4 Must-Haves for Brand Control on Amazon
In 2023, experts predict that Amazon will make upwards of $746 billion in retail ecommerce sales, presenting a huge opportunity for brands and distributors to get their products in front of consumers online.
As sales on Amazon grow, leaky distribution, unauthorized sellers, gray market sellers, and non-conforming authorized distributors can threaten your brand. Without the right safeguards in place to control your representation, you could suffer from things like losing the Buy Box, price erosion, and the Profitability Death Spiral.
As one of Amazon’s top sellers, Pattern knows how important brand control is on the marketplace. We are committed to following brand partners’ MAP policies, adhering to distribution best practices, and protecting brand image through proper representation on product listings. Read below for 4 safeguards brands should have in place for proper brand control on Amazon.
1. Solid Legal Foundation
If you need to clean up your distribution channels, communicate with unauthorized and gray market sellers, and fix issues with your authorized distributors, you won’t be successful in doing so without a solid legal foundation in place first.
Partnering with eControl experts gives you the information and authority to swiftly solve brand control issues. They can help you figure out who sellers really are behind their storefronts and investigate how those sellers are getting your products. And, their guidance is essential as you develop go forward distribution, vendor, and retailer agreements.
2. Data and Insights
Once you’ve established a great legal foundation, you’ll need to be able to monitor your brand’s presence on Amazon. It’s important to have accurate, detailed insights to help you make enforcement decisions. It’s essential to know when new listings are created that compete with yours and understand if sellers are giving consumers accurate images and information about your products. To be most effective in cleaning up your distribution channels and regaining brand control, you need to be able to figure out which sellers are causing the biggest issues and focus your time, resources, and energy there first.
3. Enforce Reseller Policy
Reseller policy enforcement is crucial when you’re working with 3P sellers on Amazon. In ecommerce, we often see problems with distributors either intentionally or inadvertently going against reseller policies. Things like not following product return guidelines or making unapproved pricing adjustments cause major problems for brands on Amazon, and brands need to be able to enforce their reseller agreements to maintain control.
4. Brand Protection
Like many other marketplaces, Amazon is subject to things like fraudulent products, inaccurate imaging and descriptions, and damaged goods. And, as a result, brands and consumers suffer. By partnering with a multi-faceted ecommerce expert like Pattern, brands can develop safeguards to protect the integrity of their products’ representation. A trusted 3P partner can help brands manage their listings, and, ultimately, ward off Amazon suspension as a result of others’ actions.
Once you have our suggested safeguards in place, you should be able to effectively eliminate your unauthorized selling activity. And if all four guidelines remain in place, you’ll be prepared to maintain control of your Amazon presence as issues pop up in the future.
Improve Amazon Performance With Pattern
As the world’s foremost ecommerce expert, Pattern has the technology and data to help brands improve their presence on marketplaces like Amazon. We’re committed to following distribution agreements, honoring our brand partners’ MAP policies, and providing expert insights and data to help brands succeed on Amazon once they’ve gained brand control.
Get in touch to find out how we can help you win on Amazon.