Launching a Direct-to-Consumer Site Early

In this episode, host Josh interviews Steven Yates, CEO of Prime Guidance, about strategies for scaling e-commerce brands. Steve emphasizes optimizing Amazon listings and leveraging all available tools before expanding to other marketplaces like Walmart or eBay. He discusses the importance of having a direct-to-consumer website, maximizing Amazon advertising, and using analytics tools to track performance. Steve provides actionable advice on when and how to diversify sales channels, ensuring brands grow efficiently and profitably while building a strong foundation on Amazon first.

Chapters:

Introduction to Steven Yates and Prime Guidance (00:00:00)
Josh introduces Steven Yates, his background, and expertise in retail management and e-commerce.

When to Expand Beyond Amazon (00:00:48)
Discussion on timing and considerations for expanding to other marketplaces like Walmart, eBay, Wayfair, and international markets.

Sales Lift Estimates from Other Marketplaces (00:01:28)
Steve provides rough estimates of sales lift from Walmart, eBay, and other channels compared to Amazon.

Importance of Optimizing Amazon Before Expanding (00:01:39)
Emphasis on being 80-90% optimized on Amazon before moving to other marketplaces.

Choosing the Right Next Marketplace (00:03:32)
Advice on analyzing where your customers are and not following a cookie-cutter approach to expansion.

Launching a DTC E-commerce Website (00:04:04)
Discussion on when and why to launch a direct-to-consumer website alongside Amazon.

Benefits of Having a DTC Website (00:04:38)
Steve explains the strategic advantages of having your own e-commerce site for brand building and customer retention.

Capturing and Nurturing Website Visitors (00:05:46)
Tactics for capturing emails and engaging visitors who land on your DTC website.

Key Levers to Pull on Amazon (00:06:21)
Josh asks for a list of actionable levers to increase sales and grow a brand on Amazon.

Detailed Breakdown of Amazon Optimization Levers (00:06:33)
Steve details optimization tactics: product pages, infographics, A+ content, pricing, assortment, advertising, and Amazon programs.

Amazon Advertising and External Traffic Strategies (00:08:05)
Discussion on types of Amazon ads, external traffic, and leveraging Amazon’s Brand Referral Bonus.

Utilizing Amazon Programs and Betas (00:09:11)
Overview of Amazon programs like FBA Small and Lite, brand store, Amazon posts, and customer engagement emails.

Order of Operations for Optimization and Traffic (00:10:31)
Advice on optimizing for Amazon’s algorithm and conversion before scaling advertising and traffic.

Three Actionable Takeaways for Brands (00:11:21)
Josh summarizes three key takeaways: maximize Amazon levers, focus on Amazon traffic, then expand to other channels.

Tools for Tracking Amazon Metrics (00:13:40)
Discussion on aggregating and analyzing Amazon data using third-party tools and Excel.

Brand Analytics and Bonus Tool Recommendation (00:14:59)
Steve recommends using Amazon Brand Analytics and nozzle.ai for tracking repeat purchases and customer lifetime value.

Where to Learn More About Prime Guidance (00:16:21)
Steve shares how listeners can contact or follow Prime Guidance for further help.

Links and Mentions:

Tools and Websites 
Prime Guidance 
Shopify
WooCommerce
Amazon Attribution Program 
Amazon Posts 
Helium 10
Nozzle AI  

Transcript:

Josh 00:00:00  Today, I'm excited to introduce you to Steve Yates. He is the CEO and founder of Prime Guidance. Steve developed well-rounded expertise working for multi-billion dollar fortune 500 retailers such as Amazon, Dick's Sporting Goods and eBay enterprise prior to founding Prime guidance in all industry consulting. With 30 years experience in retail management and 23 years experience in e-commerce. Steve and his team provide companies with strategic advice and innovative solutions that are based on real life experience working for industry leading retailers. He helps companies grow faster, smarter and more profitably by providing advice, mentoring and coaching for today's busy executives. So welcome to the podcast, Steve.

Steven 00:00:46  Thank you. Josh. Thanks for having me.

Josh 00:00:48  One of the first questions I want to ask, just kind of selfishly for myself, because we're looking to expand onto different channels right now with our business. We've grown to eight figures just on Amazon alone. But we're we are looking to, you know, is it time to explore or double down more on Walmart eBay, Wayfair? Do we try to get into target? Do we go international right and start shipping stuff into Canada, Mexico, the UK, etc.? So my question to you here, Steve, is what kind of sales lift do you see from those different marketplaces? Right.

Josh 00:01:28  Like what do you estimate as hey you go to Walmart it best case scenario, you're probably looking at a 10% lift eBay. Maybe it's a 2%, you know, so on and so forth.

Steven 00:01:39  Yeah. So it's a very tricky question because I've seen it wildly different. So interesting. I had to if I had to, to put a rough assumption across a lot of different categories and product lines, I would say Walmart is the very next marketplace you're going to want to focus on outside of Amazon. And by the way, don't do it until you're what I like to say 80 to 90% optimized on Amazon. Don't spend your time on these smaller marketplaces, because that's oftentimes the shiny object that gets you in trouble when you're doing a whole bunch of different things, you're not doing any of them well. You've got to you've got to be really well positioned on Amazon. And when I say 80 to 90%, I don't mean of your total opportunity for growth. But if you've identified all these levers you need to pull on Amazon, you need to have a good storefront.

Steven 00:02:26  You need to have A+ content. I need to have all of these different components pulled together. Do you feel good about how well optimized they are, and are they in place 80 to 90% of where they should be before you, you know, start migrating to another marketplace? Because if you don't, you're essentially lifting and shifting a catalog that's not optimized to another marketplace. And now all of your optimization efforts are going to be that much harder because you're doing full optimizations across a whole bunch of marketplaces. That's a that's always a risk. I would say Walmart is probably, in the number of 10 to 20% of the Amazon business, and eBay is probably the neighborhood of 10%, maybe 5 to 10% of the, of the Amazon business. but it really does differ quite a bit. I've seen some I've seen some people that actually sell more on Etsy than they do on Amazon because their product is sold out after on that website. I've seen people that do phenomenal on eBay, even though eBay is, you know, not not growing.

Steven 00:03:32  It's. Yeah, it's it just so happens that their customers there and that's why I go goes back to, analyzing where your customers spend their time and money and make sure you're present there, do it in the right order. But ultimately make sure you're you're present there. And where you go next is not a cookie cutter answer just because everybody else goes to this next Walmart, you know, Walmart next or eBay after that or whatever, doesn't mean that's...