Optimization Beyond Keywords. A Lesson from Rolex and Von Dutch.
I wanted to share a different idea with you today about Listing Optimization. We’re all familiar with keyword optimization, pricing and image optimization, and of course copywriting optimization - but there are 3 other ways you can optimize your listing. These principles come from Advertising Theory, and not often deployed by Amazon Sellers, but when you understand and utilize them, they can boost your CVR.
Positioning, Messaging and Execution.
Positioning is how you want your product to be perceived
Messaging is what you say about your product
Execution is how you say it (copy + imagery)
Lets example this with a real world Case Study. This is a client of mine from a very long time ago. She was first to market with a particular style of kids blocks.
POSITIONING: She was “first” and “as seen on TV”. Perfect positioning because to be the first and to be on TV always attracts trend setting buyers and excited hype.
However, over time as the market filled up with competitors this positioning became irrelevant. Everyone else’s position (large set!) became more sought after by the target market. She was drowned out. Sales dropped to 1-2 a day. And this is when she approached me.
So, I decided to try a little repositioning as our strategy. I took the idea of large sets and I turned it on its head! In a world of ‘big sets are great’, I positioned hers as ‘small sets are better’ and used compelling copy to make the point. A brave bold move, but her sales increased to 11+ a day.
MESSAGING: The original messaging focused on being the first and being on TV. It focused on the “cool” factor of the product and how innovative and great it was. The new messaging focused on why large sets are pointless for kids, painful for parents, and how small sets are better for both.
EXECUTION: The original execution (the copywriting and images) was straight to the point. Stating the facts about being on TV with cute icons, stating the facts about why this product was so great. The new execution included NLP writing designed to take the reader on a journey, combined with researched concepts about kids and their attention span, parents tripping over discarded blocks, and the benefits of giving kids smaller sets to enhance their problem solving skills.
So we moved her positioning away from being first and on TV. It was no longer relevant. We created a new position and used a “less = more” message, executed through compelling statements that helped parents agree with us.
Your Turn!
You don’t need to commit to anything, have fun with this exercise and see what comes up!
POSITIONING:
Think of all the different target markets you could attract. Let’s take Collagen for example! There are tons of Collagen products out there and most of them are the same. With that in mind, you can make yourself different by stating a position. Are you the “beauty collagen for young women” or the “sports collagen” for repair and growth! Disclaimer here - some of these claims are forbidden on Amazon - so make sure your execution meets terms of service.
MESSAGING:
Let’s pretend you’re going to position as sports collagen. What type of message do you want to deliver? You could be the “cool” sports collagen, the “science backed” sports collagen. You could be the “sports collagen that turns heads every time you walk into the gym”.
EXECUTION:
Now, lets pretend you’re the sciencey sports collagen. You can execute this by showing before and afters, proven research, and things like pictures of people in white coats, sports labs etc. Disclaimer, it all has to be true.
Let’s quickly re-position this same collagen product…
POSITION: Collagen for the elderly
MESSAGE: Supports the insecurities of getting older
EXECUTION: Images of elderly up and moving around, copy about how elderly folks are more susceptible to fractures, copy about how collagen can help support the remineralization of bones, copy about how frightening it is to lose one’s health and abilities.
Same product. Different position, message and execution.
How many positions could your product have? Let’s quickly see how many positions a coffee brand could have:
Coffee for people who drink bucket-loads!
Coffee for people who KNOW coffee
Coffee for people who don’t know coffee! (that would be a fun position to execute)
Coffee for outdoor adventurers
Coffee for people who think lattes are lame (this could be a super coffee range)
Coffee for people who want to wake up to the aroma (this could be a self-starting coffee machine)
Coffee for coffee snobs
I’ll stop there. You go ahead and add more positions. Remember, with each position there are multiple ways you can message and execute it! Never be attached to a position! Keep finding that sales and profit sweet spot.
Back to my kids block client.
We could have tried to grasp hold of her original position, tried different messaging and execution to make the market care, once again about her being TV and being first. But that position was old news. At the end of the day, changing the position was the quickest way to reviving her sales.
It’s not the easiest strategy, like I said - it comes from Advertising Theory. But if you have a product that is taking its last breaths, what have you got to lose? Disrupt the product and see what happens!
A Lesson from Rolex and Von Dutch
Rolex
Rolex positions themselves as a watch that only high achievers and trailblazers wear. They shun the “regular person”. If you don’t vibe with their message and if you don’t have a minimum of $5000 to spend on a watch, you aren’t their customer - whether you aspire to be or not. They go out of their way to make sure regular folks don’t buy their watch.
Have you ever heard of that before? Deliberately offending a target audience so they wouldn’t wear your product. It happens all the time! And that’s how people charge higher prices instead of entering into a discount race to the bottom.
Von Dutch
Von Dutch was once an iconic brand adorned by celebs like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Tommy Lee until its principal lost creative control, and the newly released products started attracting a less desirable market. Celebrities quickly dropped the brand, and it earned the nickname “Von Douche”. No one would be caught dead in it!
This is the power of positioning.
Positioning, Messaging and Execution are all moveable targets. And while this is founded in Advertising Theory (think ad agencies and half time superbowl ads) - you can deploy this on Amazon too. Especially if you’ve lost your current position and need to claw your way back. If you’re completely at a loss how to revive a product - be brave and reposition!
You can find different positions among keyword research, Pickfu Polls, Market Research, and now you can ask AI! Or, you can do what I did with my block client and just make one up… then find the proof to support it!
And on that note, I’m helping a new skincare brand position themselves as innovative without alienating through messaging that evokes curiosity and desire, executed using well known skincare benefit language combined with new tech words. All without breaking the strict beauty TOS. Oof!
Have you been through a re-positioning exercise yourself? How did it go?
