There are 2.5 million sellers on Amazon, according to Seller App.
For perspective on how many are using Business Intelligence (BI) software, Helium 10 has 1 million active users utilizing its software, according to its About Us page, and that’s just one BI service amongst hundreds of specialized competitors. With these numbers taken together, it’s not a stretch to say that every experienced seller on Amazon is using BI. Now that BI has become the norm, it’s important to learn more about the range of BI services and where to use them throughout the Amazon marketing pyramid.
What is BI?
BI is the process of taking data and transforming it into actionable information that businesses can use to push their organization forward. The simplest example of this is the functions of Excel which can take your raw data and transform it into graphs and queries that allow businesses to draw conclusions and make decisions. BI utilized in the Amazon marketing pyramid often uses market data and specializes it to the function of that specific software. For example, one service offered by SmartScout takes the entirety of Amazon’s “Frequently Bought Together” product data and transforms it into a map that shows which product pages are best to advertise on.
This is a more advanced example of BI software’s capabilities and is only one of many tools offered by SmartScout. Software suites with multiple tools are a great example of how BI has developed and why it’s become necessary for eCommerce success.
Why Is Bi Necessary for eCommerce Success?
The uptake of BI by players in the eCommerce ecosystem is not unwarranted. One major reason for using BI software is that it removes the likelihood of utilizing dirty data. Dirty data is incomplete or inaccurate data used unknowingly and often hurts operations due to its inaccuracy. People utilizing dirty data are seldom aware they’re doing so, and have no method to assure their data is accurate. BI software provides assurance that their data is reliable, making these services highly sought after.
A second reason for using BI is that it saves time. Say you’re searching for new products to sell on Amazon. Instead of deciding what products may be on the rise and then determining whether or not you want to pursue them by going through each product type and looking at the competition and flaws, you can use product research tools. They tell you exactly how a product has trended, how many competitors are in the category, and determine the profitability of entering that category.
Lastly, BI has impressive functionalities. As the example above demonstrates, BI simplifies difficult processes and provides services based on data that is difficult to collect on an individual scale. This access to market data has allowed software developers to create specialized software with a range of functions that touch every part of the marketing pyramid.
Using Bi Throughout the Marketing Pyramid
To ensure that you’re remaining competitive in your category, it’s important to understand how BI can help you throughout the product life cycle rather than just the product launch.
The marketing pyramid that we’ll use here consists of three tiers:
BI software has been created for each tier of this pyramid to help in decision-making and in operations. Let’s start at the bottom.
Bottom Tier – Product Launch
The bottom tier of the marketing pyramid is the foundation. This is where the product journey begins and the groundwork is set for the future of product growth. In this stage, sellers/agencies should be focusing on analyzing the competitive landscape, selecting products, listing content, and optimizing for keywords. Use Amazon’s marketing data and create a user-friendly service with the subcategory tool created by SmartScout.
It lets users browse over 42,000 subcategories on Amazon and look at data from products and brands of interest. This allows you to analyze the competitive landscape by looking at the percent share of the brands dominating each category, and see how many products are in your desired subcategory, how they’re ranking, and what their monthly revenue is.
Once you’ve decided which product you’re interested in, you can utilize listing and keyword optimization software to ensure that the product hits the ground running with its SEO performance. After launch, you can continue to use SmartScout to track how your product is doing in its category compared to competitors.
Middle Tier – Product Awareness
The middle tier of the marketing pyramid is the product promotion period. Now that the product has launched and the listing is optimized, it’s important to start gaining awareness and building product trust. The quickest way to do this is through PPC campaigns which are the most common advertising campaign on Amazon. If you’d like to run a PPC campaign by yourself, utilizing SmartScout’s Traffic Graph is a great option. If this is your first time launching, however, it’s likely best to utilize a PPC agency.
Additionally, you can raise awareness and product trust using content creation. There are ample BI services out there that can generate tailored social media posts and newsletters quickly. Posting content helps buyers put a face to the product and increases the likelihood of purchase, as well as assisting in expanding from a product into a brand.
Top Tier – Marketing Effort Integration
In the top tier of the marketing period, you should now have adapted to your category and likely have a good understanding of the competitive landscape. However, utilization of BI services doesn’t stop at having a category understanding. This tier is filled with a variety of services that allow for the integration of marketing efforts, and specialized strategy expansion to drive your product ahead of its competitors.
Once your PPC and SEO efforts are already in place and you’ve developed some product credibility, you can take advantage of other opportunities that will push you ahead of your competitors. A good example is Seller Rocket’s on-Amazon service (otherwise known as their on-site service). This service is only attainable once a product has reached 100+ reviews and has proven to be of quality.
Above is an example of a top-tier service provided by Seller Rocket. This is an Amazon Editorial Recommendation, an advertisement that differs from PPC advertising in that it’s recommended by external top publishing companies (in this example Wirecutter). It takes up more space on the product page, has more detail, and is difficult to achieve without utilizing Seller Rocket. This service increases the efficiencies and effectiveness of your already implemented PPC and SEO efforts, driving content marketing optimization, trust, and visibility of your product.
The top tier of the marketing pyramid is filled with services that integrate marketing operations and optimize products to maximize their success. Though you can sell successfully without utilizing this tier, if you want to be a key competitor, this tier is a necessity.
Utilizing the Entire Marketing Pyramid
The number of sellers on Amazon increases every year and it’s important to have a strategy to keep products competitive. The best strategies usually involve multiple BI software, and touch every tier of the marketing pyramid, creating an integrated effort that maximizes current profits and ensures preparation for changes in the ever-changing marketplace.
