There are many reasons to consider having an Amazon advertising agency take over the day to day work of managing your Amazon ads.
You may be struggling, knowing that Amazon PPC is a key component to brand growth, but not knowing how to do it yourself.
You may simply have grown your brand beyond the point where you can handle the workload yourself.
Whether you need help to get problematic ads on the right track or you need an experienced account manager to take over so that you can focus on other areas of your business, most brand owners will eventually consider working with an agency.
But not all agencies are alike.
As an Amazon seller, knowing the right questions to ask when speaking with potential agencies can help you to avoid the pitfalls that many sellers fall prey to.
A knowledgeable seller is a successful seller – here are some important questions to ask potential Amazon advertising agencies.
1. Do You Work With Any Of My Competitors?
It is unlikely that you’ll find an agency that will obligate themselves to not work with anyone in your space. It just isn’t a sustainable model.
However…
Prospective Amazon advertising management companies should be transparent with you about if they currently work with anyone in your space, and what they’ll do to ensure your data is protected.
Once they say, “yes,” your next question should be:
If you work with someone in my space, is my data protected for a competitive edge?
The Entourage Management Services Answer:
It is likely that we work with someone in your category. We will not share information on which brands we work with, and you will enjoy that same privacy protection.
Further, before any new account is assigned an Account Manager, we check to ensure you’re not placed with anyone working with any of your competitors. This ensures that:
- The same person isn’t working on two competing brands
- There is no chance of possible cross-over in keyword or search term data
- There is no risk of personal influence
We take our promise to every brand extremely seriously – we will work towards your goals while adhering to the highest standards of ethics and integrity.
2. How Often Will I Meet With My Account Manager?
You’re paying for an expert to handle things for you, but it is your brand, your vision, and of course, your money.
You should know how often you’ll get to speak with your Account Manager, and how often they’ll touch base with you between scheduled meetings in order to relay information.
The Entourage Management Services Answer:
- On your onboarding call with us, you will get your Account Manager’s direct contact information. You may reach out to them any time.
- We recommend that you schedule a call with your Account Manager at least once per month. Your account manager will be available to you for additional calls if you need them. Some clients speak with their Account Managers every two weeks instead of once per month.
- Your account manager will touch base with you at a minimum of once per week, usually via email (or Skype, if you prefer to chat) to keep you in the loop on what is happening in your account.
- Call scheduling is based upon the preference of the client and the availability of the Account Manager.
3. Do You Outsource To Another Team?
This is an important one.
If you know, like, and trust a company, and that trust influences you to invest in them as your advertising partner, you should be working with that company.
If the company you’re talking to doesn’t directly manage their Account Managers, this is a red flag.
An important distinction – this question is not “where are your account managers located?” Ecommerce is a global game, and even the biggest companies have staff telecommute. Don’t be scared off by a company that has employees from around the world – just make sure they are actual experts who work for the company you’re speaking with and are not an outsourced, third party team.
The Entourage Management Services Answer:
Every account manager works for Entourage. They are trained the Entourage way, by Mike Zagare and his team, and manage accounts based on the strategies Mike teaches.
All Account Managers attend weekly team meetings with Mike (every Friday, bright and early), plus ongoing group training, team education, and more.
Our Account Managers are Entouragers.
4. How Often Is My Account Worked On?
This is a common question, and is a tricky one.
While you should definitely ask this question, the answer should never be a static number.
If a company says they’ll work on your account twice per week for the amount of money you pay, what does that mean when your advertising needs become more complex? What about when you launch several new products? Or during Black Friday – Cyber Monday? What if you’re ready to add on DSP advertising?
The answer you receive should be one of flexibility and mobility in how your advertising needs are met.
The Entourage Management Services Answer:
All accounts are consistently monitored, but how often optimizations, expansions, and new ad creations are performed depends on the unique needs of the brand.
There may be weeks when we’re implementing simple optimization tactics to lower ACoS, or we have to wait to make adjustments because we’ve just helped you with revising your listing and need to test the effects. During weeks like this, you’ll see fewer optimizations made.
However, there may be weeks when we’re working in your account every day, finding new sales opportunities, expanding into new ad types, etc.
It will be based on your goals, budget, and the advertising strategy that your Account Manager puts together in order to grow your brand.
If you think Entourage Management Services might be the right Amazon advertising partner for you, schedule a call with us. We help Amazon brands become household names, and we’d love to speak with you about your brand’s potential.
