The space for industrial and B2B products is growing on Amazon. From tailored features to support volume purchasing and business transactions to speedy and reliable delivery, there are many reasons why more companies are now sourcing products on the marketplace.
For sellers, there are plenty of advantages too – including a diverse customer base, easy invoicing, tiered pricing and discount features, as well as streamlined marketing and fulfillment options all under one roof.
Driven by digital transformation, B2B ecommerce is seeing significant, ongoing growth. If you’re already selling successful online, Amazon can give you increased visibility and a way to reach a wider market. However, there are a few things to bear in mind if you want to know how to sell B2B on Amazon.
Industrial and B2B selling on Amazon presents a unique set of challenges compared to consumer goods. Here’s everything you need to know to get started.
In order to navigate the industrial product categories of Amazon successfully, it’s important to know who you are selling to and what buyer intent looks like.
Just like any online B2B business, it’s important to know who your buyers are. This could be business owners, tradespeople and some sole traders, or procurement managers.
The marketplace gives you access to a broad customer base, so keep in mind that you may not be marketing to your usual crowd per se, or you may be marketing to a wider audience. Amazon Business doesn’t just serve standard companies, but also charities and not-for-profit organisations, government agencies, and more.
Once you know who you’re selling to, you can consider their buying intent. Why are they buying on Amazon instead of other channels? Do you they want convenience? Are they looking for the most competitive pricing or better range and selection?
Consider whether buyers want higher technical knowledge on product ranges, accuracy and compliance, or quality assurances. Let this inform how you create your marketing strategy.
If you want to know how to sell B2B on Amazon successfully, make sure you take advantage of features that help you engage with businesses. B2B buyers want the same, convenient online shopping experience as retail buyers – but they also want bulk pricing and discounts, flexible payment options, VAT invoices, and things like purchase order integration.
Ultimately, all B2B buyers want the same thing – hassle-free procurement so they can conduct their work efficiently. Procurement managers or business owners can often be time poor. So it’s important to make everything as clear, easy and simple as possible.
There are also some additional rules and regulations to think about when it comes to B2B selling on Amazon. Not only does having the right information on your listings build trust and authority with your buyers, but it also helps you comply with Amazon rules.
Any listings that don’t comply with rules specified by the marketplace may be removed and lead to penalties or account suspension.
Here are a few things that may apply to what you’re selling:
Ensure your product complies with all applicable laws within the marketplace you are looking to sell. Make sure things like CE/UKCA markings, OSHA standards, REACH or RoHS compliance are detailed/submitted where necessary.
Amazon may require certain certificates or other documentation to approve your listing. For instance, they make ask for compliance certificates or safety data sheets etc. before being able to set your listing live.
Some products (such as batteries, chemical cleaning products, or tools) come with safety risks. You will have to specify if your product is regulated as a hazardous material (hazmat) or dangerous good. You will also need to provide the relevant documentation.
This could be any legislation to do with packaging materials or recycling, as well as WEEE directives for electrical products. Research applicable environmental laws, such as the EUDR and UK EPR. You can also use Amazon’s handy compliance dashboard to help you manage everything in one place.
With Amazon Business, brands can bypass middlemen and distributors by adopting the direct-to-business model. Here are the reasons why there’s so much opportunity for growth on Amazon:
As a B2B Amazon business, there are many in-built features designed to help you gain visibility and improve the customer experience too. You’ll be able to allow bulk orders, quantity discounts, and tax-exempt purchasing.
There are certainly huge opportunities for brands and businesses, but be sure to protect your brand reputation properly by creating accurate, consistent listings. We also recommend enrolling on the Brand Registry if applicable, as this will give your better IP protection as well as access to premium marketing tools.
There are lots of things to consider if you want to make your listings stand out on the platform. Remember, B2B Amazon businesses are growing every day on Amazon so categories will become increasingly competitive. But above all else, we would emphasize the importance or accuracy.
Compared to consumer goods, selling industrial products requires product copy to be precise in order to make lives easier for purchasing managers and business owners.
Make sure you have all the information about your product available when it comes to creating the product copy. While keyword optimisation is crucial for getting your listing ranked, remember you are writing for humans first, and the algorithm second.
Include the following:
Bullet points help buyers get the information they need quickly. Make sure the most important information is at the top.
Conducting keyword research is important if you want to increase visibility and rank for the right search terms. But make sure you only select relevant keywords to make sure traffic converts. You’ll also want to weave in technical keywords in a natural way, while using consumer-friendly terms that are easy to understand.
Multiple, high-quality images of your product are key to making a sale. Not only does good imagery improve your brand look and reputation, but it can help customers access the details they need quickly (such as product dimensions, labels or technical information).
Video demos can be great if you want to show additional information, such as how your product works, or how to assemble the product for use, as well as any necessary safety instructions.
Amazon’s A+ Content is available to brands enrolled in the Brand Registry, and it’s a fantastic tool for establishing a brand story. Creating a powerful, emotive or mission-focused brand story will help to elevate your product range, particularly in a competitive category. This type of high-quality content will help you gain authority in your field, encouraging customer loyalty and repeat sales.
The first step in knowing how to sell B2B products on Amazon is to have a strategy in place. If you’re completely new to B2B selling on Amazon, it’s important to partner with an experienced agency that can help with aspects of listing optimisation, marketing and advertising.
Here are some of our tips for building a successful B2B Amazon strategy:
There are a number of handy features to help you make the purchasing process easy for customers. Most buyers are time poor and want convenience and great deals – so take advantage of features like tiered pricing, bulk discounts, and business-only offers.
To get the best possible visibility for your listings, use Amazon’s B2B advertising solutions, such as B2B Sponsored Products and B2B Sponsored Brands. This works especially well if you have certain niche or technical keywords that you want to target.
If we have one piece of advice for long-term growth, it’s this – reviews, reviews, reviews! While quick sales can feel promising, what you really want is to create a community of loyal customers. So focus on delivering outstanding customer service, resolve customer issues quickly, and make sure your listing is accurate so products are well-received on arrival.
Having lots of 5-star reviews will help you build credibility, generate trust, and create brand loyalty over competitors. Reviews also increase click-through rate to listings and get your products noticed in highly competitive spaces.
Amazon Brand Stores can support a B2B Amazon business by delivering a brand experience. The storefront is an ad-free space that showcases your best products and allows buyers to enjoy a similar retail website experience. Brand Stores are also indexed on Google, giving you higher visibility outside of the platform.
Love the idea of long-term loyalty with B2B buyers? There’s even a ‘follow’ button which means followers will be able to get exclusive updates about your products.
While there are countless opportunities with Amazon Business, there are also multiple challenges that are unique to selling industrial products. Compared to consumer products, B2B selling is a little more complex. So it’s vital to have the right knowledge and experience in your team.
Many businesses will partner with a specialist Amazon agency to help them with the following areas:
Do you need help launching your industrial products on Amazon? This is a great time to expand your business to Amazon, as more and more B2B buyers start turning to the marketplace for seamless business purchasing.
The growth rate is not about to slow down anytime soon, and there’s no better time to beat others to the race.
However, we know that adding a new sales channel can put huge pressures on resources. At Seller Presto, we have years of experience helping Amazon sellers grow their business on the platform.
We know the importance of compliance, optimisation, targeted advertising and brand protection as key factors for success. We can support with all of these areas, making it easy for you to focus on the day-to-day running of your business.
Our team are experts in paid ads, keyword research and optimisation, and complete account management. We can help you with everything from Amazon Store setup to competitive insights and ads management.
Ready to start selling industrial and B2B products on Amazon? Get in touch with Seller Presto to see how we could help you gain visibility and grow sales. Call 01642 054694, email info@sellerpresto.com or drop us a message using our online contact form.
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