Amazon Prime Day is the second-most profitable sale action on the Amazon Marketplace next to Black Friday, offering sellers access to an incredible midyear windfall to boost sales. However, a well-thought-out strategy is essential for businesses to capitalize on the occasion. To ensure you’re ready for the big day, this guide will walk you through the key ways your brand can prepare for Amazon Prime Day.
Inventory Management
Be proactive about meeting the increased demand brought on by Amazon Prime Day; it is a vital component of an effective strategy to make the most of the event. Revisit your past sales data to anticipate demand and leverage Amazon’s Inventory Performance Index (IPI) tool to monitor inventory health and make data-driven decisions. Running out of inventory is detrimental to your rankings, so monitor it closely to avoid dipping below acceptable levels. Communicate with your suppliers early to secure the necessary stock to avoid potential disruptions.
Know Before You Go
If you haven’t already, pull historical data now to determine what worked and didn’t work last year. Identify how many units you sold and set your goal for this year. Start by comparing the average 30 days before Prime Day in 2023 (6/11/23 – 7/10/23) to the average of the 2-day event (7/11/23 – 7/12/23). This illustrates the CPC increases incurred, conversion rate changes, and successful targets.
You can also identify if there were missed opportunities by not utilizing a specific campaign type such as Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, or Sponsored Display. Leveraging all three ad types during Prime Day enhances your chance of capturing potential buyers’ attention.
Remember that Amazon Prime Day is not just about immediate sales; it’s also about taking advantage of a unique opportunity to expand your brand recognition and customer base. To leverage this event for long-term brand development, consider implementing strategies that extend beyond immediate sales generation.
Prepare a Pricing Strategy
Lightning Deals and Prime Day Deal submission deadlines have passed for summer, but you can still win during the two-day event without paying high Amazon promotional fees and giving away so much of your profit. Consider Prime Exclusive Discounts and Brand-Tailored Promotions to garner new interest through promotional efforts. Coupons are also a solid option for many accounts, but Prime Exclusive Discounts during Prime Day grab the user’s attention. These ad types include a pricing strikethrough plus a red badge, which may vary depending on category and discount percentage.
Trust Your PPC Instincts
The sooner you can eliminate waste in your account, the better off you will be when traffic increases by more than 40 percent for the 2-day event. The best way to do this is to pull a search term impression share report and identify wasteful spending by filtering for 0 orders. Continue to do this multiple times before Prime Day because traffic will increase and search behavior will change as the date gets closer. From there, either set up negative targets, pause poor-performing SKUs and targets, or lower placement bids and target bids appropriately.
Pro tip: This report will also help you identify what search terms lead to sales and growth opportunities. Try filtering by search rank 2+ and look for standout terms that could be added to exact-match campaigns.
Capture Demand Through Retargeting Campaigns
You have a larger audience now, so continue to show up and remind them that they are interested in your product. According to Amazon, shoppers browse 14 product detail pages before they purchase. It’s important to have a PPC strategy so that you show up for as many of those touchpoints as possible.
A/B Test Titles and Creative
Evaluate how your listing compares to your competitors and check your brand conversion rate in the ad console. Go to > Insights and Planning > Brand Metrics > click “View detailed metrics for your brand in this category.” If your conversion rate is lower than your competitors’, this could be a good sign to run an A/B test through Seller Central and see if you can turn your listing into a higher converter!
Optimizing Your Amazon Storefront
An optimized Amazon storefront is essential for improving product visibility and increasing sales conversion rates. Begin by ensuring your storefront is visually appealing and easy to navigate. Use high-quality images, engaging videos, and detailed product descriptions to capture the attention of potential buyers. Be sure to focus on enhancing your Amazon SEO by refining your product titles, creating detailed bullet points, and updating backend keywords. Incorporating relevant and high-ranking keywords that align with the search intent of your target audience is crucial to grabbing their attention on the big day. If needed, utilize the Amazon A+ Content feature to create rich, visually appealing product descriptions that provide an in-depth look at your items’ features and benefits.
Customer reviews also play a vital role in influencing purchase decisions, so do what you can to attract satisfied customers who’ll leave positive feedback in the weeks leading up to Prime Day. Address any negative reviews that pop up promptly and professionally, demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction.
Marketing and Promotion
Next comes the fun part: creating compelling promotions and marketing campaigns using the available Amazon Advertising Solutions. This step is crucial to help your brand stand out on Prime Day. Focus on showing up in the most important placements to get your brand seen, which goes back to leveraging your historical data based on where you’ve gotten the best engagement and won the most sales. In short, look for the strongest click share and highest conversion rate and work backward from there.
Begin by focusing on customer acquisition. Prime Day attracts many new shoppers to the platform, many of whom may be unfamiliar with your brand. To convert these first-time buyers into loyal customers, create a memorable first impression through exceptional customer service, timely order fulfillment, and high-quality products. Utilize Amazon’s Customer Loyalty analytics to understand buying behavior and incentivize your available audience accordingly.
Another effective approach is to invest in brand storytelling. Use Prime Day as a platform to share your brand’s unique story, values, and mission. Engaging brand narratives can differentiate you from competitors and foster a deeper emotional connection with your audience. Utilize your Amazon storefront, Amazon Posts, social media channels, and marketing materials to convey a consistent and compelling brand message.
Post–Prime Day Analysis
An essential component of readying your brand for Amazon Prime Day involves understanding your budget usage and analyzing brand impression share and placement performance to ensure you have enough budget and a strong bid strategy to stay ahead of competitors. Obviously, you’ll want to be able to evaluate your performance and identify areas for improvement. Still, if you don’t prepare this in advance, you’ll be too busy with order fulfillment to handle it correctly.
Reference your historical data, including total revenue, units sold, and average order value, to gauge missed opportunities and areas of improvement. To gauge success, compare these metrics to your goals and previous Prime Day performances. Follow this up by analyzing customer feedback and reviews to understand what resonated with buyers and what could be improved. Pay attention to any recurring issues or suggestions, as these insights can inform your future strategies and product development.
Make sure to store all the necessary reports so you can use them to reference future Prime Days because Amazon’s reporting window limits this ability after 90 days. Examine your campaigns to determine which tactics brought in the most customers. Identify the channels that drove the most traffic and conversions and assess the return on investment for each campaign. Use this data to refine your marketing strategies and allocate resources more effectively for future promotions.
Finally, gauge your current brand recognition to consider the broader impact that Prime Day has made on your brand. Assess how the event influenced consumers’ thoughts on your brand and how it impacted your overall market position. Use these insights to develop a long-term strategy that leverages the momentum gained during Prime Day to drive sustained growth and success in the future.
If your business is ready for prime time on Amazon Advertising, contact us today for a free account audit and complimentary campaign review.
