We’ve been hearing it a lot lately.

The warning to Facebook and Google to watch their back: there’s a new digital advertising player on the block.

It’s being talked about by marketing executives, gaining traction among consumers, and proving it has unrivaled audience insights for digital advertisers.

What else does Amazon advertising offer?

Let’s start with the impressive numbers:

• Amazon earned 44% of total e-commerce sales in 2016
• 55% of online shoppers start their product searches on Amazon
• There are over 80 million Amazon Prime members, up 38% from 2016

Given its global scale and influence, Amazon marketing services are attracting more advertisers every day.

As a result, the company has rolled out a series of updates and upgrades to its programmatic ad platform.

It is not just the wide consumer base and platform features that draw marketers to advertising on Amazon.

As we mentioned earlier, the access to consumer data and insights is the true factor that sets Amazon apart from the rest.

And, as of Summer 2017, it has a new tool that makes gathering audience feedback and information even easier.

The biggest question regarding this Amazon advertising tool, though, is should brands use it?

Here, we’ll discuss the newest feature, delve into its advantages versus its costs, and conclude what Amazon marketers (if any) benefit from it.

What Actually is the Latest Amazon Advertising Tool?

The newest feature to join the Amazon marketing suite is called Amazon Insights.

It lives within Seller Central, and can be set up easily through the platform.

What the tool essentially does is allow Amazon marketers to release surveys to customers and solicit their feedback on either your products or related products on the site.

In order to use Amazon Insights, first select your target respondent size (the range is set at 100-2,500).

Then, you can select the feedback question from either pre-determined Amazon templates or by creating your own.

The final step is setting up your target audience.

You can select up to four of the pre-set options:

• Customers who have previously purchased your product(s) on Amazon.
• Those who viewed your product(s) on the site.
• Customers who viewed but did not purchase your product(s) on Amazon.
• Amazon users who purchased a product in the same category as your product

Upon submitting your survey request to Amazon, they’ll get back to you with final details.

Keep in mind that the price of an Insights campaign through Amazon ads is based on the number of respondents.

You are only charged for people that actually complete the survey and submit their response.

The Advantages of the Tool for Amazon Marketing

Obviously, gathering customer feedback can be a huge advantage for a business.

Among the top three reasons to solicit feedback through Amazon advertising, you can:

• Learn what your customers like (or don’t like) about your product.
• Show customers you value them and their experiences with your brand.
• Gather actionable suggestions to improve your product.

Once you’ve acquired the information from customers about what they enjoyed about your product, or where they saw room for improvement, you can then make iterations that help you succeed even more on the site.

Additionally, customers like providing feedback as it often affects customer service and their shopping experience.

A loyal customer who feels valued when asked to provide feedback can be worth up to 10X as much as their first purchase.

With Amazon Insights, you can ensure consumers feel valued, heard, and improve their satisfaction and loyalty.

The Amazon ad tool also provides you with the insights you need to develop and improve your product based on the people that matter most: your customers.

Why Most Marketers Don’t Even Know How to Use It When Advertising on Amazon

Sure, Amazon Insights was just released a matter of months ago.

However, it has managed to stay unknown and unused by many Amazon marketers.

Even the FAQ page for the Amazon advertising tool is pretty sparse.

The major reason for this is cost.

Every response costs $5, and this can obviously end up accumulating if you launch a survey targeting 2,000 people.

As part of your first Amazon advertising campaign, it may not be the best option.

Yes, feedback is important.

But is it worth $10,000 to know it about a single product?

Imagine how these fees can rack up if you want to run a customer feedback survey across your product line.

Though it is possible that Amazon will reduce the price, for now it’s important that brands consider carefully how this tool can impact their Amazon marketing strategy.

Once you’ve determined the advantages outweigh the costs of using Amazon Insights, then you can begin integrating it into your campaign.

Which Amazon Advertisers Benefit from This New Feature?

For any business considering using Amazon Insights as part of their advertising strategy, they must have a concise goal in mind.

First, you’ll likely want to create your own survey question.

Though Amazon does provide those templates, creating your own question will allow you to gather the specific insights and answers you want most.

Even something as simple as “Why didn’t you purchase this product?” that is geared towards customers that viewed but did not purchase the product can make the entire initiative worth it.

A few other examples of instances in which this new Amazon ad tool can be worth it include:

• You’re launching an initiative to bundle products and want to determine which of your inventory to do so with.
• It’s about to be a big selling holiday, and you need to determine what products to stock up on.
• You’re about to launch a new product and want to set it at the right price, and market it the best way possible to Amazon customers.
• You want to figure out which of your Amazon marketing strategies are – or aren’t – working to draw people to your page and earn revenue.

They key to fulfilling any of these objectives is to create a survey that includes the specific question that provides the best insight.

You need the answer to directly benefit the goal you had set for the Amazon Insights campaign.