How to Get Your Business on Amazon's New Home Services PlatformAmazon is giving small businesses a way to reach customers, but is looking for a particular set of criteria.
ByLaura Entis•
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Today, Amazon launched its newHome Services platform,客户可以购买专业的帮助rom more than 700 services categories, ranging from plumbing and media installation to fringe services such as goat grazing and aerial yoga.
"In less than 60 seconds, customers can now browse, purchase and schedule hundreds of professional services from wall mounting a new TV to installing a new garbage disposal to house cleaning, directly on Amazon.com," Amazon said in a press release. The platform also lets customers book local service providers through partnerships with handyman siteTaskRabbitand auto parts chainPep Boys.
For small businesses, joining the network could be valuable tool, a way to get more exposure and reach more customers. (More than 85 million Amazon customers are shopping for products that need professional services, the company says.)
Related:Home Improvement Startup Porch Raises $65 Million at $500 Million Valuation
Because Amazon is positioning the service as a trustworthy, vetted platform, it's invite-only: Amazon says it accepts, on average, three out of every 100 service professionals in each metro area and that greenlit pro services have an average customer rating of 4.7 stars.
So how can your business qualify? First,you can apply here. Before you do, however, know that Amazon requires each business to be licensed, insured and pass a five-point background check.
Amazon doesn't state its cut of the service fee, butaccording to The Verge, a beta version of the platform showed that it was taking 20 percent on standard services, 15 percent on custom and 10 percent on recurring ones.
The new service will compete with startups such asPorchandHandy, which just closed a fresh$15 million in funding.
Related:New Amazon Platform Allows Anyone to Host an Online Giveaway
