The presence of a multitude of competitors in a single industry is a sign that indicates you need to put in more work if you want to survive. Market saturation is everywhere; there are thousands of businesses that are selling the same services. Many of the experts touting online courses will be happier to tell you that Amazon is all a rosy rainbow and is not saturated.
However, for those who are starting now, Amazon.com is absolutely a saturated market where certain niches are way too saturated. But you have to understand that saturation isn’t a bad thing to happen. Many of the Amazon sellers who have started just now are exposed to the false principle that competition saturates the market and profit goes down, in the long run.
A saturated market is an Active Market
There are millions of sellers on Amazon and certain sections of sellers are selling the same product and services. But the sellers are forgetting that greater the number of competitors the greater the awareness regarding their product niche. And with more sellers competing on Amazon, there are more promotional messages reaching the customers, telling them that a specific set of services or products is something they require.
Amazon is experiencing quite a boost with the market saturation as this is leading towards marketing dollars creating a bigger pool, instead of just fighting for a bigger piece of the same pool. It has lead to market growth and acts beneficial and healthy for the competitors.
Saturation means Strong Demand
As we said earlier, a saturated industry dictates there is a lot of opportunity in the market. If the entrepreneurs avoid entering the markets that are already served by other companies and entrepreneurs; the consumers will be left with far fewer options.
However, some sellers think that it is in their best interest to avoid a saturated market. It is true that Amazon is becoming a saturated market and this has led to the sellers feeling that it has become too crowded which makes it impossible or difficult for them to penetrate.
However, we take the opposite view. Testing an unproven market become time-consuming, risky, and expensive. Amazon provides the sellers and entrepreneurs with a platform that allows them to market almost anything. And being saturated, it provides clear signals about where the possible outlook lies. But, most of the sellers fail to read those signals or they fail to read them properly.
When a market gets saturated, many sellers start selling similar services and products. It tells you that the market has numerous willing buyers or else it wouldn’t be sustainable for so many competitors to be in it.
The Key to Competition is Product Differentiation
Amazon is progressively becoming a saturated market with more and more sellers selling the same products and services. As a newbie on Amazon, the worst thing you can do is to mimic the strategies that other sellers use or copycat the work of other sellers.
In simple words, the world doesn’t care about those who come and starts mimicking the work of others in order to gain a potential client base. The consumers know who they can trust and put their money on. Why would they want to do business with you when they are already doing it with someone established and trusted?
The consumers are always looking for something fresh, but the sellers often mistake that the consumers are tired of the existing concepts and want something new. Well, this is one way to think. You can introduce a completely new niche to the market. But as experts, we can say that a simple twist to the existing ones can go a long way.
There are hundreds of niches in the market that aren’t perfectly executed but still are gaining people’s attention. All you have to do is perfect a product and cater it to a completely different clientele.
In other words, don’t look at other Amazon sellers to see what they are doing; instead look to see what they aren’t doing. Then try to find a way to provide the exact same product or service in a perfected manner that cannot be challenged.
Challenges of Amazon Saturated Market
The presence of numerous players means the businesses are struggling for the attention of the hungry buyers. As a seller, you will feel a lot of pressure in spending more in the marketing scheme when in fact, the real challenge is simply to perform effective marketing and come up with an exclusive sales policy.
On the other hand, the market participants will also try to emasculate each other by cutting down the prices. Here, your main challenge would be to resist the temptation to turn your product or treat it as a mere commodity by competing on cost and luring customers by proving yourself being the cheapest option. Instead of doing what all the other sellers are doing, you should offer something so valuable and worthy that the consumers will pay what you are charging.
You must understand that in the present scenario, being different is what will allow you to flourish in Amazon’s saturated market. Being different isn’t that hard. Something as simple as enhanced customer service can make a big difference. Recently, there were reports that Amazon’s customer service is lagging due to certain issues. You should know that thousands of buyers struggle with simply being treated poorly, getting billing support, and tech support. You can simply start by improving your customer services.
Now, let us discuss how you can stand up to the expectations of Amazon’s saturated market. Here are top 10 tips that can help you compete in a saturated market on Amazon.
#1 Find a Product or Make it Better
This is one thing that we had discussed earlier. Amazon is always and will remain open for great products that get the job done at the fair price point. You will definitely get the edge if the niche is superior to your competitors. Take time to discover new techniques and technology that will be useful and help you execute. The easiest way to survive in Amazon’s or any other saturated market is to pick the existing niches/products businesses are selling, try to find the flaws, make improvements and sell them to completely different target audience. Niche development or improvement entails coming up with better and newer ideas through investigation and research. overall, innovation will ensure unfailing business outcomes.
#2 Create a Greater Perceived Value
Please note that perception is not always akin to certainty, even when it comes to something as hypothetically as the value of your product. All you have to do is closely examine your product and find out what are the main features that separate it from the competitors. You have to pay attention to the main differentiating aspects that you can market in order to increase the perceived value to your buyers.
Let us explain to you the whole scenario using examples based on an actual research.
Research shows that recognized or branded medicines are effective at reducing the complexity although they are the same objective quality medicines, humans pick one that they perceive to be better.
#3 Market Pricing Strategy
With so much time spent on Amazon, we get to know that pricing strategy works best when the price is elastic. Market pricing strategy is the best way to deal with market saturation on Amazon. It involves lowering the prices with an objective to increase the volume of sales. Pricing strategy is an effective way to find competitive prices in Amazon marketplace. Pricing of any product or service is particularly intense and complex as it is a result of a number of research work, calculations, understanding of the consumers and market, and the seller’s risk-taking ability. So before engaging in a price war, it is important for you to evaluate all your available options.
#4 Establishing New Submarket
As a business owner, you need to determine the unfulfilled requirements of the pre-existing market. Most of the Amazon sellers don’t know but their buyers will often have requirements that are not being met in a market. If you are able to meet those needs, there is 100% possibility that you can expand your Amazon FBA business. You can achieve this by directly communicating with your consumers to understand and determine their needs which were ignored by others. Work to persuade their requirements by adding value to your existing services or products. On the other hand, you can develop an entirely new product as per your customer requirements.
#5 Connect your Brand with a Story
It becomes tough in the saturated market to achieve a loyal brand following. Well, it is not that difficult if your brand has a story to tell. All you need to do is put a face and story behind your brand. In other words, create a panel of experts who can vouch for your products. But don’t fake it because your consumers can detect that from a mile away. You have to give genuine information and story to your brand so that others can feel connected. Keep in mind that the panel you have created needs to be trustworthy and convincing. You need to consider experts, influencers, or others who are knowledgeable in your line of products.
#6 Stay on Top of Trends
This is the most important point to consider if you want to compete in the Amazon’s saturated market. The customer demands are never ending and it will keep changing no matter what. Hence, it is fruitful to beware of any changes that may place you for success.
As we all know that Amazon is all open hands for evolving trends and this strategy proves to be quite crucial. As a smart Amazon FBA seller, you need to act quickly according to the following trends and update your inventories consequently. Consider the trends as opportunities that you need to optimize.
#7 Set up Advanced Analytics
Although Amazon offers the best and simplified buying process, it also offers state-of-the-art analytics that shows how many purchases buyers make. As an Amazon seller, you can use these analytics to determine the value of the purchases including the weekly/monthly revenue. You can start by setting up conversion goals and tracking monitor which will allow you to perform multi-channel funnel marketing.
#8 Be Consistent with your Content and Provide Variety
Even when the market is not saturated, the easiest way to lose your brand following is by inconsistently producing the content for your product descriptions. And when it comes to saturated market, being consistent with your content is very crucial. Even the successful Amazon FBA sellers face the heat when haphazardly produces the content. Make sure you have a solid plan to go with before start gathering the audience.
Variety, on the other hand, is another way to tap the areas that are neglected by the competitors in the saturated market. When the market has become saturated, as an Amazon seller your task is not only to look after your business but also to get the exposure of every part of the market, especially the niche markets.
#9 Focus on Solving Problems related to your Services/Products
There is a thin line between maintaining a customer and losing a customer and this point comes in handy when you are dealing with an unsatisfied customer. Regularly ask for feedback and customer reviews and try to identify the issues and problems (if any) that surround them before settling on a solution.
#10 Start Growing your Brand off Amazon
Last but not the least, if you want to survive the saturated market, try selling your products away from Amazon. Build yourself a website and start selling your products there. Being extremely reliant on Amazon is not too healthy for your business.
Conclusion
We would love to hear your opinion regarding Amazon market saturation and where do you stand on that. We hope that you find this guide helpful, these strategies are a good start to taking care of your Amazon business affected by saturation.
Product Spy Pro provides product research tools for FBA sellers to find out what to sell on amazon to make money.
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