Goat Consulting News & Insights
This is the Goat Consulting news and insights section of the blog, where our team shares company updates, awards, conference recaps, and perspective on the Amazon selling industry. You'll find announcements about new hires and team milestones, recaps from industry events like Amazon Accelerate and Prosper Show, leadership commentary on Amazon policy and platform changes, and occasional analysis of what we're seeing across our client work.
Every post is written by a member of the Goat Consulting team, so the takes here reflect how practicing Amazon consultants actually think about the work. If you want to know more about the people behind the posts, you can meet the team and learn about the practitioners leading our Amazon consulting practice.
Amazon Brand Referral Bonus
Amazon Brand Referral Bonus program can be helpful for Amazon sellers who are driving external traffic. Previously if you had a large audience on your website, email list, or social media it could be difficult to measure the success of your advertising campaigns that were sending external traffic. This program provides an incentive to all brand-registered sellers to drive external traffic to Amazon. If all of your traffic is from within Amazon, this program will not be relevant to your business. Below we will cover what the Amazon brand bonus is, how to use it, who is qualified and what companies it may be helpful for.
Amazon Marketing Tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Black Friday is an important day for any business. Historically, deals were only offered one day in-store, not online. In recent years, stores have begun to roll out their sales early and offer deals online. In 2020, 100 million people shopped online on Black Friday, looking for the best sales(Source). Amazon is the #1 retailer in the US, making Black Friday and Cyber Monday very important days for the company.
Email Customers with Amazon’s Manage Your Customer Engagement tool
Brand Registered sellers now have the ability to access the Manage Your Customer Engagement tool on Amazon Seller Central. Amazon has this informative video announcing the tool. The customer engagement tool lets Brands engage with their Amazon followers over email. This can help drive brand loyalty, retention, and engagement with Amazon customers.
New Amazon Seller Products and Services Announced at Amazon Accelerate 2021
Amazon just concluded the 2021 Amazon Accelerate event where new Amazon seller products and services were announced. This free virtual event provides an update on where Amazon is at and the vision for the future through sessions on topics for sellers on Amazon to utilize best practices as well as new product and service announcements. This post will provide a recap of some of the areas we are excited about as they will help sellers on Amazon increase sales, mitigate risk, reduce costs, and provide a better shopping experience for Amazon customers.
Requirements to Sell on Amazon and List a New Product on Amazon
In this post we will cover the requirements to sell and list a new product on Amazon. . Amazon has become more specific overtime to what they need from you to get started on Amazon. We see this as a good thing as more strict account creation requirements that are in place will create a safer marketplace for Amazon customers from bad actors. Whether you are a 50 year old company that has sold through other channels in the past and this is your first time on Amazon or you are a brand new startup, we are here to help clarify what is required to create a Seller Central account and get your first product listed on Amazon’s marketplace.
How to Create an Amazon Merchant Shipping Template
The goal of this post is to help third-party sellers understand how to create an Amazon Merchant Shipping Template. The past year has not only disrupted the way customers shop and purchase their goods, but also has changed the way that manufacturers and brand owners deliver goods to their customers. The most successful merchants on Amazon are leveraging a combination of Amazon’s Fulfillment By Amazon Program (FBA) and Seller/Merchant Fulfillment to deliver their orders. Whether you have historically used FBA and are creating your first Merchant Shipping Template, or you are an experienced Seller Central merchant shipper, the purpose of this blog post is to help you understand the basic requirements and best practices used when creating Merchant Shipping Templates.
Amazon Appeal - How to Write an Effective Amazon Appeal to Reinstate Product Listing
The purpose of this blog post is to share how to write an effective Amazon appeal to reinstate a product listing or account suspension. As an Amazon seller, it can be devastating for your business for a product listing to be removed from the Amazon marketplace or you receive an account suspension, as you cannot generate any sales. At Goat Consulting, we help brands and manufactures understand and navigate Amazon policies to proactively address any potential issues. If a listing is removed, we understand the appropriate actions to reinstate an Amazon listing or account suspension that satisfies Amazon’s requirements for selling, inform clients of the requirements, and ultimately create a better shopping experience for Amazon customers. As each product and category is different, we recommend you take some time to review Amazon’s policies to understand the exact use and application that fits your situation.
Most Important Attributes to Help Hire an Amazon Account Manager
An Amazon account manager is a position that allows your Amazon account to run smoothly on a day-to-day basis. An Amazon account manager is there not only to keep on top of new policy changes but also there to guide your business during its growth phase through Amazon Advertising. Since your future account manager may be running an entire online division of your company, you will want to make sure you hire the right person or agency.
Amazon Notification of Restricted Products Removal
This post is about what to do when you as an Amazon seller receive an Amazon Notification of Restricted Products Removal. You could be selling on Amazon with no issues for months and years when all of a sudden you receive an email with the subject line “Notification of Restricted Products Removal”, where Amazon is telling you that your product has been removed from Amazon’s site and is no longer available for sale. At Goat Consulting, we help clients mitigate these restricted product risks and help resolve account health issues when they arise. Here we outline what an Amazon Notification of Restricted Products Removal is, how to know you have received a restricted products removal, and steps to reinstate your product listing.
How to Get Product Reviews on Amazon
This post discusses how to get product reviews on Amazon. We outline the options, guidelines, and best practices related to getting product reviews as a Seller on Amazon. Reviews provide social proof and information about the product. They allow Amazon customers to see from other Amazon customers the experience of the product. Higher ratings and more reviews can provide an indication that many other buyers have had a positive experience with the product.