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How to Sell More Amazon Products 

Through Differentiation

By Karon Thackston

A little over a year ago, I met Chris Guthrie online. “Keen” doesn’t even begin to describe the level of common-sense smarts Chris has when it comes to successful Amazon sales. The fact that he created the AmaSuite collection of seller tools (and made it available to the public) so others can follow in his footsteps only goes to show the standard by which he lives. I’m excited to have Chris back as a guest on the Marketing Words blog and I know you’ll be enlightened by what he’ll share today.

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One major mistake new Amazon sellers make is creating a “me too” product.

What does this mean? It’s defined as creating a product that’s exactly like the competition but doesn’t add any extra value. These sellers forgo differentiating their products and simply ask the manufacturer to add a new label. This is not the way to build a great sellable brand.

With just four steps, I’d like to outline how to differentiate your product with a methodology I’ve applied from the beginning of my Amazon sales career … successfully!

Step 1: Find What’s Working

The best way to see what’s working well is to look at the Best Sellers category for a product. Take note of the product images and you’ll quickly see what’s drawing people in.

If we look at the six best sellers for “grill brushes” (aka BBQ brushes), here’s what we see:

● Most of the top sellers have thick bristles with multiple rows.
● A lot of the titles say “18 inches.”
● Every listing except one has 5 bullet points.

Step 2: See What’s Not Working

Reviews are and will continue to be a goldmine. It’s the best opportunity for finding what people like and dislike about a product in their own words.

The BBQ brushes in the first, third, and fourth positions look quite similar and would be a perfect example of applying differentiation through analyzing reviews. They’ve all got thick bristles, are 18 inches long, and — best of all — there are 2,896 reviews for us to look at.

Yes, that’s a lot of reviews and certainly a healthy amount of time. But it’s the upfront work you’ll need to get moving in the right direction.

Flaw #1: Bristles end up in food

Flaw # 2: Bristles not long or wide enough for infrared BBQs

Flaw #3: Handle breaks easily

This just goes to show that no matter how well a product is selling, you can always find improvements to meet demand.

Next, we need to understand which is the most important differentiation to pursue because that naturally leads us into our ideal BBQ fanatic.

Step 3: Aggregate Your Findings

As you look through the reviews, you’ll start to see very clear buckets. Your picture of a disgruntled customer will take shape and it’ll start to become very clear which problem you should attack first.

In our case, BBQ brush bristles falling off is a major problem and has the chance of causing major health problems — none of which we want to be responsible for. So now it’s time to unleash a bit of creativity into your own findings…

Ask yourself this question:

What is one thing I can change to this product that would make this product better?

Often, with physical products, it can be as simple as the material, packaging, or dimensions. Think of the smallest leverage point to allow the biggest impact for your customer — and your business.

Once you’ve answered that question and determined which modification is the most important to your product, you’ll need to find a manufacturer. More specifically, one that’s already producing BBQ brushes similar to what we’re looking for.

If you haven’t done this before, you’ll need to follow a few guidelines so you know what you’re talking about.

Step 4: Find Your Manufacturer (Remember to Be VERY Specific)

Finding the right supplier to source your product from is an entirely separate conversation, but typically you can find a supplier via Alibaba.com if you’re just starting out. The key is to make sure the supplier you work with is receptive to making changes to the product for you so that you can release something that is truly differentiated.

A few things before we go:

When you contact the supplier, be as descriptive as possible about what you’re looking for. This includes the size of the pallet, order quantity and, of course, your modifications. Try to communicate as many as possible.

Many of the strategies I use to produce a differentiated product can take a lot of time, but that’s the reason why I built AmaSuite. One of the software tools available inside AmaSuite helps you analyze every review for a single product and look for frequent combinations of the same words. With this information you can quickly determine some of the commonest complaints customers have about a product, as well as what people like the most.

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