Centurion Safety is a market leader in developing, designing and manufacturing above-the-neck safety protection in the UK. With over 145 years of experience, the Norfolk-based company offers products developed with cutting-edge research and technology to keep customers protected and safe.
When Centurion Safety’s marketing team found themselves on the cusp of launching their products on Amazon, Product Marketing Manager Julie Hepton reached out to Sell Beyond, looking for some “hand-holding” to make sure they launched with success.
Amazon coaching – holding our hand
For Centurion Safety, Amazon marked a real shift in the company’s culture. Previously selling B2B, through face-to-face sales managers and third-party retailers, Centurion’s venture into e-commerce had to be right the first time. There was a genuine concern that they were falling behind the curve, and launching on Amazon had become a priority.
Meeting with the Sell Beyond coaching team, Centurion CEO Allan Lock and Julie Hepton, shared their concerns about Amazon as a sales channel.
- How could they guarantee profitable Amazon orders?
- How could they increase customer conversion rates?
- How could they shape and deliver an effective Amazon customer journey?
Building a profitable Amazon growth strategy
“We didn’t have the time and money to get it wrong.” (Julie Hepton)
We worked with Centurion’s leadership team to craft a coaching programme that would address their concerns and give Centurion’s team the support, expertise and knowledge they needed to take on Amazon.
The programme was two-fold.
Firstly, it included an Amazon PPC strategy, PPC campaign set-up, daily PPC management (all delivered personally by Sell Beyond consultants Paul and Phil), bi-weekly account reviews, PPC training and monthly profitability updates.
Secondly, it focused on Amazon conversion and page view growth. This was done by identifying Centurion Safety’s target customer, mapping out the Amazon customer journey, refining product messaging, reviewing digital assets and makingrecommendations for Amazon product listings.
The Sell Beyond team supported with training and assistance on the design and upload of A+ content, infographics and copywriting, alongside sharing their knowledge on Amazon SEO research, how to update technical backend information, manage Amazon case logs and uploads.
“Sell Beyond provided clear, practical support in helping us set up our Amazon Vendor Central account and improve our product listings. Their team guided us through the setup process, ensured everything was configured correctly, and offered straightforward optimisation recommendations that were easy to implement.” (Allan Lock)
Laying the foundations with Amazon coaching
Armed with the knowledge, confidence and strategy to launch on Amazon, Centurion Safety listed their first 17 products and saw sales double month on month in the first three months.
With this success came the appointment of their first E-Comm team member, specialising in data analytics. Amazon coaching has prompted one of Centurion’s shareholders to provide hands-on support to online sales. With this cumulative investment they’ve been able to increase their Amazon product listings to 30.
Admitting that Amazon is still a “minefield”, Centurion Safety are confident they now have the right foundations in place to push into all the growth potential that Amazon has to offer.
“Their knowledge and responsiveness made the process efficient and helped us establish a solid foundation on Amazon Vendor Central.” (Allan Lock)