TAS 285 : (Hot Seat) How Can I Improve Sales on NEW Competitive Product?

One of the things Scott and Chris do on The Amazing Seller podcast now and then are “hot seat” sessions where they look at a real-life Amazon product listing to suggest tweaks to the listing and give advice about how to optimize the product for better sales. This episode of the show is exactly that - and it’s a bit different than usual because the product they are looking at is in a very competitive niche with competitive products that are well established and making lots of sales. How would you approach the promotion of a product given those circumstances? You can hear how Scott and Chris would do it on this episode.

Is it smart to go after a super competitive product niche?

On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Scott and Chris are looking at an Amazon product listing that is in a very competitive niche. The product owner asked the guys to look it over and give some suggestions about how he can increase his sales and gain more of the market share. But neither Scott nor Chris would have tried to sell this product in the first place because the market is crowded with heavy-hitting competitors. But now that the product is established and selling what should the product owner do? You can hear how Scott and Chris would approach it on this episode of the show.

Why an external strategy is key for products in a competitive product market.

Much of the reason that new products in competitive niches don’t have much chance of becoming popular with buyers is because of the social proof the larger, more established products have. They may have thousands of positive reviews when the new product is first introduced, which makes it an uphill climb to gain any share of the market. If a product like this is going to gain any traction it’s going to come from building a mailing list and doing promotions outside of Amazon. On this episode Scott and Chris walk you through how they’d do that and why it’s so important - so be sure you listen!

Should you create a lead-in product to stimulate existing product sales?

If you have a product that is being overshadowed by dominant competition there is a long-term approach you can take to gain ground in the market. Scott calls it a lead-in product. Here’s how it works: You begin offering a second product that has a less crowded market but is related to your first product. You do the things you need to do in order to get it selling then offer the first product (the one that’s difficult to sell) as an “also bought” or related product. It’s one way to come at buyers from the back door, giving them the opportunity to see your great product through another product's channel. You can hear Scott describe how he’d go about creating that kind of related product on this episode.

Do you know how to target your Amazon product to a specific person?

Many Amazon sellers feel that their product listings are optimized when there are many things they could do to make their listing more compelling. One of the things Chris and Scott suggest is to change the wording of your bullet points to reflect the benefits a specific type of person would experience if they were to buy your product. It’s called targeting - aiming your product at the person most likely to purchase your product - and you do it by getting into their world and determining what would be of greatest benefit to them relating to your product. Scott and Chris give some great examples of how to do it on this episode, so be sure you take the time to listen.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:20] The hot seat topic: My competitive product is not getting sales. [2:59] Chris’ impression of this product and market in question. [5:18] Is it smart to go after a very competitive product? [7:20] Why the “external strategy” is going to be key for this product’s sales success. [9:38] The vital nature of Pay Per Click with a product like this. [11:21] The importance of a well optimized listing. [15:00] Consider the idea of lead-in products to enhance an existing product. [17:39] How you can take advantage of related products to your existing product. [23:10] You can target your product to a specific person for more sales. [27:15] The main areas for this product to focus on. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

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