Even the very best brands, with the brightest brand-leaders, can get it wrong. A reality for all of us is that not every product is a winner. In fact, sometimes a product you think will be your “next big thing” turns out to be a flop.
Unfortunately, that usually becomes clear after you’ve brought in inventory, and the sudden realization that it is time to cut your losses may leave you wondering how to get rid of your stock. If your product is on the chopping block, but has a profit margin that allows for advertising, PPC may be a great option to avoid a removal order.
While there is no “one method or campaign” that is strictly meant for product liquidation, here are a few strategies and campaigns that could help you to achieve this goal without breaking the bank.
1. Consider Your Selling Price.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Make sure your price point is below your competitor’s. While this may seem simple enough, it is easy to forget that, if you want to liquidate a product, you need to sell it at a liquidation price.
2. Utilize a Coupon.
Coupons help with CTR % and Conversion % and are an easy way to move those units out the door. Remember that with certain Amazon ads, coupons are now visible to shoppers. This can help the performance of those ads and increase sales velocity.
3. Know Your Margins/Target ACoS.
There’s a lot of fluctuation that happens, between coupons, price points, CPC, etc. that affect your bottom line. Knowing how all of these moving parts affect your margins will allow you to set a proper Target ACoS for all of your liquidation campaigns. There’s no sense in liquidating via PPC if it’s going to cost you more than just traditional disposal. Remember, there is a free removal program going on right now.
4. Use a Shell Campaign For Speed
Since manual campaigns take time to “get going,” and liquidation is typically a matter of some urgency, choose an existing manual campaign that has history to be used as a shell for your liquidation advertising. Doing this will allow you to “skip ahead” and use an ad that has already aged (consider renaming it the Liquidation Campaign).
5. Ways to Adjust within the Liquidation Campaign
In the Liquidation Campaign, identify targets/keywords that are high converters and keep them running, but get rid of everything else.
Consider using Dynamic Bidding - Up and Down as your bidding strategy, which will allow Amazon to raise or lower your bid based on likelihood of a conversion. To identify high converting keywords with a click, use Advanced Bulk Optimization inside of PPC Entourage. Enter these targets into the Liquidation Campaign if they are not there already.
6. Tips for Other Pre Existing Campaigns
You may have some campaigns that are doing well, even though the product, in general, isn’t going to be a winner.
Keep all campaigns running that are performing within your desired ACoS target range. Remember, you still need to go through them and remove poor performing targets.
7. Use Sponsored Display Product Targeting
Consider using a Sponsored Display Product Targeting campaign. These campaigns link up with coupons and will be placed on your competitor’s Product Detail page.
Make sure to keep your targeting relevant by targeting ASINS and Categories that are closely related to the product you’re advertising. You can find these ASINS with ease inside of Entourage by going to the Product Targeting section in the Expansion module.
8. Combine Sponsored Brands with a Limited Time Coupon
If you have a TON of stock you’re trying to liquidate, consider combining Sponsored Brands with a “Limited Time” coupon. Below are some examples of “Promo Headlines” that you can use…
- [Product] savings.
- Savings on [Product].
- Save now.
- Great prices on [Product].
- Great Savings on [Product].
- Great Bundles on [Products].
- Buy [Product] and get [Additional free product].
Thank you, as always, for reading and for trusting me to help you to grow your Amazon brand. It is my pleasure to share with you some of the strategies that my team and I use every day to help our clients at Entourage Management Services, where we manage all aspects of Amazon advertising for brands.
If you have any questions or thoughts on this week’s article, please comment below!
