Every Amazon seller needs to know how to sell in a competitive market, and a top-shelf competitor analysis can give you the edge you need.
Because of the immense potential, it should be no surprise that the Amazon seller competition is fierce. With the convenience of the FBA program, access to a customer base in the hundreds of millions, and opportunity for growth, it’s the premier space for those with an entrepreneurial mindset. Many experience issues dealing with the Amazon seller competition, as it’s out of their control with constantly changing variables.
So how can you navigate a path to success on Amazon? It’s all about maximizing every opportunity made available to you. To identify these opportunities and become aware of what works in your marketplace and what mistakes your Amazon seller competitors are making.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Tzu made his name as a military general and philosopher thousands of years ago. However, his strategy also broadly summarizes the idea behind performing a competitor analysis and why you should have a deep understanding of your Amazon seller competition.
In a crowded marketplace, selling a phenomenal product is only the beginning. You must know your selling space inside and out to stand out and steal customers from competitors. In the process, you’ll identify opportunities to increase visibility, better meet the needs of consumers, and capitalize on mistakes or shortcomings of the competition.
What is an Amazon Competitor Analysis?
An Amazon Competitor Analysis is more or less a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis for sellers you’re competing with in the Amazon marketplace. Also called a situational assessment or situational analysis, a SWOT analysis is a framework used to evaluate a competitive position and develop strategies to maximize performance.
This analysis allows you to identify opportunities for improvement and areas where you can differentiate yourself from your competitors. If you’re considering selling on Amazon FBA, it’s important to conduct a competitor analysis to understand the market and identify areas of opportunity.
With a proper competitor analysis, you can uncover gems
Here are some steps to help you conduct a thorough competitor analysis for Amazon FBA:
Identify Your Competitors
Sounds easy, right? To a degree, it is, but there are levels to this.
Conduct a keyword search with your primary keyword, and the search results will compile a page full of your Amazon seller competition. And while every listing in your category competes with you, not all competitors are created equally. So first, we must define competitor within this distinctive context.
It’s important to remember the end goal of the analysis will be to make intelligent, actionable decisions to elevate your Amazon business. Considering this, you may be better served to base most of your research on listings with success more comparable to your own.
Monitoring the success of top sellers or brand names can be helpful, but their market share might not be for the taking yet. For newer or lesser established brands, no strategy can overcome a household brand name or entrenched top seller with thousands of positive reviews or a trusted reputation.