How to Work with an Amazon Campaign Manager

April 7, 2021
By The Badger

PPC campaign management, especially for Amazon, really flourishes when handled by an outside expert. If you want to rake in the sales on Amazon but don’t have the time or experience, an Amazon campaign manager might be for you. That being said, you have to be willing to put in effort to be an all-star client.

If you put the work in to build and maintain a good relationship with your Amazon campaign manager, you can reach the promised land: being in sync with your PPC manager, feeling like you have someone that you can trust, and having confidence that your accounts are in good hands.

Check out these tips from our very own Managed Services team if you’re curious about learning how to work with an Amazon campaign manager.

Amazon Campaign Goal Setting

Regardless of if your main focus is ACOS, CTR, or other campaign metrics, setting goals for your Amazon PPC should be a collaboration with your Amazon campaign manager.

Imagine that you hire a mechanic to help improve your car’s fuel efficiency. You would want them to look at your motor oil, tire pressure, air filters, and the amount of wear and tear so the two of you can come up with an informed action plan for how to improve your MPG. Your Amazon campaign manager should be able to do a deep dive into your campaigns to figure out what plan of action will get you where you want to go.

Once the two of you have determined a goal that will work for your Amazon campaigns, write that goal down and keep it handy. Not only will it help your campaign manager know if that goal needs to be changed due to outside circumstances, it’ll help you better understand the speed at which progress can happen.

Communicating with your Amazon Campaign Manager

If you want to determine what your Amazon Advertising strategy and technique look like, then you should hire an employee rather than an outside expert. You’re not your campaign manager’s boss; you’re their equal. Send some resources and ideas their way once in a while and ask their opinion on implementing them in your campaigns, but let them do their thing.

Additionally, don’t force your campaign manager to walk you through every step of everything they do. While collaboration is definitely a good thing, you must have a level of trust in them to work their magic on your Amazon PPC campaigns.

Your PPC manager knows what they’re doing. They’re in the Amazon Advertising industry for a reason and chances are good that they’ve told you about their past experiences. Keep your eyes open for new strategies and ask their opinion on whether or not something would work for you, but trust them to optimize your campaigns to reach your goal.

Be clear about what you need to feel comfortable with having someone else manage your Amazon campaigns. Tell your campaign manager what kind of reports and communication you prefer. Some clients prefer only face-to-face communication, some prefer only email, and some prefer a mix of the two. Ask yourself: what do you really want out of this relationship? Why do you want those specific things?

Some people worry so much about their campaigns that what they want is more communication than optimization. If that’s the case, be clear about that to your Amazon campaign manager. Clear communication, both from the get-go and throughout your relationship, is essential.

Maintaining Your Amazon Campaign Manager Relationship

Once you and your campaign manager have started on the right foot, there are a few practices you should adopt to keep your relationship at its very best.

One major commonality across all our successful clients is having a single point of contact. Going into a call with six people on the other side makes it harder to communicate what’s happening and come to a consensus on what to do next. The more concise you make things for an Amazon campaign manager, the better.

Be careful not to take your anxieties out on your campaign manager. If you catastrophize over every dip in performance, it can easily ruin the relationship. Along the same vein, don’t nitpick your Amazon campaign manager. It’s much harder for them to get things done if they have to deal with constant micromanagement. Plus, there’s no such thing as a 100% perfect Amazon campaign. If you have 1,000 keywords and only one is performing poorly, you’re doing really well.

Always remember to look at the big picture in terms of your campaign and the progress made over time.

What You Need to Do

When you have changes in your Amazon account, notify your PPC manager ASAP. Things like inventory and price changes affect how your Amazon PPC should operate, so keep your campaign manager up to date to avoid wasting money.

Keep in mind that within Amazon, there are tons of factors outside of PPC that have power over your campaigns. Things like listing optimization, Amazon SEO, and more also have serious influence over the success of your campaigns. PPC management can keep your PPC under control, but the rest is up to you. Be sure that you spend time working on and optimize everything outside of your PPC on a regular basis. Even the best Amazon campaign manager in the world can’t save a campaign that’s poorly optimized for SEO, filled with products with poor market fit, and targeting the wrong audience.

Also remember that there is a time delay on Amazon’s data, so don’t freak out if you don’t see the changes you expected immediately. Not only is there the 48-hour time delay on the data itself, there’s also the 14-day attribution phase.

Ask your Amazon campaign manager for suggestions on how the two of you can make your campaigns even better. They might have some great insight that can take your account to the next level.

The #1 question a client can possibly ask is, “Is there anything your most successful clients are doing that we should do too?” That question reveals some easy wins and opportunities to grow.

Key Takeaways

Successful Amazon campaign management is a two-way street. Your campaign manager can only realize the full potential of your Amazon Advertising if you set them up for success and maintain a healthy relationship.

Collaborate with your campaign manager when setting goals for your campaigns. Allow them to look at every part of your campaigns to determine the best way to get from Point A to Point B.

Remember that your Amazon campaign manager knows what they’re doing. Don’t dictate strategy or technique, and don’t micromanage them. They’re your equal, not your employee, and treating them with that respect will help carry your relationship over the long term.

Above all else, clear and honest communication and collaboration are essential for building a successful relationship with your Amazon campaign manager. Be upfront about what you’re looking for in the relationship.

If you’re in the market for an Amazon campaign manager, our Amazon PPC management team can put you in the fast lane to Amazon selling success. Consider giving us a try!