eBook Chapter 6: Data Analytics and Reporting to Measure Progress

Use Data Analytics And Reporting To Measure Progress

Marketing and sales effort must always be followed by reviewing activity, analysing data, identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities - and adjusting the strategy.

Amazon has made three reports available to Vendors that reflect brand and product performance.

Vendor Reports

Brand Analytics

Operational Performance

Concessions Dashboard

Financial scorecard

Understanding the Amazon Vendor reports

Brand Analytics

The Sales Dashboard feeds you the data for your brand's KPIs and is the top-level means of judging monthly, quarterly and yearly performance. From here, you can measure revenue, unit and ASIN sales, conversion rates, top sellers, and underperformers.

Looking at this together with the data from Campaigns you can measure your overall performance and understand how your customer base is changing and where they draw value from your brand.

“Key data that will help you make strategic decisions.”

Other helpful data sets under brand analytics include sales trends over time, geographical sales insights, and projected sell-out.

There are also ways to monitor customer retention and see how often your product is being compared with best sellers by customers.

Operational Performance

From this dashboard, you can record how Amazon evaluates your POs delivery and fulfilment performance. Amazon represents your weekly failure to meet expectations in a compound bar graph.

Each metric has a maximum allowed default percentage - anything above that is unacceptable. Keep this rate high consistently, and the chargebacks can become significant.

To help you, Amazon provides performance insights and tips that can be used to lower this defect rate and keep your account healthy.

Concessions Dashboard

This page represents a defect in your sales, fulfilment, or delivery processes. It includes all refunds and replacements issued to a customer.

Concessions can be a strong indicator of customer dissatisfaction and could point to areas your brand needs to improve. Learn why people are returning items and how you can adapt or fix listings to prevent this.

Using Data to Improve Product Offerings and Advertising on Amazon

This page represents a defect in your sales, fulfilment, or delivery processes. It includes all refunds and replacements issued to a customer.

Concessions can be a strong indicator of customer dissatisfaction and could point to areas your brand needs to improve. Learn why people are returning items and how you can adapt or fix listings to prevent this.

Expand your reach with Prime Day and Black Friday

Prime Day and Black Friday are two of the biggest shopping days on Amazon. These days have the potential to greatly expand your reach and place your products in front of more shoppers. Prime Day and Black Friday are built on the premise of discounts and special offers - they allow customers to shop at lower prices, receive free shipping, buy more for less, and try new brands and products. These shopping days allow brands to boost sales and gain new customers.

Participating in Prime Day and Black Friday should be linked to planning your Amazon sales for the year. To fully participate, ensure that you've forecasted an increase in product demand and planned for product shipments to Amazon. You'll also need to increase your advertising budget and prepare your advertising campaigns for the lead-up to these shopping events.

One of the biggest benefits of Prime Day and Black Friday for Vendors is the halo effect: increased sales in the following weeks and a boost in Best Seller Rank (BSR).

Preparing for Prime Day and Black Friday

• Advertise.

• Prepare ads for Prime Day.

• Increase your budget and your bids.

• Begin advertising before the event.

• Maximise your Inventory - B2R.

• Plan for 'unforeseen' shipments.

• Audit your Best-Sellers Page Content.

• Answer customers' questions.

• Address customer feedback in content.

• Run promotions.

Use Shopping Events to Improve Advertising and Logistics

Prime Day and Black Friday are major events for Amazon customers and days that can significantly increase the demand for your products throughout the year.

Utilise these events to improve your ordering processes, logistical issues, product detail page optimisation, advertising efforts and budgets.

Conclusion

Selling your products through Amazon's Vendor programme may pose challenges in control over pricing, discounts and demand for your products. However, when you have a marketing and advertising strategy that uses Amazon's Vendor tools to their total capacity, you can reach new customers, build brand recognition and drive the demand for your products.

A successful Amazon Vendor strategy should include every tool mentioned in this e-book to maximise your return from this shopping channel and inform your overall e-commerce efforts.