Hiring a digital agency to manage your Amazon PPC Campaigns is a great business decision, as it helps you focus on growing your business. However, hiring an unfit agency partner can be equally counter-productive.
While the primary goal of every Amazon seller out there (including you) is to sell as many products as possible with a profitable margin, circumstances in they operate can be very different from one seller to another. Likewise, Amazon PPC agencies come in different sizes and shapes and what they bring to the table. Therefore the need to find the ‘Right Fit’ agency partner.
Are You Prepared To Hire An Amazon PPC Agency?
Before you go searching for an Amazon PPC agency to hire, here are 5 questions you should ask yourself to ensure you are ready:
- Do you have enough inventory to run ads?
What if your products always go out of stock without even running ads? If so, do you plan to add an adequate inventory of your products so you do not have to stop advertising midway?
- Do you have adequate margins to account for the cost of ads?
Running ads on Amazon costs you money every time someone clicks on your ads. Therefore, ensure if you have adequate margins to account for advertising. In most cases, a 30% or more margin on products is good to account for the cost of ads. - Do you see the value in hiring an agency partner?
Usually the case with those sellers who know how to run Amazon ads themselves. It can be hard to give up control, unless you really see the value in hiring an agency partner and looking to focus your time and energy on more important areas, e.g. growing your business. It’s important to have this clarity before you go hiring an agency.
- Have you worked with an agency before?
It’s easier to work with an Amazon advertising agency partner now if you have already worked with an agency partner before. However, if you haven’t yet then it’s a good idea to note down some self-rule about what expectations do you have from this agency partner, how often you are going to communicate and what results do you expect. - Do you know how Amazon PPC Works?
Last but the not the least, you should know how Amazon PPC ads work. After all, it’s your money and you are going to trust someone else to spend it for you wisely. How else would know what they are doing is right for your business or if they are making the best use of the opportunities that Amazon advertising offers?
Great, now that you are prepared to hire an Amazon ads agency partner, here are the 5 questions you should ask to ensure you hire the right agency partner:
- Do They Have Enough Time and Bandwidth?
While their credentials (website, clients, testimonials etc) may reveal their experience and expertise with Amazon PPC management, the challenge would be knowing how flooded they are with work. We often come across Amazon sellers who hired a top rated Amazon advertising agency but later realized that their campaigns were not getting attention or worse it had become difficult even getting a hold of their agency partner.
Don’t fall for that trap. Ask clearly if they have enough bandwidth to take on your project. Better if you get this mentioned in the contract how much time would be spent on your campaigns, how often etc.
- Pricing Structure How Would It Affect You In Long Run?
Amazon PPC Agencies, like most other ad agencies, operate with different pricing structures. Some charge a percentage of ad spend basis, some would charge a fixed amount and others may charge more but offer a bundled package which includes add-on services. A pricing structure that looks good in the short run (e.g instance fixed fee pricing) but in the long run, it can complicate things. Likewise, a percentage of ad spend pricing may look expensive in the short run but it can offer flexibility and remain transparent in longer as your business scales.
Pro Tip: Avoid being caught in attractive bundled pricing. A fixed monthly fee that appears to deliver much more value with bundled services, may sound very attractive but in reality, the bundled items do not deliver much value. - Do They Provide Performance Reports with Actionable Insights?
While most Amazon PPC agencies out there may offer weekly/monthly reports, what you should look for is a report that includes actionable insights. A report without actionable insights means pretty much nothing as you could see this yourself going into campaign reports.
- Are They Transparent About What They Do?
Campaign Optimization is a very vague and misleading term that will be communicated to you as some huge effort going into campaigns to ensure they deliver absolute best results. However, what really goes into optimization is hardly revealed. You should definitely ask your agency partner to list down what specific actions are performed under “optimization” and how often. Insist including these action items in weekly/monthly reports as well.
- Do They Provide Access To The Analyst(s) Working On Your Campaigns?
An agency that looks great on its face, doesn’t necessarily mean they will assign their best analysts on your Amazon PPC campaigns. Especially in the case of big and popular PPC agencies, you will speak to their best brains during the sales calls/meetings, however, when it comes to day to day activities, a much junior person is managing your campaigns. Therefore, insist on getting access to the analyst working on your campaigns. You should be able to get on a call with your analyst on the campaign to get status reports, brainstorm ideas, and discuss strategies.
Do we walk the talk you might ask?
Hell yes. Request a Proposal and one or our Amazon Advertising Strategists will set up a call with you, most likely the one who would be eventually working on your campaigns!
