AndMakers Chief Revenue Officer Lily Chan recently spoke with David Denenberg, eCommerce exec and former Merchandising VP of Bed Bath and Beyond, on how you can effectively earn great visibility for your products. Check out this video interview or read on for major takeaways from Lily and David’s interview.
Buy Keywords
Do some research and see what keywords the top-selling products in your category are advertising on, then look at add modifiers relevant to your product. This goes for any platform with the keyword-based option (Google Shopping, Amazon, etc.). There’s no need to make more work for yourself when someone else has done it for you.
Rank on Retailer Sites
Rankings on a retailer’s site play a huge role in the visibility of your products, but the science behind the rankings is a little murky. No one really knows exactly how the back-end algorithm works for each platform, but we can make some good guesses on ranking factors.
Let’s start with a leading factor: top sellers, which frequently populate the best real estate on retail sites. That leads to an obvious follow-up question: what about new products? How can they compete when they have no purchase record? David notes that retailers love to introduce new products to their customers to show “freshness.” If you have new products you’re particularly excited about, go the extra mile – videos, advance testimonials – to merchandise the product out of the gate.
Lastly, David pointed out the importance of product reviews. Customers love to see what others have to say about your product(s). Customer reviews are very powerful in reassuring potential online buyers who can’t look at or feel the product in person; lots of good reviews will give users confidence in what they are buying.
Expedite Your Onboarding
So, how can you make a smooth entrance into a retailer’s site? David’s “secret sauce” points to data. Retailers want to know the specifications and copy of your product(s), and having that information readily available and perfectly accurate can help speed up the process. Providing consistently timely, comprehensive copy, data, and images is a great way to build a good rapport with the retailer. Learn more about the top retailer’s requirements.
Practice Product Marketing
One of the basics in retail is to collect data that shows which products are selling well. Make this data even more useful by pushing your top-selling products on social media. Platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook offer vast potential reach, particularly if you put some budget behind advertising and take full advantage of targeting options like demographics, interests, geo, and more. In the interview, David also dives in on co-op marketing options in which your marketing efforts can be enhanced by working closely with retailers to create an effective marketing campaign strategy.
Build Your Network
Last but definitely not least, build your network. In any industry, who you know goes a long way. Reach out and engage with industry leaders and retailers. Retailers are always looking for the next great product, and it’ll be harder to get noticed if you don’t take the initiative to make connections and build trust. Networks can have a profound ripple effect. One relationship can turn into an opportunity to become a part of some of the industry’s major sub-segments.
