We started working with HackMotion in July. Right in the beginning it was clear that they are ready to move fast and want to see the results as soon as possible. First, we sat down and talked about their brand position in the market. It's important to understand the existing position of the brand because the launch strategy is very different for brands that are just starting out VS brands that have been very active in the market for months or even years. Things like overall brand recognition and demand, social media presence, paid media budget, earned media value, existing experience in retail and other marketplaces can greatly affect the launch strategy on Amazon.
It's important to use every advantage that the brand has outside Amazon, to create efficient launch strategy and generate synergy across different channels right away.
We chose to focus on fast and optimized launch (doing the most impactful things and keeping the rest for later), so we could earn strong brand position and get first sales ASAP.
For any brand and product launch on Amazon, the speed and growth in the first weeks depends on several key factors:
- Brand awareness in the target market
- Competitiveness in the specific product category on Amazon
- Ad budget for Amazon PPC ads
- Registered trademark (Existing or not) for improved Amazon marketing tools
In this case, we knew that the brand has some well known competitors and yet their product is quite unique and highly rated among golf industry professionals. We knew that HackMotion was mentioned in quite a few influential Golf media publications. In addition, they already had a registered trademark, which allowed to use some additional tools like A+ content and video uploads.
We started with their "HackMotion Player – Complete wrist angle training solution" product which is tailored for all golf players who want to improve wrist angles and clubface control. They also have a more advanced "HackMotion Pro" sensor that is tailored for golf coaches and advanced players, but we decided to start with the first product because it is easier to present it and educate people on Amazon about it, and it also has lower sales price.
First step – prepare the content and register on Amazon Brand Registry
First, we did an extensive keyword research for product category. In addition to that, we analyzed their competitor performance to see how their competitors are doing on Amazon and which keywords and strategies are bringing in the most value to further improve the launch strategy and bulletproof HackMotion position on Amazon.
While doing that, we also registered HackMotion on Amazon Brand Registry, because we knew that it can sometimes take more than 1 week and we wanted it to be done by the time we had to add products to amazon catalogue because you need verified brand on Amazon to be able to add videos to product listings and to create A+ content (two things that can help boost the conversion rate right away and are rather quick to do).
- Registered trademark also opens access to many other powerful tools like branded storefront, brand ads, Amazon Attribution tool, Brand analytics etc.
After the research phase, we worked together with HackMotion marketing & product team, to create a base content for the product listing page (text and images), and adjusted video to match Amazon guidelines. In many cases, clients want to participate in this process and we are open to collaborating directly with specific teams because it gives the best results.
Afterwards, we did a full SEO optimization of the content, adjusted it to Amazon guidelines and submitted the final version for additional check with the marketing team. By working together with internal teams, we can achieve the best quality of both sides – perfectly optimized content from Amazon perspective and best-quality content from the product category perspective.
Second step – quick launch and shipment to Amazon FBA
Once everything was ready, we launched product on Amazon. We knew that we would use Amazon FBA so our products would get Prime label, fast shipping and increase the chance of getting the Buy Box.
Yes, even if it is your own product and you are the only seller, there isn't 100% Guarantee that you will get Buy Box right away. This is especially true if the product is quite expensive (either in absolute terms or relative to other competitors in the category). Golf training equipment is rather pricey, so we knew that customer trust, active Buy Box and fast shipping speed was crucial to the launch (because you start with 0 reviews).
- Using Amazon FBA basically guarantees that you will get the Buy Box even if the newly launched product is from expensive category or is more expensive than competitor products.
- In addition, Amazon FBA offers extremely fast shipping for customers which in turn boosts the conversion rate (this is especially important for newly launched products because they get less traffic and it's important to get as many orders as possible to prove to Amazon algorithms that your product has a great potential).
- And of course – can't forget about lucrative Amazon Prime label, which is automatically applied to products that are using Amazon FBA program.
However, there is one issue with FBA. It takes some time for products to be delivered to Amazon, checked-in and fully received, especially iwith the first shipment because they might do double checks for size and weight, and inspect the product. We knew that we wanted to get initial data and feedback as soon as possible, so we launched an additional offer in FBM program (fulfilled by merchant / also known as "Seller Fulfilled).
Many sellers (and surprisingly even some agencies) don't know that you can have simultaneous offers active for the same product. This allows to start selling much quicker (don't have to wait until products are received in the Amazon warehouse), which in turn gives valuable data. In addition, this second offer can stay active even when your main offer has active FBA inventory for sale, because sometimes Amazon Prime doesn't offer delivery to specific locations (international buyers). And sometimes your FBA inventory can go out-of-stock before the new shipment is received (especially during peak shopping season when shipments and inventory check-ins get delayed) – and in this case your active "Fulfilled by Merchant" offer will safeguard your positions and ensure that people can still buy your products.
Mixed fulfilment offer launch proved to be really beneficial, because not only we got first sales already in the first week of launch, we also saw the initial demand for our seller fulfilled offers and could already plan the next FBA shipment while the first shipment was still on its way to Amazon FBA warehouse.
Third step – FBA active, brand ads and external marketing strategies
It took a bit longer than one week for products to be delivered to Amazon warehouse and almost an additional week for Amazon to fully receive these products and place them in the active inventory available for sale. But it was fast enough to get FBA inventory active right before the next marketing activities kicked in.
In the week after, HackMotion was mentioned on "Golfweek" publication (part of USA Today network). We had also activated brand keywords campaign to ensure that the generated brand demand from external marketing efforts would lead to HackMotion product page on Amazon.
Why is it important? Because in the very beginning your product is not always guaranteed to rank on top positions for your brand name search queries (especially if your competitors have been bidding on your brand name in their Amazon advertisement campaigns for weeks, months or even years). And you shouldn't end up in a situation where potential buyers search your brand name on Amazon and only find competitors. This was also another reason why we launched with both "Amazon FBA" and "Fulfilled by Merchant" offers. Because in case the FBA inventory still wouldn't have been received, HackMotion would still be able to capture the demand from the publication that was already scheduled.
In addition, HackMotion sent out an email newsletter to their subscribers, announcing their recent launch on Amazon marketplace. This is especially useful strategy for brands who actively build their subscriber list. Why is email announcement newsletter so effective for Amazon launch?
It's because every brand newsletter list contains potential customers, who were interested in the product but hadn't bought it from the brand either because of slower shipping speed or missing trust factor. Amazon Prime perfectly solves these two problems.
Of course, this really depends on the brand. It's not mandatory and some brands might decide to keep their email list purely focused on their own online store without mentioning their product launch on Amazon. And, if you do want to mention your product launch on Amazon, it can sometimes be more beneficial to wait few weeks until you get first reviews, prepare A+ content and brand storefront and have enough inventory in-stock.
Summary, key takeaways and highlights
This was truly great product launch, where both sides were focused on doing the preparation tasks as fast as possible, and collaborating to get the best results as soon as possible.
- If there are some important deadlines fast approaching (publication launching soon, sales campaign starting soon etc.), make sure to use both FBA and FBM offers to ensure that you have Plan B, in case the FBA inventory receiving is delayed
- It's possible to launch brand's product on Amazon and generate significant additional revenue for your business already in the first month without spending money agressive Amazon ads strategy or other expensive strategies – just thoughtful and well planned execution
- Collaborate with multiple teams to get the best result (copy, images, videos, sales, marketing, logistics)
- Use external marketing channels to create synergy across all your channels and build brand awareness
- Existing brand awareness and demand will make any product launch on Amazon more successful and almost 100% guaranteed to succeed
If you are investing on social media ads, working with influencers and publications, generating earned media or boosting your brand awareness in any other way, you will have guaranteed success on Amazon!
Why? Because people are searching for your brand name on Amazon, it's a fact. If you are not on Amazon, your competitors will definitely use it for their advantage and earn inexpensive sales from your brand's awareness (bidding on your brand keywords etc.). It's possible to launch on Amazon without any ad spend at all. For example, we managed to get multiple orders already within first few days, before we spent any money on Amazon Ads campaigns and before the first reviews.
Interested in working with us? Just get in touch, we answer to EVERY inquiry :)
