11. Building a Brand on Amazon - Then and Now with Liran Hirschkorn, CEO at Incrementum Digital

Liran Hirschkorn joins E-Commerce with Coffee?! for what is one of the most informative looks at Amazon we’ve heard yet on the show.

Liran’s own experience growing brands and consulting hundreds more at Incrementum Digital has given him a wealth of insights into the “then” and “now” of Amazon, and curious insights into the future.

This interview covers multiple unbeatable topics, especially for brands just getting started on Amazon, like:

• What did these 15 months of pandemic mean for the supply chain and for niche saturation for Amazon sellers?
• What have recent changes to the Amazon platform meant for sellers, new and old?
• How can a brand learn to “fail fast and fail forward” on the platform while coming out stronger for it?

Liran gives detailed answers to these questions and more. Listen to the full episode for all his insights, examples, and insider tips.

What to listen for:

• Liran got his start in wholesale modeling and quickly grew a successful Amazon brand and private label. Listen in to learn how he got there.
• Amazon ads have gotten more complicated over the last few years, which is right when Liran started helping other brands learn ad strategies to get a solid footing on the platform. Thus, Incrementum Digital was born.
• Liran has also seen some major changes for Amazon sellers in the last few years. For example, bigger organizations are acquiring successful Amazon brands to create mega-competitive conglomerate brands.
• The Amazon platform itself has changed, too. For example, incentivized reviews (which were once an easy way to gain many early reviews) were done away with. Listen to what Liran says this means for sellers today.
• In some niches, “you have to lose money for a set time until you can get enough reviews,” Liran explains. New sellers should consider how deep their pockets are when entering into a niche that already has big players.
• Liran also talks about some of the hurdles for new brands selling on Amazon. Products can get taken down, and competition is stiff. This fuels the love-hate relationship many sellers have with the platform, because ultimately, the opportunity to reach Amazon consumers is still too great to pass up. Liran talks about SOPs you can develop to be prepared for this. “The opportunity is greater than the headache,” he assures us.
• “Once you launch a product, within 12 months you’ll know if it has real demand,” Liran explains. What’s more, if you feel like you’re “fighting an uphill battle within the first two months from launch,” he adds, that’s an important sign that your Amazon strategy or product isn’t working. The first month is the most important for the Amazon algorithm's take on your brand. Listen in to what Liran says you can do about it.
• Amazon actually likes new brands and products to challenge existing brands, and Liran explains why in simple terms. He concludes, “if you're not converting early on, it's not a traffic problem.”

A love letter from our sponsor:

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