I LOVE a good sale. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day… It seems we’re always in the middle of a sales frenzy – but should you enter the bargain basement and discount your Amazon products?
Discounting is the most common promotion you can do on Amazon and it can be a powerful way to promote your product, increase sales and boost your rankings.
But as you’ll see, it’s not for everyone. Your goal is to get to the point when you don’t need to discount your products to make sales.
First, let’s look at when discounting is a GOOD idea.
You should discount if… you’re selling a new product
If you’ve just launched your product, discounts are an excellent way to give it a much-needed boost. The benefits include:
- Increase sales
- Get the all-important first reviews
- Improve the ranking of your keyword organically (as opposed to ‘paid for’ i.e. with ads)
You should discount if… you’re selling a product in a price-competitive niche
In such a marketplace you have little choice but to compete on price and that’ll mean applying discounts. Just don’t get too competitive and start making a loss.
If you’re in a super-competitive niche where everyone’s reducing their products, you’d be at an immediate disadvantage by NOT discounting your items. But unless you can afford to have super-low margins, you’re better off avoiding these kinds of niches.
You SHOULDN’T discount if… you’ve differentiated your product for your target niche and built a brand.
If you’ve got to this point, well done! You’ve done everything right and you won’t need to discount your product.
Will this hurt your sales? No! And here’s why…
Think of the premium brands; Prada, Chanel, Ferrari. Do they ever have sales? No way!
They’ve spent decades building their brand and positioning their products to a particular group of people. If they suddenly started reducing their stock, sure they’d gain new customers but they’d lose the better, richer ones they’ve spent so long acquiring.
Bad move.
Of course, I’m not expecting you to be Prada, but the principles remain. If you’ve spent a lot of time choosing or creating your product so it’s absolutely perfect for your target market, it could actually hurt your business to discount your products.
I hope this helps someone. If you have any other pressing questions about your Amazon FBA business, please check out my other articles.
Until next time!
Hugs!
Stacey xx