Maximizing Your Amazon Presence for the U.S. Market

In the ever-evolving world of e-commerce, the allure of Amazon has drawn countless foreign brands to the U.S. market. Amazon is an unparalleled force in retail—now the #1 place U.S. consumers go to search for brands. Across demographics and psychographics, consumers increasingly turn to Amazon for everything from daily essentials to niche luxury items, often making purchases online more than once a week (if not more than once a day!).

As such, international companies should not ignore the opportunity to reach their target consumers there. However, simply listing your products on Amazon isn’t enough to guarantee success.

As a branding, design, and marketing agency, we’ve helped foreign brands establish effective and engaging Amazon strategies, offering insights into how they can thrive in the world’s most competitive online marketplace.

To truly maximize your presence, here are key strategies to consider:

1. Optimize Your Product Listings

Your product listings are the first impression you make on potential buyers. Ensure they are optimized for Amazon’s search algorithms and shopper engagement by incorporating keywords commonly used by your target audience in their online searches. This will help consumers find your brand and help you rise in the search rankings. (Just keep in mind, it’s important to use these keywords in natural, relevant ways to avoid “keyword stuffing,” a mistake that can harm your brand’s findability.)

Focus on these elements in your product listing:

• Titles: Use clear, descriptive titles with relevant keywords. When crafting these, we recommend keeping your target consumer front of mind. What might they search for? For instance, when developing the product listing for Florax, a liquid probiotic from Brazil, we knew women were the primary buyers in this category, so we incorporated “gut health for women” into the title.

• Bullet Points and Descriptions: Highlight key features, benefits, and unique selling propositions. This is where you spotlight points of difference that your target audience cares about or connects with. Keep these bullet points concise and straight-forward for easy reading, and incorporate relevant keywords naturally. It’s OK to use your brand voice here to keep your identity consistent across the page, but let the message, not the tone, be the primary factor.

• Images: High-quality images are crucial here, as they help create trust in your brand. Use multiple angles and lifestyle shots to give consumers a comprehensive view of your product. This is also an area to visually communicate your points of difference and important product information in a branded way that the audience can engage with.

2. Adapt your brand positioning

We like to say that your Amazon store and product pages act as a mini brand website, offering an opportunity for your consumer to engage with your brand, gain familiarity with your story, and learn more about what sets your brand apart. We take elements of your brand’s strategy—brand messaging, product benefits, visual appeal—and translate them into a compelling Amazon page that inspires sales, informs customers, and provides clear reasons to purchase.

Focus on these opportunities within your Amazon footprint:

• Brand Store: This space essentially serves as a landing page for your brand, giving you the real estate to make your positioning come alive and to convey a compelling brand story that resonates with your target audience. Strong positioning and strategic visual elements capture consumer attention, building trust and driving engagement within the crowded Amazon marketplace.

Consider your consumer’s “journey” through this brand page—how do you introduce your brand and, importantly, what calls to action should prompt them to take the next step in their “path to purchase?” By helping your consumer along this guided brand path, you make it that much easier for them to reach that point of purchase.

• A+ Content: A+ content gives you the opportunity to show off your brand positioning on your product pages (which otherwise are strictly formatted by Amazon). This is the perfect space to educate your consumer on your points of difference or address unmet needs.

When designing Florax’s A+ content, we first mined their customer reviews and discovered there was some confusion about the product flavors and consumer expectations vs. realities of taste. To address this, we created an educational and interactive tool called “Find your Florax,” in which we explained the flavor profiles of each product. Consumers are encouraged to find their best flavor match, educating them on the product while also inviting them to engage with the brand visuals and positioning. This kind of engagement can deepen a consumer’s connection with your brand and establish ongoing loyalty.

3. Develop a marketing strategy with Amazon’s tools

Compared to a brand’s average marketing ROI, Amazon advertising has a 20% higher ROI.  Amazon offers various advertising options which make it easy to coordinate your marketing efforts in one place, including Vine, Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display ads. These can help boost your visibility and drive targeted traffic to your listings.

Start with a well-defined marketing budget, and be sure to stick to it. From there, monitor your performance daily using Amazon’s built-in analytics tools to track your sales performance, ad spend, and customer behavior, and then adjust your strategy based on what drives the best results. This data-driven approach allows you to make informed decisions and optimize your strategy as your brand presence grows online.

Maximizing your Amazon presence in the U.S. market requires a blend of optimization, cohesive branding, strategic advertising, and ongoing management. By refining your listings, leveraging Amazon’s tools, and sticking to your foundational brand strategy, you can enhance your visibility, grow your consumer base, and ultimately drive sales.

Whether you’re looking to launch your brand on Amazon or improve your search and sales results, a cohesive, omnichannel, consumer-centric strategy on Amazon can be a game-changer for your brand’s success in the U.S. market.

Interested in learning more about getting your brand ready to compete on Amazon in the U.S.? Contact Provisor at jmcpeek@provisormarketing.com.

Disclaimer: When optimizing your Amazon presence in the US don’t forget that selling via Amazon can create tax obligations for your company. Both when you’re selling with your foreign entity via Amazon in the US or with a local US entity. When you’re using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon is warehousing your product in multiple warehouses across the US which can cause tax obligations for your company. If you’re unsure about whether your company has to register and file for sales tax in the US, please don’t hesitate to contact bizdev@tabsinc.com to schedule a sales tax assessment for your company with one of TABS’ sales tax specialists.