How to Scale Your Amazon Store Through Outsourcing- A Brief Guide

Is your Amazon store set up for success?

Amazon is, without a doubt, the favorite marketplace for new as well as experienced sellers. As a leading third-party marketplace, it enjoys incredible profits and a stellar global reputation. And, with more than 310 million active users, it is a goldmine of opportunities for businesses.

However, large-scale & long-term success on Amazon is both-hard to define and tough to achieve. 

A great deal of effort is involved in establishing an Amazon store that churns dollars at all stages of development. There’s much to understand, a lot to achieve, and not enough free time on your hands to get it all done. As a result, your ROI and sales figures suffer greatly.  

In this space, we’ll showcase the logic behind using outsourcing to facilitate that success. We’ll also discuss how you can hire Amazon experts and utilize them to ensure maximum benefits for your business. 

Let’s get started! 

Topics Covered Here

• What’s the Logic Behind Outsourcing
• 4 Amazon Tasks That Can Be Delegated to a Third-party
• Why Is Outsourcing Better than Hiring an In-house Employee
• How to Hire the Right Outsourcing Partner
• Challenges in Amazon Outsourcing

Scaling on Amazon-Where Does the Trouble Begin? 

Throughout its lifetime, Amazon has reacted to nearly every market change. It has left no stone unturned to shift to newer & better models of selling. Customers reign supreme in Bezos’s agenda. So, sellers are frequently encouraged to focus on creating a unique & seamless experience for the buyer. 

As a result, Amazon has amassed a considerable fan following and some really impressive numbers-

• $232.88 billion of revenue in 2018
• 18% higher international sales by 2019-third quarter
• 2.5 million (and counting) active sellers 
• Over 4000 items sold per minute
• More than 119 million registered products
• 103 million Prime members in the US alone

But, those top-notch figures come with a downside. 

It’s safe to say that you can sell almost anything on this platform and make a profit. But, initial growth doesn’t always transition into better sales when you scale. To benefit from this popular online platform, sellers have to cater to a lot of dimensions at once. 

For instance, here are a few of the tasks that you will regularly deal with when scaling on Amazon-

• Update and manage product listings 
• Optimize pages to rank high on Amazon search engine 
• Run advertising campaigns for different audience demographics
• Take and post attractive pictures of products on the eStore 
• Respond to customer queries on time 
• Choose, monitor, and manage the right fulfillment option
• Manage your Amazon store’s presence on social media 
• Strive to win the Buy Box for your listings 

Keep in mind that not all of these activities will directly impact growth. Some are critical for your company, while others are necessary but not sufficient. Anyways, almost all of them will consume your time, some more than others. 

Naturally, you’d prefer to devote your creativity, time, and attention to business-critical tasks. But then, you can’t let the other activities go unobserved. That’s why online enterprises hire Amazon experts to take care of such jobs.

4 Amazon eStore Maintenance Tasks That You Can Outsource

1. Product Listing Creation & Optimization 

Creating a listing is the first thing any seller does on Amazon. 

Much like a first impression, product pages are used to bring your eStore to a prospective buyer’s notice. They have to be creative and engaging enough to entice a buyer to know more about your brand/product. At the same time, they must be optimized with relevant keywords to rank high on Amazon product searches.

An Amazon product listing has six main elements-

• Title
• Description
• Image
• Features/Bullets
• Ratings 
• Reviews

Content-wise, you’d need to design the title, descriptions, and bullets appropriately. They must be keyword-rich, use powerful words, and convey your product’s value.

For instance, the product title should, in one glance, clarify the product’s use, its biggest benefit, and the most impressive feature. It should include at least one primary keyword. And it should stay within the appointed character limit. 

Likewise, the description has to answer every possible query that a buyer might have about the product. It should showcase the product’s benefits and features using clever wordplay & motivate the consumer to make a purchase. Ideally, a product description should-

• Educate the buyer about the product’s highest value features
• Present all technical specifications 
• Elaborate usage & explain how the product solves a user’s problem 
• Justify the price 

Now, imagine doing this for all your product pages. Not only does product listing optimization take specific skills, but it also takes a lot of time. Hiring Amazon optimization services can help take the load off you and provide quality results at the same time.

2. Product Image Editing 

An online buyer can’t judge your product by touching or feeling it. So, images become their only window into accessing the product’s quality. Therefore, as a seller, you have to ensure that the pictures are high-quality, high-resolution, and clear.    

Plus, Amazon has stringent regulations for the images and videos that you can put up on your listing. 

• Image dimensions should be at least 1000 pixels in either width or height
• The image must be in TIFF (.tif/.tiff), GIF (.gif), JPEG (.jpeg/.jpg), or PNG (.png) format
• The image should be a professional photograph of the actual product, not an illustration or a drawing 
• The image background for the first/primary photo has to be pure white 
• The primary product image shouldn’t have any additional text or graphic elements 

Also, Amazon lets you use five to nine images for each product. To assemble that catalog, you need to capture your product from all angles & edit all pictures. Again, you’re going to have to do it from all your products. And, not everybody is adept at image editing and photography. 

Considering everything, it’s wiser to hire Amazon experts for product image editing. 

3. Customer Service 

Amazon strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric marketplace. It’s only reasonable that it would want its sellers to work in tandem with that ideology.

However, the definition of customer service changes dimensions when it comes to online shopping. As per Social Media Today, 83% of buyers need some assistance when making an online purchase. Today’s consumer makes constant inquiries and expects quick responses. They appreciate excellent service but are just as vocal about bad experiences. 

• 42% of online shoppers expect a reaction on social media within 60 minutes
• 83% of consumers in the US expect regular communications from brands about their purchases 
• 64% of people consider customer experience a more critical brand differentiator than price 
• 77% of buyers are likely to recommend a positive experience to friends 

In simple words, if you want your Amazon store to succeed, you need to offer stellar customer service to the shoppers. When they associate your company with prompt responses and valuable resolutions, they will come back. To achieve that outcome, you need to-

• Respond to all customer queries on time 
• Provide meaningful solutions 
• Monitor reviews and highlight the positive ones 
• Bring the negative reviews to your attention and work on appeasing those buyers
• Stay in touch with the customers through phone and email after purchase 
• Maintain your brand image and message through tactful conversations 

If you use a virtual assistant for this task, the entire customer service lifecycle will speed up. They will be available at all times to answer questions and monitor feedback. Plus, you’ll get extra free time to focus on other critical tasks, only intervening when necessary. 

4. Order Processing & Competitor Research 

Order fulfillment can be a complicated task when you’re expanding your eStore. In addition to inventory management, shipping, & tracking, you also need to adhere to Amazon’s requirements. While it is mostly about churning numbers and verifying processes, it does take time and concentration. 

As a business owner trying to grow their eStore and increase conversions, you might not have that time to spare. Thus, it’s better to hire Amazon experts to handle your order processing activities. 

Likewise, competitor research is another task that’s better to outsource. It also requires time and focused analysis of rival eStores. It involves studying other enterprises and gleaning insights that can help advance your business. 

Note that competitor research is a strategic task. It involves-

• Identifying top competitors 
• Analyze their content and marketing campaigns and compare with your eStore 
• Study their keyword choice and usage
• Identify areas where you can improve

The point- you need to outsource competitor research because it is a time taking and inclusive activity. But, it is also quite beneficial to your business growth. So be sure to hire Amazon experts who have niche experience in this area. 

Why Can’t You Hire Additional In-House Staff Instead?

Fair enough! 

That’s a common dilemma for businesses that have never outsourced before. After all, if you are ready to hire someone, why shouldn’t it be an in-house employee? 

Well, here’s why! 

How to Find the Right Outsourcing Partner

• Identify all the activities that you need to outsource
• Define the scope of work
• Share exact requirements; avoid vague constraints
• Rank Amazon optimization services based on expertise and experience 
• Assess their market reputation 
• Talk about budget, deliverables, and deadlines beforehand
• Request a demo or take a test 
• Choose the best option and train them on your business ideals 
• Maintain constant communication with the outsourcing teams 
• Engage them to ensure better results 

Most Common Challenges in Amazon Outsourcing

In addition to finding the right Amazon optimization service partner, outsourcing has a few other concerning aspects. While its benefits overshadow the drawbacks, you must consider its potential risks. 

1. Selecting the Right Partner 

We’ve already addressed the problem of finding the right outsourcing partner in a previous section. But, you must also understand why it matters so much!  

The entire premise of outsourcing is to get quality results quickly at a lesser expense. For instance, if you hire just any product listing service without prior investigation, they might not give you well-optimized results. And yet, half of the blame for that botched outcome will fall on you for choosing poorly. 

2. Language & Time-zone

Businesses who outsource activities like product listing optimization or image editing, etc. often prefer offshoring. It gives them the benefit of extra work-hours. For instance, a US-based eStore outsourcing to India will practically get 24/7 efficiency. While their in-house workers will be off-duty, the outsourced staff will work. 

That is only possible because of a 13 hour time difference. 

But, if you outsource to a vendor whose primary language of choice for doing business isn’t the same as yours, and you’ll be at a loss. Or outsource to a third-party in your country, and your time-advantage is lost. You must strike a balance here. 

3. Security 

Data-sharing is an unavoidable aspect of outsourcing. When you hire Amazon experts, you also have to trust them with your data. So be prepared and don’t do it blindly. 

Your data should be encrypted before it leaves your premises. There must be a process in place to ensure its integrity, accuracy, and consistency. Monitor access, recheck your firewalls, and safe from malicious threats. And, if need be, get confidentiality control through an NDA(non-disclosure agreement.)

Armed With This Information, Go Out There and Chase Success on Amazon

Amazon is a unique platform. It offers unprecedented opportunities to sellers. And, now that we have walked you through the right way to hire Amazon experts, you have an even better chance at success.

Just make a plan and follow it through. 

If you want to know more about outsourcing Amazon optimization services, we can help. 

Hire Amazon experts from DataEntryIndia.in and get the benefit of years of experience and industry knowledge. We extend an assurance of high-quality results to all our clients and provide a comprehensive suite of services for all your needs. Just send your requirements at info@dataentryindia.in, and let’s see how we can help you.