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Starting a business and going overseas hit a wall?Watch how he went from being a newbie to Amazon to a billion-level energy storage big seller!
July 7, 2023
Reading time about 6 minutes
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On the new energy circuit at the top of the world, Chinese overseas sellers have risen to prominence. Ampere Time (Ampere Time), which specializes in energy storage equipment, has been in Amazon for more than 3 years, and its performance has increased 200%-400% every year. Today, let's meet the founder Luny and listen to his cross-border experiences.
On the new energy circuit at the top of the world, Chinese overseas sellers have risen to prominence. Ampere Time (Ampere Time), which specializes in energy storage equipment, has been in Amazon for more than 3 years, and its performance has increased 200%-400% every year. Today, let's meet the founder Luny and listen to his cross-border experiences.
Start a business overseas, from traditional foreign trade to cross-border e-commerce
Luny, who resigned from a major factory to start a business, initially tested the waters of overseas markets using the traditional foreign trade model. She obtained orders mainly by participating in industry exhibitions and advertising results, but the final results were not as good as expected.
Luny: “In our first month at sea, we only sold two orders. Later, through communication with customers, we learned that the demand for new energy products from overseas individuals and home users is constantly increasing, and that the traditional dealer model causes product price increases at various levels and is not friendly enough to consumers. We also noticed that the new circuit of cross-border e-commerce and Amazon can break through the world with good products, which in turn led to the idea of exploring new business opportunities. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
Luny: “In our first month at sea, we only sold two orders. Later, through communication with customers, we learned that the demand for new energy products from overseas individuals and home users is constantly increasing, and that the traditional dealer model causes product price increases at various levels and is not friendly enough to consumers. We also noticed that the new circuit of cross-border e-commerce and Amazon can break through the world with good products, which in turn led to the idea of exploring new business opportunities. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
After entering Amazon and transforming into cross-border e-commerce, individual consumers became Ampere Time's core target customer group. At the beginning, Luny, who was full of ambition, believed that with self-developed technology and excellent product quality, Ampere Time would definitely “soar through the sky”, but from offline to online, the original experience for overseas enterprise-level customers seemed to have failed in acquiring overseas consumers. Ampere Time, which was just starting out, faced a series of problems.
Luny：
When we first joined Amazon, we weren't proficient in operating practices; we all relied on our own research; we didn't have a good grasp of Amazon's rules and requirements, and we couldn't find a reason for the takedown. This greatly limited our sales volume and failed to meet the sales targets we set. At the same time, although we have heard that Amazon has a plan to avoid unfair competition before, we still don't know how to deal with counterfeiting or counterfeiting in practice, and we are very anxious.
Luny：
When we first joined Amazon, we weren't proficient in operating practices; we all relied on our own research; we didn't have a good grasp of Amazon's rules and requirements, and we couldn't find a reason for the takedown. This greatly limited our sales volume and failed to meet the sales targets we set. At the same time, although we have heard that Amazon has a plan to avoid unfair competition before, we still don't know how to deal with counterfeiting or counterfeiting in practice, and we are very anxious.
Faced with a variety of operational issues where she didn't know where to start, Luny began seeking help from outside intellects. In 2020, Ampere Time participated in the Amazon Seller Growth Service Accelerated Program. Under the guidance of an exclusive consultant, Luny identified the reason the charging product was removed because it belonged to the auto parts category and quickly resumed online sales after completing the category review as required. The listing problem was solved, and product selection opportunities became Ampere Time's focus.
Luny:
In the one-on-one product selection guidance, the exclusive consultant applied Amazon's official data to help us analyze the market segment by category. We learned that the mainstream price range for the subcategories on Amazon is in the 200-500 US dollar range, which is lower than the products we sell. At the same time, the analysis of the top traffic terms in the category also made us notice that consumers have sufficient demand for low customer unit price products. This data analysis has shown us the direction of expanding new products. By adding products with low customer unit prices, we have perfected the product matrix, and the number of products on sale has grown from the first 3 to more than a dozen.
Luny:
In the one-on-one product selection guidance, the exclusive consultant applied Amazon's official data to help us analyze the market segment by category. We learned that the mainstream price range for the subcategories on Amazon is in the 200-500 US dollar range, which is lower than the products we sell. At the same time, the analysis of the top traffic terms in the category also made us notice that consumers have sufficient demand for low customer unit price products. This data analysis has shown us the direction of expanding new products. By adding products with low customer unit prices, we have perfected the product matrix, and the number of products on sale has grown from the first 3 to more than a dozen.
Furthermore, on Luny's “shoddy follow-up” issue, the exclusive consultant recommended the Amazon Transparency Transparency Program to him, which strongly cracked down on infringement. On the basis of handling product matters well, Ampere Time also mastered techniques to optimize listings, learned how to use marketing tools such as promotions and advertisements, and achieved 135% month-on-month growth in the second month of participating in the seller growth service.
Luny:
Previously, we only knew that Amazon had basic requirements for listing graphics, but then the exclusive consultant taught us to analyze consumers' purchasing decision paths, and we also made corresponding adjustments to optimize the listing:
- Check the categories of ASINs on sale one by one to ensure that the categories are correct, so that consumers can find the products they need based on search keywords
- Core ASIN has been optimized, and a new version has been added to help new products increase organic traffic exposure. On the core ASIN listing page, a full range of products are also displayed through a 360° view function to help improve the product conversion rate.
- In line with the mobile trend, optimize the display of the main image on the mobile phone, so that consumers can focus on product selling points in the shortest possible time.
Luny:
Previously, we only knew that Amazon had basic requirements for listing graphics, but then the exclusive consultant taught us to analyze consumers' purchasing decision paths, and we also made corresponding adjustments to optimize the listing:
- Check the categories of ASINs on sale one by one to ensure that the categories are correct, so that consumers can find the products they need based on search keywords
- Core ASIN has been optimized, and a new version has been added to help new products increase organic traffic exposure. On the core ASIN listing page, a full range of products are also displayed through a 360° view function to help improve the product conversion rate.
- In line with the mobile trend, optimize the display of the main image on the mobile phone, so that consumers can focus on product selling points in the shortest possible time.
Strive for excellence to accelerate advertising optimization efficiency
Practical case: Optimizing advertising through data analysis
At an advertising data analysis meeting, the exclusive consultant suggested that there was a problem with our advertising:
1) Too much reliance on automated advertising: 81% of clicks were spent on automated advertising, but at the time, the monthly ad hits had reached 7k, and the product had already entered the classification BSR, and there were opportunities for further refined advertising.
2) Search traffic from keywords is relatively low: At the level of search terms, 85% of hits are ASIN, and only 15% are from search terms, that is, related advertising traffic from product detail pages accounts for relatively high, leading to lower search rankings for core keywords.
3) Manual ad placements only enabled broad matching: no further action was taken because they didn't understand the usage scenarios of other matching methods.
In response to these issues, we have made adjustments in accordance with the advice of our dedicated advisors:
- Improve the budget structure and increase the budget ratio of manual ads to improve traffic accuracy.
- Analyze search volume rankings and conversion rate metrics in historical ad reports, and sort out 22 keywords that can be used for manual targeting. For the 6 high-priority A terms, manual advertising is accurately matched, and sufficient budget is provided to advance the ranking.
At an advertising data analysis meeting, the exclusive consultant suggested that there was a problem with our advertising:
1) Too much reliance on automated advertising: 81% of clicks were spent on automated advertising, but at the time, the monthly ad hits had reached 7k, and the product had already entered the classification BSR, and there were opportunities for further refined advertising.
2) Search traffic from keywords is relatively low: At the level of search terms, 85% of hits are ASIN, and only 15% are from search terms, that is, related advertising traffic from product detail pages accounts for relatively high, leading to lower search rankings for core keywords.
3) Manual ad placements only enabled broad matching: no further action was taken because they didn't understand the usage scenarios of other matching methods.
In response to these issues, we have made adjustments in accordance with the advice of our dedicated advisors:
- Improve the budget structure and increase the budget ratio of manual ads to improve traffic accuracy.
- Analyze search volume rankings and conversion rate metrics in historical ad reports, and sort out 22 keywords that can be used for manual targeting. For the 6 high-priority A terms, manual advertising is accurately matched, and sufficient budget is provided to advance the ranking.
After two months of optimization, the final advertising performance achieved expectations. The overall advertising cost ratio dropped from 17% to 4%, and ACOS dropped from 25% to 13%; at the same time, it successfully improved the accuracy of ad traffic, increasing the number of clicks on manual ads from 9% to 68%, and increasing the number of clicks on search terms from 15% to 32%; successfully increased the order volume for core traffic terms, such as the keyword “lithium battery”, which brought about a 250% increase in order volume through budget and matching method adjustments.
With a solid grasp of basic knowledge and practical skills in operation, and the use of data analysis to grasp market trends and make correct decisions to complete changes in traditional business thinking models, Ampere Time has accumulated sufficient experience in efficient product selection, advertising, account protection, etc., and achieved a 300%-400% increase in sales volume, rapidly growing into the best seller in lithium battery-related categories, preparing to hit the industry's big sales.
With a solid grasp of basic knowledge and practical skills in operation, and the use of data analysis to grasp market trends and make correct decisions to complete changes in traditional business thinking models, Ampere Time has accumulated sufficient experience in efficient product selection, advertising, account protection, etc., and achieved a 300%-400% increase in sales volume, rapidly growing into the best seller in lithium battery-related categories, preparing to hit the industry's big sales.
Break through the bottleneck of business protection and comprehensively advance the business
From a “newcomer to overseas” to a “category pioneer”, although Ampere Time has gained a foothold in the new energy industry with lithium battery energy storage products, competition has intensified due to market growth, and Ampere Time is afraid to take it lightly. Faced with external market pressure and out of trust in Amazon's official services, Ampere Time also participated in the flagship Seller Growth Service project in 2022, hoping to maintain and enhance its long-term competitiveness with more dimensional operating guidance provided by the “external brain”.
01. Systematic analysis to solve the problem of returns
Luny: Our products are large, and returns involve a series of logistics issues, which also particularly affect the sales volume of our main products of $800-900. Although we can see the original return data from Seller Central, we don't have a clear idea of how to resolve it. Under the guidance of a dedicated consultant, we have done the following:
- Organize the reasons for returns into specific categories such as “controllable”, “can be affected”, and “uncontrollable”.
- Dig deeper into the issues of “controllable” and “impactable” returns to target specific feedback from buyers on product size, specification fit, etc.
- Based on feedback, the problem was investigated and the listing was optimized. First, key parameters such as product size, watt-hour, voltage, and safe time were displayed more clearly; then, by analyzing user purchasing habits and usage scenarios, the copy was simplified and optimized, technical terms difficult for ordinary consumers to understand were reduced, and the listing optimization effect was verified using A/B test tools. In this process, we have applied product detail page optimization services provided by exclusive consultants. Monthly one-on-one page diagnosis for 2 ASINs, accurate keyword analysis and recommendations, as well as A+ layout, copywriting editing suggestions, and optimization case studies, are very helpful to us.
After this operation, the return rate dropped sharply by 7% after one month, then dropped by 2% after the second month, and the return rate was lower than the average for products of the same type. At the same time, we were also surprised to discover that the optimized copy listing increased sales by 15% within 8 weeks.
Luny: Our products are large, and returns involve a series of logistics issues, which also particularly affect the sales volume of our main products of $800-900. Although we can see the original return data from Seller Central, we don't have a clear idea of how to resolve it. Under the guidance of a dedicated consultant, we have done the following:
- Organize the reasons for returns into specific categories such as “controllable”, “can be affected”, and “uncontrollable”.
- Dig deeper into the issues of “controllable” and “impactable” returns to target specific feedback from buyers on product size, specification fit, etc.
- Based on feedback, the problem was investigated and the listing was optimized. First, key parameters such as product size, watt-hour, voltage, and safe time were displayed more clearly; then, by analyzing user purchasing habits and usage scenarios, the copy was simplified and optimized, technical terms difficult for ordinary consumers to understand were reduced, and the listing optimization effect was verified using A/B test tools. In this process, we have applied product detail page optimization services provided by exclusive consultants. Monthly one-on-one page diagnosis for 2 ASINs, accurate keyword analysis and recommendations, as well as A+ layout, copywriting editing suggestions, and optimization case studies, are very helpful to us.
After this operation, the return rate dropped sharply by 7% after one month, then dropped by 2% after the second month, and the return rate was lower than the average for products of the same type. At the same time, we were also surprised to discover that the optimized copy listing increased sales by 15% within 8 weeks.
02. Use big promotion opportunities wisely to reach new heights in sales
Luny: Out of confidence that the product is excellent, we didn't pay attention to promotional reports before and only used the most basic Amazon Coupons (Coupons). However, the exclusive consultant will place special emphasis on the overall effect of the promotion schedule on increasing exposure, and guide us to apply the promotional fee reduction opportunities that come with the Seller Growth Service and try to use promotional tools such as Lightning Deals and 7-Day Promotions according to our own sales pace, especially planning major promotions such as Amazon Prime Day membership days in advance.
Two months before the promotion, we will prepare inventory according to the estimate of the reporting campaign, and then confirm the preparation in conjunction with the logistics timeline. At the same time, it will also begin promotional preparations, such as using Manage Your Customer Engagement (MYCE) to send in-site letters to introduce fans to announcements about old products participating in promotions and new product promotions, etc., to obtain and expand consumer traffic with a certain level of awareness about our brand, so that traffic is more accurate.
After the promotion started, we adopted the advice of exclusive consultants to increase the proportion of brand promotion ads and display promotion ads, and use the prominent discount logo to reveal more ASINs participating in the promotion at the top of the search results page or in contests to increase exposure.
Now, our promotion amount has increased by 13% of the total sales amount, which is 5% higher than the average of the category, and sales growth of our main products can reach up to 89% in the same month. We have also simultaneously optimized stocking and logistics, strengthened the construction of overseas warehouses to improve efficiency, and achieved 3-5 times sales growth during the promotion period. Due to product restrictions, we are currently unable to report DOTD (Treasure of the Town Store), but judging from the cases shared by the exclusive consultant, there is much to be done in this regard. We will also pay more attention to FBA and plan to develop new products that can be stored, hoping to drive subsequent growth.
Luny: Out of confidence that the product is excellent, we didn't pay attention to promotional reports before and only used the most basic Amazon Coupons (Coupons). However, the exclusive consultant will place special emphasis on the overall effect of the promotion schedule on increasing exposure, and guide us to apply the promotional fee reduction opportunities that come with the Seller Growth Service and try to use promotional tools such as Lightning Deals and 7-Day Promotions according to our own sales pace, especially planning major promotions such as Amazon Prime Day membership days in advance.
Two months before the promotion, we will prepare inventory according to the estimate of the reporting campaign, and then confirm the preparation in conjunction with the logistics timeline. At the same time, it will also begin promotional preparations, such as using Manage Your Customer Engagement (MYCE) to send in-site letters to introduce fans to announcements about old products participating in promotions and new product promotions, etc., to obtain and expand consumer traffic with a certain level of awareness about our brand, so that traffic is more accurate.
After the promotion started, we adopted the advice of exclusive consultants to increase the proportion of brand promotion ads and display promotion ads, and use the prominent discount logo to reveal more ASINs participating in the promotion at the top of the search results page or in contests to increase exposure.
Now, our promotion amount has increased by 13% of the total sales amount, which is 5% higher than the average of the category, and sales growth of our main products can reach up to 89% in the same month. We have also simultaneously optimized stocking and logistics, strengthened the construction of overseas warehouses to improve efficiency, and achieved 3-5 times sales growth during the promotion period. Due to product restrictions, we are currently unable to report DOTD (Treasure of the Town Store), but judging from the cases shared by the exclusive consultant, there is much to be done in this regard. We will also pay more attention to FBA and plan to develop new products that can be stored, hoping to drive subsequent growth.
03. Use data to make product selection more emboldened
Luny: We have been operating at Amazon for many years, and the product selection reports provided by our exclusive consultants have always been a good helper for us. Amazon's official data is more trustworthy than searching for industry information on the Internet. In the growth sprint stage, we will focus on important indicators such as the growth rate of similar categories, market capacity and segment opportunities, Chinese seller penetration rate, and top brand rankings. As a technology startup brand, we can't be blindly optimistic about products; we still need to understand industry trends and consumer preferences. Data-based product selection analysis has made us more motivated to buy new products. In the past year, our number of new products increased 170% year over year.
Luny: We have been operating at Amazon for many years, and the product selection reports provided by our exclusive consultants have always been a good helper for us. Amazon's official data is more trustworthy than searching for industry information on the Internet. In the growth sprint stage, we will focus on important indicators such as the growth rate of similar categories, market capacity and segment opportunities, Chinese seller penetration rate, and top brand rankings. As a technology startup brand, we can't be blindly optimistic about products; we still need to understand industry trends and consumer preferences. Data-based product selection analysis has made us more motivated to buy new products. In the past year, our number of new products increased 170% year over year.
Ampere Time is steadfast, leading the way in the hot new energy sector. If you also want to be like Ampere Time, get hands-on guidance from Amazon's official advisors from the initial stage of going overseas, fully apply Amazon's official data analysis to set the development direction for the business, play with various Amazon tools, overcome cold start barriers, achieve operational breakthroughs, and grow into a big seller in the category, then quickly take a look at Amazon Seller Growth Services.
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