Podcast transcript
Introduction
Hi, and welcome to another live episode of Marketplace Masters brought to you by MerchantSpring, the leading marketplace analytics platform for Amazon agencies and vendors. Marketplace Masters is all about going deeper into the challenges that brands and agency face to lift performance via practical actions and insights.
Paul Sonneveld
I'm your host, Paul Sonneveld, and today we're going over how do you foster a culture of innovation and how to set yourself up for success, particularly within the context of running an Amazon agency. To help us do this, I have invited Brett Bohannon to join us on the show.
Let me just introduce him before we get into it. Brett has been in the Amazon space since 2000. He and his wife created a private label business and sold it in 2018. From there, Brett started his own agency and grew an Amazon department in a large digital marketing firm. And then went into consulting, building out training programs for agencies, brands, and the like. So he brings with him a broad range of experience to the conversation today. Thank you so much for being on the show, Brett. Great to have you.
Brett Bohannon
Yeah. Thanks. Appreciate it. Thanks for the intro, glad to be here as well.
Paul Sonneveld
Great. Well, let's start off with the business that you run today, Amazon with Brett. Great name, very personal and I love it. Tell me a little bit about that. How did it start? How did you end up in that place? What's the journey? Give us a little bit.
Brett Bohannon
Yeah. Amazon with Brett came about sorry. My two-year-old snuck in, my wife's grabbing her. Amazon with Brett came. It really came about over the past, like I would say probably about three or four years in regard to just kind of the education around Amazon. I really, really enjoy providing tidbits and, and whatnot, and tricks that people can use in this space. So that's kind of what Amazon with Brett came about is just creating exceptional value for anyone that sells on Amazon.
Paul Sonneveld
That's fantastic. Describe to me the moment, like obviously you've been working this space for a while. Was there a moment where you go, right, actually I can really help people with my knowledge, with my experience. I mean, is there a moment you think back off? Where that's sort of crystallized for you?
Brett Bohannon
Ooh. I think that helped happened over a period of time. The first moment was, it was back in 2018 when we sold our FBA business. Ryan Mulvany, I'm sure some people here are listening know the gentleman. He was actually kind of a mentor of mine during that time. He runs quiverr for a long time. He's been in the Amazon space forever. He's also a friend of mine but I basically was like, Hey, you have a knowledge that not too many people do. You should use it and here is a couple different ways that you can use it.
So that's what led me into kind of the agency side and then just kind of linked in overall of just providing value on LinkedIn and people responding in my newsletter and going, wow, this is amazing, kind of helped that go. I forget what it's called, but there's a moment that people that with knowledge think that everyone else knows it as well. There's like a rule about this, I forgot what it is, but if you follow some of the big guys on LinkedIn and Twitter, they, they talk about this and, and being able to have this knowledge that we in this Amazon space have, we kind of have to know that not everyone knows it and it's still pretty early, which is pretty cool and pretty neat. Obviously, it's been expedited over the past couple years with Covid and all, but it's really neat being able to help people.
Paul Sonneveld
So let's talk a little bit more about Amazon with Brett, How do you work with clients today? What are the services that you offer? If I'm one of your clients, what does the experience look like for me?
Brett Bohannon
Yeah, no, good question. I do full management for only a handful of clients. I have some right now just to keep fresh, truthfully. I love it. But then what I do mostly is consulting, and coaching. We also have a training program. It's basically a course that was developed ever since, I would say about 2018. Just things that I found very useful, that I was doing with clients and steps and processes and things like that.
It's a cohort-based course. So basically what it is, we have x amount of people come in. We have a live weekly call once a week and we go over different topics of Amazon. A lot of it we can just totally go down rabbit holes and talk about all kinds of cool stuff. And then we also just kind of like free tidbits on Amazon with brett.com, there's free guides. There's also some paid small guides. Just want to make it more affordable for people to go out there and get some knowledge.
Paul Sonneveld
That's great, man. That's really good. I know we'll get to how do people get in contact with you down the road. Cause I'm sure a couple listeners are already thinking about, Hey, how do I get, become part of that? That cohort sounds amazing. But let's switch gears and talk about the main topic for today, which is innovation. Innovation's one of those words we all wanted. We all think we're, maybe good or bad at it. The reality is, particularly if you're an agency, right? You'll know this in our, you know, we used to be an agency. Every day is full on, lots of fires burning, lots of things going on.
Openly, I think Innovation can fall by the wayside. We had a few things. We try and do like a weekly meeting where people talk about new ideas and, you know, it never happened. So, I want to really zone in or zoom in into that particular topic. So let's start with, why is innovation important? I mean, it's in a way it's obvious, but I would love for you to articulate in the context of an Amazon agency.
Brett Bohannon
Yeah, that's a good question. I talked about this last week on another podcast with Michael Mayer. And in innovation, funny because right now Amazon is, is literally maybe once a day that something new is happening within the space. When I say something new, some new features coming out, mostly it's Ad related. Something's happening. And so, innovation happens with that, that's one way to look at it, is new thing comes out, okay, how do we jump on that new thing? How can we innovate with that? And you have to look at that. You have to look at all the new things coming out.
Innovation is talking with people or, getting information and going, okay, well that's a cool way to look at it. Innovation in general is just what can I do to take this client to the next level of where they are at in the process of Amazon? And what I mean by that, the process of Amazon or their timeline of Amazon. I was having a conversation that I've been in this space for so long that some accounts I've had for years and we're still innovating and we're still going, okay, this is a perfect time to implement this strategy, or this is a perfect time to implement that strategy. And then, at the same time it's if you're chasing these shiny objects.
A big one right now is, is driving outside traffic from, influencers, TikTok, social media and all that. And that's great. You should do that. And I'll tell, I try to beat this over the head of everyone. Uh, maybe a bad analogy, but use the brand referral bonus program if you're doing that. But also you want to make sure that product is going to convert. So it depends on what kind of influence you're using or what kind of social media channel you're using.
But the best thing to do is have the foundation set. So it's really hard at an agency level if you have a lot of clients, and let's say one account manager has 10 clients, it's hard to innovate, because you're constantly doing, you're playing fire man and you've got your fire sewage, you're out. You're like, uh oh, this ASIN is suppressed. Oh no, we need to fix this. Oh no, we need to fix that. That's just going to happen.
So innovation during that process is tough. So, one key thing that I like to do is use tools. So use tools to take up time, like MerchantSpring and other tools to free up your time so you can innovate. Have processes set in place so you can outsource that. Maybe that process that takes up x amount of time so you can look to innovate. I think those are key things to do, but what I always like to say is just make sure you have your basic set up. Make sure you know your stocks there. Make sure your listing’s going great. So, if you're in a funnel perspective, if you're driving top of the funnel, people to that listing, they're going to convert. So you want to just make sure that, that, that everything's dialed in.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah. Now there's some really great points there actually and thanks for the MerchantSpring plug. I'm going to ask you some about some other tools till soon as well. But it does resonate with me in the sense that one of the things that we try to do and a lot of tools try and do this as well. I don't think we're exclusive in that. But how do you take away particularly the sort of the heavy administrative aspects that actually I've always thought about, they cannot kind of do two things. They take up time.
Time is value, but also, they take up that of mental capacity. They really kind of, that very mundane work and that it sort of kills off any creative thoughts because you're just in kind of on a treadmill and trying to get through particular tasks. Which sort of leads me to task you around, what are agencies I mean, I know you've worked with lots of agencies. The agencies, that you've seen this do really well. What sort of tools, processes do they have in place? And appreciate every business is different, but other things you've seen say man, this is brilliant, this works well.
Brett Bohannon
Yeah. I think, it's hard to say, but what I think works the best is leaning on individuals that is their strong suit. So for instance, let's just say you got someone on your team that's really strong with SEO, lean on that person for SEO because they're going to like doing it a little bit more. Or lean on someone that has the ability to take care of something with excitement rather than just like, you know, boringness. I think right now, when I was actually thinking about this today, you're going to have to do some boring stuff these days and boring stuff is just that it's boring, but sometimes you got to do it.
But the biggest thing is to be able to take some time for those creative juices. So a lot of that happens differently for individuals. It might be meeting with teams and going, okay, what's new? What have you heard new in the Amazon space and how can we help our clients with that new feature or that new bells and whistles.
I personally love getting out in nature. Being near water, going for a walk, that's where my creative juices flow and innovation happens a lot of times. I'll see something on LinkedIn or something and then it's really funny because it's funny because these innovations, where does it actually arrive from? Like, who's the one who said this is going to work because it does.
But it gets trickled down into this funnel of information from all these people. And it's, I think it's really neat. But what I do is I always like to kind of look at something and go, okay, that looks cool. I save it, but I never go back on LinkedIn to actually read it. But if, if it really interests me, I'll write it down. A couple days later, I'm like, oh, that's how I can use that. So you just kind of having it in the back of your mind and being able to, to kind of go back to that, I don't know if I might have gone off topic.
Paul Sonneveld
No. But I'm thinking about, as you were talking, I was talking about my own moments of when do the best ideas occur? And actually, a lot of times it's not in front of the, PC or Mac. If I'm really honest, usually I don't know when I'm cycling or when I'm listening to like a book on a completely different topic that's very different to what I usually listen to. It's certainly away from the pc. That's for sure.
Being outdoors definitely helps too. But there is a bit of a conundrum there. Because certainly, following Covid, I don't think I know any Amazon agency that is not, or doesn't claim to be fully remote these days. Which means people are in different locations. Everything is via Zoom or Google meets and like, what are your thoughts on that? I mean, how do you handle kind of innovation?, I guess, in a more constricted environment from an innovation standpoint?
Brett Bohannon
First thing that pops in my mind is walk and talks. So just going on a walk and I mean, Have your phone. You can have your phone right in front of you while you're walking. Just be careful when you're crossing the street. But being outdoors, taking meetings outdoors, like, I love doing that. I think when we first chatted, that was outside. So, I think that kind of stuff is pretty crucial.
There's a lot of tools out there that you can kind of jam out on like Miro’s one, that I like to use as like a whiteboard. But there's tons that are just starting to come out. Kind of whiteboard obviously with tools, there's always a learning curve. But I think that's huge. And I know some agencies that are remote will fly everyone together and have a good time.
So I think that's crucial as well. One thing that I really like is a Notion. Um, so I have like a wiki page on my notion that just built and built since 2018. So being able to kind of share ideas on like a notion page or something where people can go in and just be like, oh, that's cool, that's cool. I think that could, that could help as well.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah, no, there's lots of, I think what you were highlighting is just, it's still possible, but you've got to think about it differently.
Brett Bohannon
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
I've got to use other tools that are available that are at your disposal to really do that. And I certainly, to your point about I think there's still value in getting together. In fact, sometimes LinkedIn seems to be full of people getting together finally, once a year in some crazy resort in Mexico or wherever, some exotic location, and that's just awesome.
Brett Bohannon
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
Actually I noticed a lot of you, but some of the conferences that are happening, a lot of agencies will exhibit at a conference like, prosper for example, but then they take the opportunity to maybe tag on another day or two for actually some team building or innovation or strategic planning or whatever that might be. So, we're talking about innovation, right?
Which then leads me to think about, what are the big topics that you are currently thinking about? So, not from a client's point of view, you run a business in the Amazon space, what are the things that you've rewritten now that you've been walking and thinking about? Particularly as we go into, Q4 is just in front of us. What are some of the innovation pieces that mulling around in your head at the moment?
Brett Bohannon
Ooh, that's a loaded question. I would say obviously just like, kind of the hot topic right now is, is influencers, outside traffic, any sort of outside traffic to Amazon. Especially if it's a well-established brand and they have an email list. Use the attribution link, use the brand referral bonus program, offer 10% off, and then you get, you can recoup that 10% back from the referral bonus program. So that's one that I love. Because that is the lowest part of the funnel. I mean, that's hot traffic. Amazon loves it and, and you'll make more money. So, that's always good.
Google traffic as well. So, advertising on Google to the Amazon listings. Buddy of mine was just on a webinar and he mentioned this, I'm not going to take to say it was my idea, but he mentioned that, you know, basically per every five from Google is like five to seven purchases from Amazon. So, it's weighted more. So, it just kind of shows that Amazon just loves that outside traffic. So that's,
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah.
Brett Bohannon
That's the biggest thing that I'm looking at and you hear it all the time. It's nothing new. But you know, with reviews and everything's just getting harder and harder and harder. And what I mean by that is that no one's, it's harder to do the black hack tactics that people were doing, which is a great thing. And Amazon's putting those kinds of policies and new things to make that happen. So, that outside traffic right now is kind of got the spotlight on it. So that's really cool and Amazon's pushing it.
One other thing that I really love is noticing what is changing in their UX. Because if you kind of look at it and go, oh, okay, like yesterday I posted how they're starting to do spaces and bullet points on some. And I noticed it the other week. It doesn't mean it's going to happen. But it gives you the ability that Amazon's focusing on something. So, everyone's like, oh, imagery, it's bullet points are dead, but, you know it. It all ties together. So, having strong bullet points is still crucial because of what they're doing on their UX. Just noticing what Amazon's changing can kind of lead into an innovation in itself.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah, that is really interesting. You're sort of your observing, it's almost like you're drawing, trying to draw a psychological profile of what Amazon's doing by observing all the kind of outside changes and then drawing some inferences from that.
And then how do you play into that? How do you take advantage of that? That is super, super interesting.
By the way, the other point you mentioned earlier I think is really, really useful. Innovation isn't always about, hey, I've got to come up with this brand new no one's ever thought of idea. Like a lot of times, I mean, this is what I do. Some people may call it plagiarized, but I might just stumble upon a good idea. And then it's just that little tweak in terms of, how can it apply to my business, to my context, to my problem that I'm trying to solve? And that pushes that thinking forward, which is in my book, true Innovation for sure.
Brett Bohannon
Totally. I'm a firm believer of not reinventing the wheel but utilizing it and maybe doing a tweak, like you said. Like everyone's talking about, outside traffic and whatnot. And that's great. But it's like, okay, if you have an audience, use that audience first. Go through that and then go towards that more middle of the top of the funnel. Maybe that's the way you do it. So it's not going to be all cut and dry for everybody. You know, how people put it. But you're right. I don't think it's plagiarism. I mean, if it's a good idea and people are sharing it, by all means, man, try it on. If it works, that's great. And maybe make it a little tweak and it'll work even better.
Paul Sonneveld
Yeah, well that's the other point, isn't it? It's always like, it's not just do it once and it's kind of a fail of success type of outcome. It's do it once, learn a bit more, tweak it, learn a bit more, improve it. Sometimes you still end up throwing it in the bin. But sometimes you end up with something really, really good. Persistence is such a big key to that as well.
Brett Bohannon
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
Awesome. Hey, before we wrap up, I wanted to ask you about Prime Day. Second prime day this year, somewhere in October, perhaps. What are your thoughts? Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? How do you think about it?
Brett Bohannon
I think for people like my mom, it's going to be great for the consumer side because she always buys her presence way early, like absurdly early. So those people that are looking for deals Christmas time. I think it's going to be good because of that. That could lead into a potentially the Black Friday, Cyber Monday being a little bit softer than it has been in the past years. I don't know. But that could be, you know, a theory there.
It was interesting. I saw Amazon, they wanted Black Friday, Cyber Monday deals in by like September 2nd, to have a better in line for it being on the actual days. So it sounds like they're moving. They're deals to more of a Black Friday, Cyber Monday week. So if you put in a lightning deal or something, you're not guaranteed to have it on those days. I don't know, that's a theory as well.
But they haven't put in submissions for the October Prime day, which is kind of interesting. Not that I've seen as of late. But, so that was kind of a mouthful, but yes. It's, I think it would be strong. I think it will be just because of the whole economy right now. There's always these questions, but people are still spending. It doesn't mean they're not going to spend, it just means they're tightening it up a little bit more. So we'll see. But I think, I think it'll be a good one.
Paul Sonneveld
Well, we certainly look forward to that second Prime day this year and how the whole interplay with Black Friday, obviously Christmas trading it's going to be really interesting to see whether it's an incremental effort or whether it's a bit of a market share grab, or actually it's just a pull forward. Time will tell. We'll definitely know the answer by the time we get to Christmas.
Brett Bohannon
Yeah.
Paul Sonneveld
Great. Well, we are out of time, Brett. So let's wrap it up. I want to really want to thank you today for coming on the show. Thank you for being so generous with your expertise and being down to earth and just sharing what you're up to and how you look at things. Really appreciate lots of the practical tips along the way as well. I do want to ask you, and you know, this is a bit of a plug for you. Like any viewers that are interested in exploring your services, what's the best way to get in touch with you?
Brett Bohannon
Yeah, you can go to amazonwithbrett.com. And then you can sign up for the newsletter. So you can either go to amazonwithbrett.com, or you can go to amazonwithbrett.com/newsletter. Also want to offer a free 101 guide. I launched that man years and years ago. I just updated it. So you can also do, it's right here, amazonwithbrett.com/amazon101. So you can have that. And then when you download it, just check your email and subscribe, and then you'll get my weekly newsletters.
So these newsletters are about I don't know, five minutes of tips and tricks of just what to do on Amazon. A most recent one was about, what day of the week is your bestselling day?. So I coined the term. Instead of day partying, it's week partying. So you can figure out which one you want to do for Advertising and you know, focus on what days.
Paul Sonneveld
That's awesome. Brett, really appreciate that. Thank you for being on the show. Everyone, that is it for today's episode of Marketplace Masters. Thank you so much for listening and don't forget to visit MerchantSpring for exclusive offers only available to viewers of this show. Until next time, bye-bye!
