Contrast this with Seller Central which puts a lot of the burden of these tasks on sellers. This is good for sellers wishing to handle these tasks themselves, but less so for sellers looking for a more streamlined approach.

• Marketing Support – Vendor Central sellers receive access to special marketing options such as their brand page, exclusive promotional programs, and more.
  
  These include early Vine Access to have products reviewed by Amazon’s select few reviewers. This gives new products a powerful boost on launch.
  
• A Streamlined Business Model – First-party sellers have simplified selling experiences compared to that of third-party sellers.
  
  Vendors focus on filling orders directly from Amazon. Beyond that, the platform handles the rest. What’s more, vendors experience significantly less competition when selling directly to Amazon.
  
• Consumer Trust – The biggest advantage to vendors is that Amazon’s credibility backs the product. Consumers trust the Amazon brand. Thus, this frees vendors from needing to further establish their reputation. 

Despite its benefits, it’s important to remember that Vendor Central is an invite-only platform. This limits the option to sellers with large inventories and supplies.

Additionally, Vendors lose a lot of the flexibility that comes with working through Seller Central, and they sell their bulk items at a significantly smaller profit margin.

Who Benefits Most From a Move to Vendor Central? 

Who benefits the most from Vendor Central can be highly dependent on ASIN.

ASINs that benefit the most from a move to Vendor are passed a successful launch and are ready to market via pay-per-click. In addition, these are ASINs already optimized and have a healthy amount of reviews. Essentially, these are products that have just reached the middle stage of their lifecycle.

In terms of sellers, Vendor Central is beneficial to those looking to move a large volume of a given product, but are struggling to do that on their own. This also includes large brands that are not interested in managing the process of selling a product. 

Therefore, Vendor Central is not for small sellers, or those looking to control their selling process.

Vendor or Seller?

There are significant advantages and disadvantages to both platforms. Deciding which one to choose can be a daunting task. This requires education and an understanding of your brand to make the right decision.

That’s not to mention that even having the opportunity to work through Vendor Central requires an invite. Which can depend on established success on the platform.

Meaning that an aspiring vendor will need to know the ins and outs of Seller Central as well as Vendor Central.

Contact us today for help managing your Amazon Marketplace and getting the edge you need to compete. We help with everything from education to the total handling of your Amazon profile. Our goal is to free you from the tedium to focus on important things.

Have you had the chance to try out Vendor Central?

Of all the sellers on Amazon, 73 percent use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA,) and for good reason. FBA enables sellers access to storage space and fulfillment options that can prove difficult for independent sellers. However, it also comes with a variety of costs and fees that can eat into a seller’s bottom line.

There are some instances where FBA is not suitable. In these cases, sellers are better off using the Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) model. Therefore, sellers need to make sure they understand the two options and when each one is appropriate. 

That is why today we’re going to take a look at what FBM is, how it works, and when to use it over FBA. 

FBM vs FBA

We often talk about Amazon’s FBA platform as it offers massive benefits to online retailers. From storage to fulfillment to shipping options, Fulfilment by Amazon offers an effective option for most sellers starting their online business. 

This is because this program grants sellers access to a virtually limitless storage space through a network of warehouses and Amazon’s customer services to help manage customer concerns.  

However, this service does have its drawbacks. There is an array of costs and fees which sellers need to take into consideration to make the most out of the FBA program. Amazon takes about 15% of each sale on top of the fulfillment fee which certainly cuts into profits.

This cost is often worth the utility FBA offers, but how about when it’s not? 

When FBA isn’t viable for healthy profit margins, sellers can manage their items via Fulfillment by Merchant, FBM. 

FBM is the natural opposite of the FBA platform. Under this fulfillment system, sellers are responsible for their storage, shipping, and customer services. This can be a challenge for sellers without the established logistics to ensure quick fulfillment.

So, let’s take a look at what circumstances this fulfillment option beat out the highly praised FBA. 

When and Why FBM is Better for Sellers Than FBA

FBM offers a handful of benefits over FBA that can highly depend on what a seller carries and how they want to manage their inventory. 

Large and Oversized Products

The most obvious benefit of FBM is when sellers are looking to move large and oversized products. This is because FBA fees for these products are substantially higher, the bulk of which comes from the cost of storing and shipping such large items.

FBM sellers avoid these costs by handling and storing the product themselves.

Small or Slow-Moving Stock 

Are you selling an item that just doesn’t move quickly because of its niche or high value? FBA storage fees could be cutting into your profit margin. Sellers with these items can look to FBM solutions to save money on storage and fulfillment fees. 

Personal Connection

If you’re looking to connect with your Amazon customers on a more personal level, FBM is a good option. Sellers using fulfillment by merchant solutions have greater control over their product packaging, handling, and shipping. Thus, allowing for more opportunities to engage their customers. 

Dealing With Storage Limits When launching 

Launches drain inventory fast, and that risks dreaded out-of-stock periods while sellers wait for Amazon to process new inventory. 

FBM helps sellers avoid these issues by keeping some of their inventory for the launch at home or another storage location for their launch rather than using their FBA inventory. 

The Downsides of FBM

FBM is not without its downsides. We’re going to look at the limitations now so you can make an informed decision when you’re choosing between FBM and FBA. 

Lack of Storage Space

Avoiding storage costs is probably the most appealing aspect of FBM as balancing the costs of storage through FBA is dependent on sales. However, there are few independent sellers which can match the storage capacity Amazon offers FBA users.

If you’re going to use the FBM system, you will need to be able to store all of your products in a readily available space. 

Time Constraints 

Sellers typically must fulfill Amazon orders within two days, and that means you will need to ship products almost every day. Even if you’re a small seller whose product sells sporadically, you must prepare to ship high volumes of product and quickly. Which can turn the passive income that attracts many to e-commerce into a much more active endeavor. 

Sellers can still opt for third-party fulfillment services from other warehouses to perform the same tasks. However, these should be thoroughly researched and examined before engaging as Amazon often provides the best rates of the available services. 

Equipment And Other Costs

As an FBM seller, you will find yourself fronting the costs of packaging supplies such as thermal label printers, labels, containers, and any other packaging needs that arise. This is in contrast to going through FBA where Amazon factors these costs into fulfillment fees.

Customer Service

As we discussed before, FBM calls for a more personal touch to customer service which is a boon for any seller looking to engage their customers. However, this also comes with a drawback.

Through the FBM model, the seller becomes responsible for matching Amazon’s policies for returns, customer satisfaction, and timeliness. 

No Prime Badge 

Although FBM products can still offer 2-day shipping and free shipping, they’re not listed with the prime sticker that attracts many customers.

There is a rare exception for sellers grandfathered into the old Seller Fulfilled Prime model, but the program has long been “waitlist only.” 

How to Set Up for FBM

Armed with the knowledge of the pros and cons of FBM, you’re ready to decide which method is best for you.

So, how do you set up for FBM?

Simply, when listing a product on Amazon, select “I will ship this item myself” under Fulfillment Channel. FBA sellers can do the same by adding a new condition to their listing. 

Shipping

Shipping is where FBM gets a little more complicated.

You essentially have two options for fulfillment.

The first involves using Buy Shipping on your orders. Amazon will then offer the best available rates for your packaging requirements and supply labels. Amazon will then deduct these fees from your Amazon balance.

This is often the best option available for sellers as Amazon has negotiated rates with carriers to provide the cheapest available. Once you’ve obtained one of these labels you can simply apply it to your package and drop it off at the carrier of your choice.

Alternatively, you can use your own shipping accounts with carriers such as FedEx and the USPS. However, you will need to upload tracking information each time you use third-party services. Furthermore, alternative services come with their own shipping fees. 

Conclusion

It can be hard to choose between FBM and FBA at times. With the array of fees and costs that come with logistics, it becomes a daunting task to decide which option works best for your business.

Thankfully, Anata is here to provide you with guidance to make the right decision for your business.

Contact us today for help managing your Amazon Marketplace and getting the edge you need to compete. We help with everything from education to the total handling of your Amazon profile. Our goal is to free you from the tedium to focus on important things.

What fulfillment options are you using for your Amazon Marketplace? 

Businesses have found that their customers are demanding more and more personalization. This, of course, extends to the Amazon Marketplace. Customers want to feel that Amazon sellers understand their needs.

So, today we’re going to discuss how to create listings that sell by keeping the customer in mind. 

Who is Your Ideal Customer? 

Where most businesses go wrong is that they believe that their product is for everyone. They think that they can market to a broad audience with even broader appeal. However, this only creates bland marketing campaigns. Then they’re left wondering why their marketing ROI is so low. 

That is why businesses have to identify their ideal customer. The ideal customer represents who values their product the most. For example, a business that sells an array of baby products may find that its ideal customer is middle-class mothers with either their first or only child. This customer, arguably, values high-quality, educational toys.

This example business, therefore, gains little to nothing from casting a wide marketing net that includes customers without children. The better they understand this ideal customer, the better their targeted marketing campaigns become.

Identifying Your Ideal Customer 

So, how do businesses identify this ideal customer? The answer to that question is complex and varies based on the business. However, the first step will always be understanding your purpose as a brand.

Your ideal customer will always be the one that resonates with your brand’s purpose. Continuing with our previous example, the purpose of this children’s toy brand may be to provide educational toys that nurture child development based on scientific research. Their ideal customer is then someone who values that same purpose. 

From there, the mission is to get to know that customer better. There are several options to perform this research, but perhaps the most powerful is researching your ideal customer through the lens of a Customer Avatar. 

Your Ideal Customer’s Avatar

A customer avatar is a hypothetical profile of the best-case scenario customer for your brand. If you’re feeling fun, you can even name this avatar as if it was a real customer who you were individually targeting with your listing. Orienting your listings and marketing campaigns as if you were speaking to this hypothetical persona then allows you to hyperfocus on your ideal customer base. 

The more specific your customer avatar, the easier it will become to market to similar customers. Let’s take a look at how to create this Avatar and how to better use it to understand your customers.

How to Create a Customer Avatar

To create this Avatar, we must determine what are the ideal characteristics you want in a customer. To do this, we must answer several questions. The more questions you can answer, the stronger your customer avatar will become. 

So, let’s take a look at some of the personal questions and prompts you can use to make this Avatar. 

• What’s their name? 
• What is their gender? 
• How old are they? 
• What is their personality like? 
• Are they single, married, or separated? 
• What is their lifestyle? 
• Where do they live?

Once we’ve established a view of this person, we can begin asking what they are looking for. 

• What are they looking to buy? Is the product they’re looking for pleasure, skill-building, time-saving, or otherwise? 
• Are they trying to solve a problem? If so, what is that problem? How does your product solve that problem? 
• What do they care about? Are they family-oriented? Are they worried about their self-image? Determine what they value as a person. 
• What stops them from making a purchase? Are they worried about saving money? Have they been burned by Amazon sellers before? 
• What does your product do for them? 

And these are only a few of the questions you can ask to create your customer Avatar. The only limit is your, or your marketing team’s, imagination and intuition. 

Using Your Customer Avatar for Research  

So, you’ve made this customer avatar. What do you do now? Play the most boring role-playing game of all time? 

Not quite, but you are going to pretend you are this imaginary person. Go to Amazon, and search for a product as your customer avatar would. What does the competition look like? Study their marketplaces as your avatar. What does your customer avatar find appealing about this listing or that listing?

Most importantly, consider the review section of these listings. 

Product Reviews 

Reviews offer a treasure trove of information on what customers think of a product. Take note of both the positive and negative remarks people make in the reviews. These will offer insights into what they are looking for in the kind of product.

Additionally, examine the wording they use in their reviews. If you can speak their language, you can create copy that they are familiar with.

And as your customer avatar, you can take this a step further by determining which reviews speak to them. Which reviews might make or break the sale for them? This exercise will help you determine what your ideal customer is looking for in a given product.

The insights gained through this method are only compounded when you take this method off Amazon. 

Research Off Amazon

Once again, through the lens of your customer avatar, take your product search to your avatar’s favorite search engine. Take your customer review research to other online retailers like eBay and Walmart. Repeat the process we discussed for Amazon. 

For additional insights, take your research to forums and Facebook groups your customer avatar would engage. There’s a lot of information in these communities. Take the time to study your ideal customer in their natural digital habitat. 

After this, you’re finally ready to optimize and personalize your Amazon Listings. 

Design Your Listing Around Your Findings

Armed with this information, every section of your listing becomes an opportunity. 

Everyone has different preferences as to how they process information. With the knowledge you gained from extensive research as your customer avatar, you will understand how to design each for your customer. 

Images

Your images should match the tone and style of your copy. They also need to contain as much visual information as you can muster. From what you learned as your customer avatar, you will also be able to determine how this information is best presented.

Your customer may, for example, be looking for infographics that outline the extensive technical aspects of your products. On the other hand, they may prefer videos demonstrating the product in action. This all depends on the information you gathered on your customer base. 

Copy

Use the buyer language you learned in your research to tell your customers why your product is better than your competitors. Lead with the strongest, most relevant benefits that appeal to your ideal customer. 

For better organic search results, be sure to include long-tail keywords in your bullets. 

Keywords

More on keywords, always be sure to include the most important keywords in the first five words of your listing title. Amazon uses these to create the URL for your listing which is how it will appear in google searches. 

For more information on optimizing the anatomy of your Amazon listings, consult our guide on making your product stand out on Amazon.

What More Can You do? 

Customer research can be a daunting task. With so much information available, a seller can spend hours upon hours studying their customers. Which can be hard when you have a marketplace to manage. 

Thankfully, at Anata, we offer innovative services to help handle and improve your Amazon Marketplace. Contact us today so we can help you handle as many of these elements as you need so you can focus on the big picture. 

What does your ideal customer profile look like? 

Are you interested in breaking into the world of selling jewelry or collectibles on Amazon? Unfortunately, you’ll need Amazon approval to get there.

Of Amazon’s 33 primary Amazon seller categories, only 13 are entirely unrestricted to sellers. 10 more are also unrestricted but contain specific products that require approval.

We’ve made this brief guide to tell you what and what does and does not require approval on Amazon, and how you can get approved for the restricted categories. 

What Requires Approval And Why

Before we go into what requires approval on Amazon, let’s discuss why Amazon restricts categories. 

Amazon wants its customers to shop with the confidence that they are receiving genuine and quality products. That is why Amazon restricts specific categories that are easily forged, duplicated, or misrepresented. This includes fine art, various media, and collectibles. To sell in these categories, sellers must first establish their credibility on the platform.

We’ll cover how sellers can establish credibility and get approval for these categories in just a moment. First, let’s take a look at what categories Amazon considers restricted:

• Automotive and Powersports
• Collectible Coins
• Jewelry
• Entertainment Collectibles 
• Music and DVD
• Sports Collectibles
• Video, DVD, and Blu-ray Players
• Watches
• Major Appliances
• Fine Art* 

*Amazon has limited new seller applications for this category. 

Amazon must provide approval for sellers looking to sell all products in these categories. So, what doesn’t require approval? 

What Doesn’t Require Approval 

Various categories require no approval from Amazon at all. That makes them a good place to start for new Amazon sellers looking to establish their credibility on the platform and break into the restricted categories. What’s more, they let you get started selling right away without waiting for approval. 

So, let’s take a look at those categories. 

• Amazon Kindle – Sellers can list self-published and traditionally published authors of digital and audible books.
  
• Baby Products – Except for baby apparel, Amazon allows sellers to sell all manner of baby products. This category includes diapers to toys.
  
• Beauty – This category has no restrictions and includes makeup, fragrance, and some personal care products.
  
• Books – Sellers can sell new and used books without approval. However, the subcategory of collectible books requires approval to ensure authenticity.
  
• Cell Phones and Accessories – Sellers can find smartphones, other cell phones, and their accessories in this category. There is no restriction on this category.
  
• Consumer Electronics – Small kitchen appliances, headphones, cameras, and smart home devices are only a few examples of this broad category. It also contains a handful of restricted items.
  
  We recommend sellers interested in selling these products consult the electronic accessories help page for more details.
  
• Grocery and Gourmet Foods – This category has specific requirements and restrictions for some products.
  
  For in-depth detail on the requirements for selling grocery and gourmet foods, consult this help page on seller central.
  
• Health and Personal Care – This category does have some overlap with beauty. However, it is for the most part unrestricted.
  
• Industrial and Scientific – These products include laboratory equipment and the like. However, it also has certain requirements such as an active professional seller subscription.
  
  For more details on this category’s requirements, see the Selling Industrial And Scientific Products help page.
  
• Kindle Accessories and Amazon Fire TV Accessories – This category has no restrictions for new, certified refurbished, and used products.
  
• Office Products – This includes office supplies, furniture, and equipment.
  
• Pet Supplies – This category includes food, treats, and toys. 

How To Get Approval For Restricted Categories 

The best way to get approval from Amazon to sell in a given category is to establish yourself on the platform. For new sellers, this is best done by dealing in the open categories we’ve just discussed. After that, they can apply for approval for Amazon per restricted category.

Amazon takes into consideration invoices as well as various other factors before approving a seller. These other factors include: 

• Less than 1% of order defects
• A professional seller subscription 
• Account Standing 
• Three months of sales history
• A return address in the country where you are selling
• Availability of customer support

Ensuring that your account clears these hurdles before applying for approval increases your chances of receiving speedy approval from Amazon.

Conclusion

Amazon’s rules and requirements can feel complicated, but don’t let that intimidate you. They’re easy to master when you have a little help.

Contact us today for help managing your Amazon Marketplace and getting the edge you need to compete. We help with everything from education to the total handling of your Amazon profile. Our goal is to free you from the tedium to focus on important things.

Are you ready to list all of your products on the Amazon Marketplace?