APRIL 21, 2021

Jeff reckons Amazon can be the best place to work. Fuck off.

1. Sometimes I don’t need to say all the clever stuff. Sometimes I read something clever and then just share a link to the clever thing. Here is a clever list, an “ecommerce cheat sheet”, which I think you’ll get value from reading. Like my emails there are just 10 points. All about customer relationship building.
2. Amazon detail pages will not show html anymore. Surprised it took this long given the explosion of A+ content, but for those relying on bold titles and bullets within their description, it’s time to get brand registered. [Article].
3. A packaging deep dive. Given what we learned in point 1, you should be very aware of the importance for grabbing customer data, packaging is a great opportunity to do this. Lisa Pierce has been talking packaging for 32-years. That’s literally more years than I’ve been kicking about. This 49-minute marathon podcast digs into: new trends, 4-steps to improve unboxing, and how AI is changing things. [Website], [Apple].
4. Do I think data is levelling or widening the playing field? I ask this during most pods. Interestingly we get a mix of answers, as expected. On one side the access to data levels it, but the ability to utilise said data IMO widens it. Big brands have access to expensive tools and excellent teams to crunch the numbers and derive valuable insights. Phil and Sally who’ve started a little brand with a unique product don’t stand a chance as they’re too busy on Canva making Instagram images, amongst 812 other tasks. [Good LinkedIn piece on this].
5. A nice infographic from Harry’s. [Tweet]. They also have some bang tidy packaging which…say it with me…INVOKE AN EMOTION. And yes, I did just send you to my Twitter feed. Gonna try and use it a little more to share quick snippets from the pod and Amazon Creatives.
6. 3 tips for sponsored video ad approval. Avoid website links. Avoid black frames. Avoid pillar boxing (top and bottom of screen/video is black). You’ve got to be using this ad type, I’ll keep saying it until you start doing it. Get a free audit to see what else you’re missing with Amazon Advertising.
7. Amazon rolling out MOQ limits on your low-priced items. [Link]. I also heard this coming to Australia as well. Pro tip for consumables brands: create a taster for your product and sell it dirt cheap. Break even or make a loss. This will be a child variation on the listing. Amazon’s algorithm is based on VOLUME not revenue. If you’re by far the cheapest with this loss leader then you’ll likely get a great ranking boost as you sell higher volume than competitors bulk packs. You get shit loads of reviews too. Plus, you ACQUIRE CUSTOMERS. The flywheel gets a belting kick and you’re off to the races. Reply if you need this explaining more.
8. eCommerce prices are higher than last year. [Link]. Since last June, retailers have increased prices on everything from food and beauty supplies to toys, home appliances and furniture by an average 5.5%. Perhaps it’s time to investigate/experiment a price increase if you’ve not done so yet. May also make staying in-stock a little easier.
9. How quick do customers convert on Amazon? 28% of purchases happen in three minutes or less, and half of all purchases are finished in less than fifteen minutes. That’s a lot of impulsive behaviour right there. You can place yourself in the sub 3 zone by answering customers problems quicker, usually done through images rather than html.
10. Jeff’s final letter to shareholders. He added the new mission “best place to work”. There are arguments that this will dilute the customer obsession mission. I personally don’t think they’ll achieve this because every single person I know at Amazon works their bollocks off with baffling loyalty. Days off are rarely days off and WFH has only encourage additional work. You’ll be surprised to hear I didn’t have this attitude when there. Is this undeniable pressure to overachieve a characteristic of “best place to work”? Fuck no.

Thanks,

George

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