Author: Team Zonmaster

Phil Smy, a passionate software developer and tech entrepreneur with over 25 years of industry experience. Phil’s journey has taken him across diverse industries, from online gambling to kids toys, providing him with invaluable insights and expertise.

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Status

Status Update: Amazon Data Issue

We are writing to inform you that Amazon’s APIs are currently experiencing an issue where duplicate entries are showing up in orders. One entry will have a quantity of 0 and the other will have the correct quantity.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are aware of the issue and are working with Amazon to resolve it as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, you can ignore the items with a quantity of 0 that might appear in your Zonmaster dashboard.

We will post here again when a fix is released.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely, The Zonmaster Team

Categories
Instruction

4 Ways to Use Amazon Marketplace Strategies to Fuel Business Growth

A strong Amazon Marketplace strategy is essential for generating new business because most consumers begin their product search on Amazon.

The contribution of Amazon to the profitability of numerous brands is evident, especially considering its market share of almost 40% in the US e-commerce industry. Consequently, the focus for brands should shift from the decision of whether to sell on Amazon Marketplace to figuring out ways to expand their business on Amazon.

Are there specific elements of an Amazon Marketplace strategy that can guarantee success?

One of the initial considerations for brands is choosing between Amazon’s invite-only Vendor Central platform (also known as 1P) or the Seller Central platform (also known as 3P).

Sellers can gain greater control and have access to more detailed reporting with the 3P option, allowing them to observe the real- time effect of their strategies and promotions. While the 3P marketplace offers a more flexible response to dynamic consumer behavior, it also requires more resources and a workforce. Companies might have to increase their personnel to manage the platform’s complexities, which include its nuances.

Besides, there are additional factors to consider. Amazon’s emphasis on profitability has led to increased scrutiny of chargebacks and other fees by 1P vendors. Additionally, Amazon is terminating its 1P partnership with distributors in Europe and recommending that they join the 3P platform instead. Under 1P, Amazon controls the selling price, while 3P vendors have the autonomy to manage their own pricing (though this entails more effort, it provides greater control).

After making the fundamental decisions, you can begin shaping your brand identity on the platform.

Having a well-organized supply chain is crucial. Maintaining ample product inventory can significantly boost your success on Amazon. If sales velocity decreases, the search algorithm may penalize your listings, and it could take considerable time to regain momentum unless you’re an established household name.

Being aware of Amazon’s policies and algorithms is vital for successful sellers. To some extent, conducting business on Amazon Marketplace is a marketing endeavor. Amazon’s algorithm prioritizes conversion rates, and understanding the subtleties of incremental sales is critical for swiftly adjusting and allocating resources accordingly to focus on the strategies that work.

Excellent strategists don’t simply ship their inventory to Amazon and rely on the platform’s market dominance to accomplish the rest of the work. Instead, they actively prioritize their Amazon Marketplace strategy.

What are some ways for brands to implement these Amazon Marketplace strategies?

By comprehending how the platform operates, brands can utilize Amazon Marketplace as a revenue driver and a means to connect with new customers. The following are a few methods that sellers can employ to put their strategy elements into practice and expand their businesses on Amazon:

1. Plan for additional inventory

To maintain customer satisfaction, Amazon Marketplace necessitates sufficient inventory stock from sellers. Brands must have a clear understanding of their supply chains and prepare for the extra inventory required for Amazon sales, while still maintaining enough inventory for their other retail channels. As an Amazon Marketplace vendor, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have adequate stock levels.

Effective inventory management can offer several advantages, particularly in terms of your brand’s financial health. By gaining better control over your inventory, you can forecast demand more accurately, ensuring that you have enough stock to meet consumer needs. As a result, you can improve your cash flow and enjoy a healthy supply chain that can benefit your business.

2. Read the reviews and reports

Amazon can provide valuable unbiased reviews to help you understand what resonates with consumers. Reading these reviews can help you gain insights into what people like and dislike about a product. Additionally, conducting A/B tests on messaging can reveal which approaches are most effective at converting interest into sales. When you convert well, you are more likely to sell, and Amazon’s algorithm will prioritize

your products accordingly. Amazon Marketplace also provides valuable data about customer searches and buying habits, which can offer deep insights that you can use to optimize your business strategy. With all this data readily available, it’s important to use it to your advantage.

Keeping up with reviews can be challenging, but it presents an opportunity for creativity. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly prevalent, businesses can explore how to strategically leverage it. One effective

approach is to use AI to analyze and summarize reviews, highlighting the top five positive and top five negative points. With this strategy, the content practically writes itself, providing a simple yet effective way to glean insights from customer feedback.

3. Write to your customers

Although it’s often believed that Amazon isn’t an ideal platform for conveying your brand voice, it can actually be a great place to engage with customers. Compelling content can
be a powerful tool for setting your pages apart. However, it’s important to tailor your writing to Amazon’s specific guidelines and audience. The content that performs well on your direct-to-consumer or social media channels may not translate directly to Amazon, but with some adjustments, it can be effective. When crafting content for Amazon, it’s essential to prioritize conversion and algorithms while also using your words to build your brand.

To create an effective product description on Amazon, it’s crucial to incorporate SEO keywords that align with the platform’s search algorithm. Amazon’s priority is to help users find the products they’re looking for quickly and efficiently, and using the right keywords can make your product more visible when customers search for related items. By optimizing your product description with relevant SEO keywords, you can increase the chances of your product appearing in the search results and attracting potential buyers.

4. Think of the whole funnel

As Amazon continues to expand its advertising capabilities, it’s essential for brands to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire consumer journey. It’s important to note that consumers may take several weeks to make a final decision on a purchase after entering a particular product category. To achieve success as an Amazon seller, it’s critical to stay attuned to your customers and leverage early indicators to make data-driven decisions about where to allocate your advertising budget.

To effectively grow your business on Amazon, it’s crucial to understand the core elements that have made the Marketplace such a dominant force. Amazon’s success can largely be attributed to its reliance on data and digital marketing principles. Despite a challenging economic climate, Amazon sellers are still seeing significant growth and profitability because they closely monitor consumer behavior and use data to refine their strategies. By leveraging these insights and making informed decisions, Amazon sellers can make calculated moves and optimize their performance without taking on unnecessary risks or investing excessive amounts of capital.

Are you an Amazon seller looking to connect with your customers and optimize your sales funnels? Don’t miss out on Zonmaster! Our easy-to-use auto-responder and CRM tool powered by ChatGPT can help you set up automated email campaigns, request feedback, and offer discounts effortlessly. With Zonmaster’s powerful analytics tools, you can fine-tune your email campaigns for better engagement and sales. Sign up now and start boosting your Amazon business today! Don’t let your competitors get ahead – act fast and take your Amazon business to the next level with Zonmaster.

Categories
Instruction

How to Set the Stage for Your Small Business’s Growth

Growing a business is an exciting venture, but determining where to start and how to make upgrades can be difficult. Here’s how you can set the stage for business growth.

Selling online? Zonmaster can help you manage reviews and seller feedback. Start a free trial!

Create a Roadmap

Writing down goals is an essential step in setting the stage for your business growth. These goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). They should also stretch you beyond your comfort zone. But remember, don’t overdo it — focus on achievable objectives that are in line with your long-term vision of your business.

Streamline Using BPM

To ensure your business is in the best position to succeed and grow, automation through Business Process Management (BPM) should be carefully considered. This will streamline processes, resulting in faster and cost-effective solutions to common problems that exist inside business operations. By introducing automation to your day-to-day operations, tasks can be completed more quickly and efficiently. Automation further opens up new opportunities for further growth as it allows staff to focus on more meaningful work, instead of repetitive ones.

Strengthen Your Business Knowledge

If you feel like there are still gaps in your knowledge about running a successful business, then enrolling yourself in courses related specifically to helping small business owners thrive might be worth considering — especially if they cover topics such as finance and accounting fundamentals or project management best practices, which could prove invaluable during times of rapid expansion. Even taking part-time classes will give you access not only to knowledge but also to mentorship opportunities.

Ramp Up Online Marketing

Having an online presence is crucial when looking to grow your business. Make sure you have an up-to-date website that accurately reflects the current state of your company and its products or services. You should also have social media accounts where you can engage with customers and update them on new products or services.

Marketing plays a vital role in getting your name out there and increasing brand awareness among potential customers. Utilizing email campaigns and investing in search engine optimization (SEO) tactics are both great ways of achieving this goal while also keeping costs relatively low compared with other forms of marketing like paid advertising or sponsorships. Focusing on content marketing strategies such as blogging will help you to nurture leads into conversions over time.

Invest in Business Cards

Business cards are a simple yet effective tool for growing your business, as they give potential customers and clients an easy way to contact you. They work as a form of advertisement, allowing you to quickly spread the word about your products and services. Business cards also create a sense of professionalism and legitimacy, helping to inspire trust in those who receive them. Additionally, when exchanged, business cards can spark conversations with prospects and help grow your network. If you want to design business cards cheaply using modifiable templates, give this a try.

Focus on Customer Service

Customer service sets the tone for how customers perceive your brand, so having good customer service measures in place is essential for business growth. Investing in customer service technologies such as chatbots or automated emails can help save valuable time while providing helpful support for customers who may have questions about your products or services. Responding quickly and personally through social media platforms like Twitter or Instagram also shows customers that you care about their needs.

Protect Your Business for the Long Term

It may be beneficial for small businesses looking for room to grow to consider registering as an LLC or limited liability company. Doing this protects your personal assets if there are any legal issues involving the company and offers advantages such as tax savings and greater credibility. Registering as an LLC will also open up additional financing opportunities and provide easier access to contracts.

As you can see, setting up the stage for your business growth requires attention across the board, ranging from designing business cards to registering yourself as an LLC to business process management. Taking each, one step at a time, will ensure steady progress towards meeting and even exceeding your business goals.

Categories
News Updates

Announcing ChatGPT-enhanced Landing Pages

Hey, Amazon Sellers!

We have some exciting news for you! Zonmaster.com just launched its latest feature – a revolutionary ChatGPT-enhanced Landing Page Generator. This is a game-changer for Amazon sellers who are looking to up their marketing game and reach new customers in ways that were previously impossible.

So, what is the ChatGPT-enhanced Landing Page Generator?

It’s a brand new tool that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to create custom landing pages that are tailored to your unique needs. This means you can generate your own landing pages, distribute coupon codes and capture potential customers’ email addresses like a pro!

We understand that marketing your products on Amazon can be tough, which is why we developed this industry-first feature to help you stand out in a crowded marketplace. We believe this new tool is going to change the game for Amazon sellers and we can’t wait to see you take advantage of it.

The ChatGPT-based Landing Page Generator is available to all subscribers of ANY of our PAID plans. So, if you’re looking to take your marketing efforts to the next level, make sure you sign up for a PAID plan today.

We’re committed to providing you with the best tools and services to help you grow your business on Amazon. Our range of features and services includes inventory management, customer feedback tracking, and order management – everything you need to succeed.

If you’re interested in learning more about our ChatGPT-based Landing Page Generator feature, visit our website at www.zonmaster.com.

Let’s revolutionize the world of Amazon selling together!

Categories
News

Get Ready for Prime Day

Amazon is advising sellers to ready themselves for Prime Day 2023

As we approach the annual Prime Day event, Amazon is instructing sellers to prepare by shipping their inventory to Amazon’s warehouses no later than June 15, 2023.

To account for any unforeseen logistical, weather, customs, or carrier-related setbacks, Amazon recommended that sellers obtain their orders well in advance of the June 15 deadline. Although Amazon may accommodate delayed shipments for a few days, sellers should not risk missing out on the significant sales potential of one of Amazon’s busiest days. Furthermore, Amazon has requested that sellers create their Prime Day promotions by April 28, providing them with just four weeks to establish their deals for this year’s Prime Day.

So, what about Prime Day itself?

Although Amazon has not yet announced an official date, we can make an informed estimation that Prime Day will likely take place for 48 hours around July 11 and 12, 2023. This timeframe will allow Amazon approximately one month to distribute inventory throughout its various warehouses.

Furthermore, Amazon has shared three essential recommendations for sellers to adequately prepare for the ninth annual Prime Day.

Keep a close eye on the Deals Dashboard to confirm that your deals are not being suppressed.

Before your promotion is scheduled to begin, it’s possible for it to become suppressed due to problems with stock, SKU, pricing, or compliance. To resolve this issue and reactivate your deals, sign in to Seller Central, navigate to the “Advertising” section, and modify any areas highlighted in red for your suppressed promotions.

Do not change your price.

You don’t have to adjust your price to reflect the deal price since Amazon will automatically update it according to the price you entered in Seller Central. If you modify your current offer price, there is a chance that the promotion may be suppressed since it no longer meets the discount standards required.

Conduct quality inspections on your promotions and the associated SKUs.

Ensure the quality of your promotions to guarantee that customers have a satisfactory experience while discovering and purchasing your products. Ensure that the deal image is on a white background and that the bullet points on the product detail page precisely describe the item on sale. If you are registered as a brand, inspect your A+ content since it provides an excellent opportunity to share additional information about your brand or products.

What About Amazon Prime Day 2?

Amazon conducted a secondary Prime Day sale for the first time last year, which resulted in mixed outcomes, with the secondary event generating only about a third of the total sales of the primary Prime Day. As a result, it’s uncertain if Amazon will attempt to do so again, and sellers should anticipate only one event in 2023, given the underwhelming performance of the second event.

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Uncategorized

What is a SKU?

Do you sell products on Amazon? If yes, then you must know about Amazon SKU numbers. They are unique alphanumeric codes that help you keep track of your products on Amazon’s platform. By assigning SKU numbers to your products, you can manage your inventory and orders from one central location.

Amazon is a massive e-commerce platform with over 300 million active customer accounts and 1.9 million selling partners globally. So, it’s crucial to create and assign your SKU numbers correctly. By using Amazon seller accounting software, you can use SKUs to track sales data, manage inventory levels, and streamline the ordering process.

SKU attributes are the information you structure within your SKU, such as brand, size, resolution, price, smart-capability, compatibility, etc. By including these attributes in your SKUs, you can manage your inventory efficiently.

You should always create and manage your own Amazon SKU numbers instead of ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Numbers). While ASINs identify products on Amazon’s platform, they aren’t the SKU number you assigned. Using your own SKUs will help you track profitability, calculate accurate margins, and recognize potential trends to grow your business.

Amazon offers a variety of methods to find your SKU numbers, such as accessing Amazon Seller Central, reviewing the information listed on your product page, and finding them on receipts or product packaging.

By using SKUs correctly, you can record losses, make strategic inventory forecasting decisions, track an item’s location within your warehouse, improve inventory accuracy, identify shrinkage, reconcile inventory, and perform profit analysis by SKU to determine best/worst sellers via attributes.

In conclusion, using SKUs correctly leads to better inventory management in ecommerce and tracking sales more efficiently. So, if you’re an Amazon seller, consider using Zonmaster, the Amazon seller tool for managing customer communications and tracking Amazon success, to manage your SKUs and grow your business.

Categories
News

FBA storage capacity system updates

Warehouse Management 101: Process & Best Practices

The FBA storage capacity system on Amazon has recently been updated, and this update may have an impact on you.

In the past few years, Amazon has changed its FBA storage limits multiple times, leading to confusion and annoyance among sellers, who saw their inventory being restricted or decreased in some cases. The weekly restock limits and quarterly storage volume limits implemented by Amazon created further perplexity. However, as of March 1st, 2023, Amazon has eliminated the weekly restock and quarterly storage limits and has introduced a new system called FBA capacity limits, which encompasses a monthly capacity limit. Keep reading to discover more about Amazon’s newly simplified FBA capacity management system.

What are FBA capacity limits?

FBA capacity limits are a monthly constraint that dictates the quantity of inventory that sellers can ship and store at Amazon. This new system offers greater inventory capacity and control than the previous FBA inventory storage and restocking limits. These limits are established during the third week of each month, allowing sellers to plan for up to three months ahead with approximate capacity limits specific to each storage type in their account (e.g., standard size, oversize).

Your FBA capacity limits are heavily impacted by your IPI score in the Inventory Performance section of Seller Central. The higher your IPI score, the higher your capacity limits will be.

Who is subject to FBA capacity limits?

Amazon will not impose capacity restrictions on new professional sellers as the company hasn’t had the opportunity to evaluate its inventory performance yet. However, professional accounts that have been in operation for a minimum of 39 weeks will be subject to capacity limits.

How does this new streamlined FBA capacity management system work?

  • Sellers indicate a reservation fee for every cubic foot of supplementary storage capacity.
  • Amazon will objectively approve the request by beginning with the reservation fee with the highest value per cubic foot until all assigned capacity is provided.
  • Once Amazon grants extra capacity, sellers can offset their reservation fees by obtaining performance credits from the sales they generate using the additional capacity.

What if you need more storage space?

If you find that you require more space for your products or are introducing a new product and need additional room, you can ask for more capacity by paying a “reservation fee.” The reservation fee involves bidding against other sellers, and those with higher reservation fees will be given priority over those who bid lower. Once extra capacity is granted, a seller’s reservation fee can be offset by earning performance credits from the sales generated through the added capacity.

The aim of the performance credits is to compensate for up to 100% of the reservation fee, which means that sellers won’t have to pay reservation fees if their new inventory sells out. This emphasizes the importance of the sell-through rate once again.

How FBA capacity limits affect Amazon sellers

As a seasoned seller on Amazon, you must be aware that remaining vigilant is crucial while selling on this platform. This is because Amazon keeps updating and modifying its policies and functions, compelling sellers to adjust quickly.

However, in the case of this specific change, we believe it is a positive development, particularly when compared to past inventory storage changes. This is because it offers sellers a more transparent understanding of how much inventory they can send to Amazon per storage type. Moreover, Amazon has stated that this change will allow most sellers to enjoy increased capacity limits, which is a positive aspect.

Amazon will reward sellers with more storage capacity if they can sell their existing inventory quickly. However, if inventory remains unsold for an extended period, do not expect additional space. If you require more room for a new product launch or other items, you can bid for more storage capacity. However, we recommend doing so only if you are confident that the new inventory will sell, as Amazon will compensate you with performance credits that can offset the reservation fees.

The primary factors that have the most significant impact on your IPI score are:

  • Excess inventory: It is advisable to prevent the accumulation of stagnant inventory that remains unsold and incurs monthly storage charges.
  • Sell-through rate: It is desirable to keep this rate as high as possible. The sell-through rate is calculated by dividing the number of units sold and shipped in the last 90 days by the average number of units available in Amazon’s fulfillment centers.
  • In-stock rate: Amazon encourages sellers to maintain a stock of fast-selling items as much as possible.
  • Stranded inventory: Stranded inventory refers to the stock that is present in Amazon’s fulfillment centers but has no active offer for the product. It is recommended to maintain this percentage at 0.

Focus on your IPI score

A crucial lesson to take away is to concentrate on enhancing your IPI score, which is a significant factor. Amazon requires your score to be at least 400, and if it falls below that, you may anticipate a reduction in your capacity limits.

Amazon will display the top contributing factors and the elements that have a negative (and positive) influence on your score. Therefore, use this information to enhance your inventory performance.

Categories
News

Restock limit changes to prepare for the 2022 holiday season – US standard and apparel storage types

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

This just in from Amazon:

We want to ensure that we can receive, store, and fulfill products in a timely manner for all sellers using FBA. One of the ways we do this is through restock limits that enable all sellers to be able to send sufficient inventory to meet future customer demand.

As we prepare for the busy holiday season, those demand patterns naturally change. To ensure a successful holiday season, including accounting for seasonality and scheduled deals, we are updating our restock limits to allow all sellers to have at least four months of inventory in FBA. While all sellers using FBA will see their limits updated, this updated limit will currently restrict about 5% of sellers using FBA from being able to restock additional products due to their already having high levels of inventory.

Our records show that your current inventory levels (including open shipments) are within our projected four months of inventory limit, and so these limits should not have an impact on your current ability to restock products. As always, you can review your current restock limits and maximum shipment quantity on the Inventory Performance dashboard (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/inventory-performance/dashboard).

Your restock limits are determined by a range of factors, including seasonal and peak selling periods for your products, forecasts for your ASINs, the new selection you carry, deals you have scheduled and fulfillment center capacity. For more information on restock limits, go to Restock limits by storage type: Frequently asked questions (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/GUWWC8QVAF8TFVFR).

You can create more room for products within your limits by selling through your inventory, creating removal orders for products that are unlikely to sell, or canceling non-urgent shipments to fulfillment centers. For more recommendations, go to FBA Inventory (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/inventoryplanning/manageinventoryhealth).

We thank you for choosing to sell on Amazon and for all you do to provide an excellent experience for customers by maintaining healthy levels of inventory.

Categories
Uncategorized

New FBA fulfilment centre in Quebec

Starting November 5, 2021, Fulfilment by Amazon will begin storing seller inventory and fulfilling customer orders from their new fulfilment centre in Quebec. In compliance with Quebec provincial tax law, services performed in Quebec may be subject to both federal goods and services tax (GST) and Quebec sales tax (QST).

Canadian sales tax collected on your seller fees will be shown on each order transaction detail page and in the monthly seller fee invoice issued to your tax document library during the first 10 days of each month.

For general information regarding Canadian sales taxes on Amazon.ca seller fees, go to https://sellercentral.amazon.ca/gp/help/external/GA65GGD8MR46A2WL.

To manage your FBA settings, go to https://sellercentral.amazon.ca/gp/ssof/configuration/index.html.

For answers to frequently asked questions regarding the new fulfilment centre, go to https://sellercentral.amazon.ca/gp/help/external/G93N58TCUS6SERL8.

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Uncategorized

Tips to Grow Your Business and Engage Your Customers

Do you ever find yourself getting caught up in the day-to-day tasks of running a business? We all know that time is a finite resource, but are you spending it the right way? 

With all the emails, meetings, supplier issues, and urgent requests you face daily, it can be easy to forget what really matters: Looking after your customers to make sure they choose you every time and recommend your business to others. 

In this article, we’ll share ten tips on how to grow your company by saving time on the small stuff and focusing on your customers.

  1. Set up an automatic email system for your business so you can stay on top of customer emails without having to check them all manually. Few things give a worse first impression than not replying to emails, but they can really suck the time out of your day. This way, you can reply to emails quickly with minimal effort. 
  2. Use CRM (customer relationship management) software to manage the customer experience and keep track of what happens after they make a purchase. It takes a lot less effort and money to sell to an existing customer than having to find new ones, so make sure you keep them engaged.
  3. Hire a virtual assistant. They should be able to take care of any administrative tasks that need doing but don’t require your attention as a business owner, so it’s an easy way to free up your time. 
  4. Plan your week, month, and year in terms of your priorities. It can be easy to get stuck in the day-to-day management of your business and forget about the long term. Set some time aside once a week to go back to your vision for the business to make sure that you’re always driving it forward. 
  5. Take care of your clients’ needs first, then focus on other projects. When you’re planning your priorities, remember to focus on the customer experience and how you can serve them better. 
  6. Use a collaboration tool such as Trello to streamline the communication within your team. This will make sure everyone knows what to do when and keep you all on track. 
  7. Set up an LLC to save on taxes and paperwork. The cost to start an LLC in California is reasonable, and to make your life easier, you can use a formation service to take care of the details. Make sure you’re aware of the requirements for your state, as these can vary. 
  8. Look at any technical tasks you need to do in the coming months, such as web design, blog writing, graphic design, etc. See if it would be more time-efficient to outsource tasks to a freelancer instead of trying to get it done yourself. 
  9. Set up automatic payments for bills and subscriptions. This will save you time, and you can avoid late fees and take a significant weight off your mind. 
  10. Give yourself set times for checking email throughout the day instead of looking every few minutes. This is a huge time saver and will help keep your inbox organized, too! The same goes for social media. 

The only way to grow your business sustainably is by focusing on your customer base. We hope these tips will help you save time on administrative tasks so you can spend it converting new customers. Zonmaster allows your business to efficiently manage Amazon reviews and seller feedback. Start a free trial today!