Prime Day 2024 Seller Prep: Don't Wing It, Win It!

Mark your calendars, sellers! Prime Day 2024's official date is still under wraps, but historically, it falls like a blockbuster in July. Remember last year's epic two-day event (July 11th-12th)? Prime members gobbled up a staggering 375 million items on just the first day – that's an opportunity with a capital "O". Let's ensure your business is prepped to capitalize on this sales frenzy, not drown in its wake.

Set Your Goal For Prime Day 2024

Setting goals for Prime Day 2024 is crucial for focused efforts, motivation, and tracking progress. It ensures you allocate resources wisely, adapt to changes, and ultimately, achieve success. Ready to set your goals? Let's make this Prime Day your best one yet!

Before we dive into the details of Prime Day 2024 Seller Prep, here is an insightful reminder from Jason Landro.

Prime Day 2024 Seller Prep: 12+ Weeks Out (April-May)

• Inventory Analysis: Review past Prime Day sales data and project demand for your top sellers and promoted products. Utilize Amazon's Inventory Performance Index to gauge optimal stock levels.

In Seller Central, go to Inventory > (FBA) Dashboard

In this dashboard, you can see recommendations like which SKUs to restock, which SKUs qualify for Sponsored Product ads, which SKUs you may create a sale of and more.

IPI is a key metric that measures how well you manage your FBA inventory. A higher IPI score indicates better inventory management practices, which can lead to lower storage fees and better product availability for customers.?

Looking for other articles about effective inventory management? Read these articles: Effectively Manage Inventory For Fall Prime To Up Your Sales

Perform Efficient Amazon FBA Inventory Management To See Your Business Grow

• Send Your FBA Inventory On Time: Ensure that your FBA inventory reaches our fulfillment centers by June 20, 2024. It is advisable to ship in advance to account for any potential logistical, customs, or carrier-related challenges.

Restock limits are established for each storage category, relying on your historical and predicted sales, enabling you to distribute these limits among your ASINs. Restock limits can pose a problem, such as your best-selling SKU running out of stock during Prime Day 2024 and other special shopping events.

Here are some workarounds you can follow:

1. Duplicate SKUs, one for FBA and another for FBM. There are two ways to do this:
2. Set Your Replenishment Alerts. You’ll receive these notifications when inventory levels are low, so you can proactively restock. Here's how to set the alert:

In Restock Inventory Page , look for the product you want to receive an alert for and tick the box next to it.

Ticking the box will activate the drop-down menu above.

Choose weeks of coverage or unit counts for the alert threshold, then click “Save.”

• Product Listing Optimization: Enhance product detail pages with high-quality images, compelling descriptions, and relevant keywords to improve search ranking. This is a crucial practice whether there is an ongoing shopping event.

Here are some best practices to follow to optimize your product listings for Prime Day 2024:

1. Utilize all image slots: Use all seven image slots to showcase your product from various angles and contexts, including product and hero shots, as well as in-use and lifestyle shots.
2. Use Main Images optimized for CTR. Read our article, Improve CTR on Amazon with these Main Image Tactics .
3. Optimize Title, Bullet Points, and Product Description: Create a compelling title optimized for SEO. Use all five bullet points and maximize the character limits. Focus on SEO value by including keywords that weren't in the title.
4. Get Your Brand Store and A+ Content ready for Prime Day 2024. If your brand registry application is approved, be sure to create an A+ Content and brand story that will enhance the visual appeal and storytelling of your product. Consider adding a banner to your A+ and brand store to show shoppers that you are offering exciting Prime Day 2024 deals
5. Fill Back-end search terms: Fill out the back-end search terms in Seller Central to further optimize your listing for search.
6. Add Product Video: Add a video to your listing using Seller Central's inventory upload and management tools to bring your product to life and increase engagement.
7. Systematize the process: Create a checklist or spreadsheet to systematically check and update each listing against these optimization criteria to ensure consistency and maximize conversions.

Prime Day 2024 Seller Prep: 8-12 Weeks Out (May-June)

• Pricing Strategy: To prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2024, it's wise to have your coupons and pricing ready to activate before the event kicks off.

It's important to note that Prime Day typically results in a significant increase in sales. Therefore, we recommend setting your pricing in advance to take full advantage of this opportunity. Setting your pricing at least 30 days prior to Prime Day will help ensure that your offers remain competitive and attractive during the event.

Prime Day is a competitive period for all sellers on Amazon. Use this knowledge to your benefit by examining your competitors' strategies and pricing. Utilize the Amazon Brand Analytics tool to research the top-selling products, popular searches, and keywords from the previous year, 2023.

• Deal Creation: To be eligible for the Prime Day sale, create your deals by May 3, 2024. Ensure that your account has a rating of over 4 stars, and your product also has a rating of over 4 stars. You have the flexibility to create a Prime Exclusive Discount at any point before or during the sales event, as long as it meets the eligibility criteria for Prime Day.

When creating a deal, select eligible products from the "Select Products" tab of the Deals dashboard. This list is updated weekly.

During Prime Day, products with Prime Exclusive Discounts will display a badge to Prime members. To qualify for the badge, the Prime Exclusive Discount must meet specific criteria:

1. The discount must meet all eligibility criteria.
2. Sellers must have at least four seller feedback ratings. Sellers without any feedback ratings from buyers are also eligible.
3. The product must have a rating of at least four stars or no rating.
4. The product must have at least one review with an average rating of at least four stars.
5. The discount must be at least 20% off the non-member, non-promotional price (your price or sales price, whichever is lower).
6. The Prime Exclusive Discount price must be 15% lower than the reference price (List Price or Was Price). For more information, refer to Amazon's policy on reference prices and displaying a reference price for your products.
7. The Prime Exclusive Discount price must be at least 5% lower than the Was Price.
8. The Prime Exclusive Discounted price must beat the lowest price for the ASIN in the past 30 days. The lowest price in the last 30 days includes all deals, promotions, and sale prices across all sellers.

Learn more about setting Prime Day 2024 deals, read Prime Exclusive Discounts for Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days: A Guide for Sellers .

• Marketing Budget: When planning your marketing strategy for Prime Day, it's crucial to allocate a dedicated budget for your promotional efforts. This budget should encompass various aspects, including on-platform Amazon PPC Ads and external advertising channels, to maximize your reach and engagement with a broader audience.

Prime Day 2024 Seller Prep: 4-8 Weeks Out (June-July)

PPC Optimization: Fine-tune your PPC campaigns targeting Prime Day relevant keywords and increase budgets for high-performing terms. Leverage tools like Amazon Advertising Console. Check out this Prime Day PPC Tips from Hannah Whitlock.

• External Marketing Ramp Up: Launch external marketing campaigns promoting your Prime Day deals across social media, email marketing, and influencer partnerships (if applicable).
• Customer Service Prep: To prepare your customer service team for Prime Day, follow these best practices:

1. Staffing: Ensure you have enough customer service representatives scheduled to handle the expected increase in inquiries. Consider extending hours or adding temporary staff if needed.
2. Training: Provide training to your customer service team on how to handle common Prime Day inquiries, such as questions about deals, shipping times, and returns.
3. FAQs and Scripts: Prepare FAQs and scripts for your customer service team to use when responding to inquiries. This will help ensure consistent and accurate responses.
4. Response Time: Aim to respond to customer inquiries promptly, especially during Prime Day. Set a goal for response times and monitor performance closely.
5. Escalation Plan: Have a clear escalation plan in place for handling more complex customer issues. Ensure that all team members are aware of the process.
6. Feedback Loop: Encourage your customer service team to provide feedback on customer inquiries and issues. Use this feedback to improve processes and address common concerns.
7. Post-Prime Day Support: Be prepared to continue providing support after Prime Day, as customers may have questions or issues that arise after the event.

Prime Day 2024 Seller Prep: 1-4 Weeks Out (July)

• Final Deal Review: Double-check all Prime Day deals for accuracy and ensure they're scheduled to go live at the designated times.
• Inventory Monitoring: Closely monitor inventory levels and prepare to react quickly if stock runs low. Consider having backup inventory readily available.
• Team Communication: Emphasize clear communication within your team regarding Prime Day operations, customer service protocols, and potential challenges.

Prime Day & Post-Event (July)

• Review Performance: Analyze your sales data from Prime Day to identify trends and areas for improvement.
• Inventory Replenishment: Restock popular items and adjust inventory levels based on Prime Day sales performance.
• Customer Feedback: Monitor customer reviews and feedback to address any issues and improve your products or services.
• Marketing Analysis: Evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns during Prime Day and adjust your strategy accordingly.
• Competitor Analysis: Assess your competitors' strategies and performance during Prime Day to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Financial Review: Review your financials to understand the impact of Prime Day on your overall business performance.
• Plan for Future Events: Use the insights gained from Prime Day to plan for future sales events and promotions.

What To Do With Unsold Items

• Adjust Pricing: Consider lowering prices to make unsold items more attractive.
• Promotions: Offer promotions or discounts to boost sales.
• Bundles: Create bundle deals to sell unsold items with popular products.
• Flash Sales: Host limited-time sales to create urgency.
• Cross-Promotion: Promote unsold items alongside other products.
• Remarketing: Target customers who showed interest but didn't buy.
• Clearance: Sell unsold items at a discount to clear inventory.
• Donate or Liquidate: Consider donating or liquidating unsold items.

Prime Day 2024 Seller Prep: Additional Tips

Here are some uncommon strategies for sellers to consider in preparation for Amazon Prime Day 2024:

Pre-Prime Day Buzz Building:

• Run Pre-Prime Day Contests and Giveaways: Fuel excitement by hosting social media contests or giveaways centered around your Prime Day deals. Offer exclusive early access to contest winners, drumming up interest and collecting valuable leads.
• Partner with Influencers for Targeted Marketing: Identify micro-influencers relevant to your niche and collaborate on Prime Day promotions. Leverage their established audience to reach new customers who might not be actively searching for your products.
• Prime Day Themed Blog Posts or Videos: Create engaging blog posts or YouTube videos highlighting "Prime Day Essentials" within your product category. Offer valuable buying guides or product comparisons to position yourself as a trusted resource and attract organic traffic.

Unique Deal Structures:

• Bundle Deals with Complementary Products: Offer discounted bundle deals featuring your main product alongside complementary items. This strategy can increase order values and expose customers to new products they might need.
• Flash Sales During Non-Peak Hours: Consider running surprise flash sales during off-peak Prime Day hours (late at night or early morning) to capture interest from night owls or early risers. This can generate additional sales while competition is potentially lower.

Don't Miss Out on Prime Day Gold!

Prime Day 2024 can be your Amazon business's defining moment. By implementing these battle-tested strategies and staying ahead of the curve, you'll be well-positioned to dominate the sales charts and turn Prime Day into a profit paradise.

But wait, there's more! We'd love to hear from you. What are some additional tips and insights you've gleaned from your own Prime Day experiences? Share your wisdom in the comments below!

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