There are some brands out there that may think Prime Day is all hype. As the CEO of Volcanica Coffee, I promise you that’s not the case. In 2022, Prime Day increased our sales by a staggering 52 percent vs. the previous year and we’re optimistic for the upcoming event on July 11-12.
If done right, Prime Day functions like a summertime Black Friday, with customers flocking to the site and picking up everything they can in 48 hours. It’s the kind of mid-year boost that can have a huge impact on the success of a brand.
And while we’re confident about 2023, it took a lot of work to get here. We’ve learned from our mistakes with our Prime Day strategies. Here are seven strategies we recommend to help make Prime Day a success:
1. Polish up your product listings.
There are a lot of companies vying for attention on Prime Day, so you need to make sure you look your best: confirm your product photos are well-lit and hi-res; make sure the descriptions are accurate and free of typos; and go over the titles to make sure they’ll catch someone’s eye. Also:
- use bullet points and short, simple sentences;
- remember whom you’re appealing to and make sure you use the language they understand, not jargon or technical terms; and
- add even more photos — customers like to get a true sense of what they’re buying so let them see it from as many different angles as you can while also giving a sense of how much space it will take up in their home.
2. Don’t skimp on inventory.
Success during Prime Day can be a net negative for those that aren’t ready. If you sell out quickly, don’t expect consumers to be patient for more stock to come in or wait to buy your products after the event is over. Having a lot of products on hand is one of the factors that leads Amazon to push your brand towards the top of its rankings. Therefore, to get that extra boost and to prevent shoppers from picking an alternate product, make sure you stock up.
3. Offer some pre-Prime deals.
You don’t have to wait for Prime Day to start offering deals; if you can increase your sales before Prime Day, you’ll see the Amazon algorithm reward you with a higher result in its search.
4. Spend money to make money.
It’s true that a Prime Day strategy may require spending a chunk of your annual budget on discounts, ads and special offers, and, of course, there’s risk involved, especially when you need to start as early as right after you read this article. But if you can stretch your spending, aside from the holiday season Prime Day is going to be your smartest investment.
5. Flex your website and social media.
So far this has been about how to utilize Amazon’s site, but that’s not the only place you need to focus your attention. If customers need that extra push before placing your products in their carts, make sure your website looks inviting and is up-to-date. If you can, also add an email opt-in and other calls to action such as offering a discount to entice visitors. As far as social media is concerned, you need to hit it hard. Use every social avenue you can. Promote posts and try a mixture of images and video to attract the most eyeballs.
6. Juice the post-Prime reviews.
Keep in mind that there’s more work to do after Prime Day is over. The next few weeks will be crucial to growing and maintaining a positive relationship with customers. This is the time to focus on customer service and other tactics that will help you rack up enthusiastic reviews, hopefully leading to a higher profile and increased sales. There are multiple platforms out there which are used to send customers friendly prompts, asking them to review the newest products they’re in love with. Feedback Genius is one platform we like, but there are others that can keep the momentum up.
7. Reflect and refine.
Hopefully, these tips and others will lead to a happy Prime Day for your brand, but no matter what it won’t be perfect. Trust me, even our best years still reveal plenty of ways we can improve. While this event can be wildly successful, it can be even more successful next year. Keep a record of all your strategies, all the steps you took and any issues you had along the way. Then you can start working on a plan to make the next Prime Day even better.
Maurice Contreras is the CEO and founder of Volcanica Coffee Company, a specialty coffee roaster focused on exotic coffees.
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