Guest Post by: Ellen Sipp-Paris -- Content Manager at eComEngine
Selling a business is a lot like selling your own home. It can be chaotic at first as you scramble to get everything show-ready, but finding the right buyer (followed by a big payout!) usually makes it all worth it.
But as experts in both fields will tell you, having your literal and metaphorical “house” in order ahead of time will help streamline the process and shorten your path to the promised land.
In this article, we’ll look at how leveraging the right Amazon seller tools can facilitate a faster, more profitable exit for your FBA business.
But First: What Do Buyers Want?
As you start thinking about when and how to exit, you need to keep in mind what buyers want. You might be ready to sell, but your business may not be. Take a good hard look at your entire operation — it doesn’t all come down to revenue earned. There are many factors at play, from how reliable your financial statements are (messy books can instantly lower your exit price) to the complexity of your product line (too many SKUs often turn buyers away) to how much growth potential is left (are you maxed out or is there room for improvement?).
Your product reputation and inventory procedures are also primary concerns for buyers. Do you have a strong history of positive customer reviews? Are your products consistently available for sale? If you’re struggling with either of these, your business probably isn’t at the level it should be. Buyers will certainly take note.
If you want a higher multiple, improvement in these two key areas is critical. Thankfully, various Amazon seller software exists to solve these problems and more. Here’s how a few of these tools can help and what you need to do to get started.
Methods for Getting More Amazon Reviews
On Amazon, product reviews are the lifeblood of your business. Because while customers pay attention to other things like your listing content and seller rating, it is overwhelmingly positive product reviews that convince people to purchase the most.
Plus, this is Amazon that we’re talking about — the entire marketplace revolves around reviews. They impact everything from your placement in Amazon’s search results to your sales ranking and even your status as a seller.
For all of these reasons (and more), buyers want products that are already well-received by consumers and rated highly within its category.
If your review numbers aren’t satisfactory, you may not be asking the right way, or if at all. Yes, Amazon does send out review requests, but it’s not guaranteed and you have no control over the messaging. The stakes are too high for you to leave this to chance.
Amazon allows you to proactively ask customers to rate your products a few different ways:
Buyer-Seller Messaging: You can manually send a request in Seller Central through the Buyer-Seller Messaging system. Since some customization is possible, you’ll need to be very careful with remaining compliant with Amazon’s review and communication policies.
Request a Review Button: Look for this button on the customer’s Order Details page; clicking it will send out a combined seller feedback and product review request. Since it’s coming from Amazon, it’s guaranteed to already be compliant.
Software for Amazon Sellers: You can find third-party tools that connect with the Amazon API to send out feedback and review requests, like the #1 rated FeedbackFive by eComEngine, in the Seller Central Partner Network.
With FeedbackFive, you can quickly and easily automate either of the above workflows to save yourself time and money. Not only is this an incredibly efficient way to reach more customers, you can also use the tool to segment buyers based on the products ordered and send out review requests at different intervals after delivery. In our 15+ years of industry experience, we’ve found this timing feature to significantly influence email open and conversion rates.
The software also allows you to see the impact of your review requests on your ratings and monitor your products for new reviews. You can even turn on text and/or email notifications to get alerts about negative reviews so you can investigate and resolve the issue before it becomes a common trend.
3 Ways to Improve Your FBA Inventory Management
Buyers love FBA businesses because so many of the logistics are already being taken care of. (That highly-coveted Prime badge is also a nice perk!) But as you well know, there’s still plenty of work to be done. And the fact of the matter is, even the slightest hint of inventory issues are going to raise red flags with acquirers.
If you want to receive the maximum business valuation, you need your FBA inventory to be in order. This means:
1) Keeping your top-selling ASINs in stock. In all likelihood, your top-selling products are largely responsible for your profits. Regularly going out of stock eats into your bottom line and can very quickly give you a bad reputation with consumers. It won’t take them long to find a competitor that’s more consistent. Keeping up with each item’s restock timeline is imperative as some products will sell out more quickly than others.
2) Maintaining good supplier relationships. Your supply chain management can set you up for success or very quickly lead to your downfall. To maintain your product quality and stock levels, stick with a few key suppliers with whom you can build stronger, longer-lasting relationships.
3) Simplifying the reordering and shipment process. Every inventory reorder comes with a long list of things to do. There are purchase orders to create, deliveries to track, and pickups to schedule (if you’re not already sending directly to Amazon). Throw in stickering and labeling, and you’ve got a lot on your plate.
Many sellers still rely on spreadsheets to organize their inventory, but this manual process demands a ton of time and can be too error-prone for comfort. Automating this workflow can give you precious time back and eliminate many of the inefficiencies slowing you down. Want a real-life example? Just look at what RestockPro by eComEngine did for this Amazon seller!
With RestockPro, you can more easily manage your FBA inventory and supply chain to maximize profits, stay in stock, and keep tabs on your most valuable business assets —
your products.
The tool gives you a secure, centralized place to track supplier info, create purchase orders, and print Amazon-compliant stickers and labels. RestockPro’s Restock Suggestions feature tracks over 70 data points to intelligently inform your daily reordering decisions.
Take Your FBA Business to the Next Level Today
More than three-quarters of Amazon sellers use third-party software to manage and grow their business. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that many buyers do, too! After all, every advantage counts in this incredibly competitive marketplace.
If your business needs a shape-up before a valuation, give eComEngine’s tools a try. Visit our website or find us in the Seller Central Partner Network.
About the AccrueMe Guest Post Author...
Ellen Sipp-Paris is the Content Manager at eComEngine. Her goal is to help educate Amazon sellers so they feel more confident in what can be a complicated marketplace. When she’s not writing, she enjoys taking nature walks, reading, and going to concerts.
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