Riedell Skates Case Study
Goat Consulting is fortunate to help a brand and manufacturer on Amazon like Riedell Skates that has both a rich history of producing the finest quality of ice and roller skates, as well as a current focus of perfecting product quality and reaching new customers. The commitment to quality goes beyond the Red Wing, MN manufacturing line and is expressed through the way we merchandise and reach customers on Amazon.
Regaining Brand Control and Merchandising on Amazon
When Riedell Skates first approached Goat Consulting, listings were created by the distributors Riedell Skates sold to which created listings that did not have accurate product detail information, product descriptions did not articulate the value proposition of Riedell Skates, and customer search terms were not integrated within the listing. Every skate model, color, and size were listed as standalone listings and did not utilize correct variation structure. This created inconsistent product listing and brand messaging for Riedell Skates and an overall poor shopping experience for Amazon customers.
Goat Consulting followed best practices as it relates to Brand Registry and Merchandising on Amazon to regain control and properly offer the ice and roller skates to Amazon customers. Here are the projects Goat Consulting focused on to make these improvements:
Brand Registry - Riedell manages multiple brands on Amazon.com. Each brand offers different products and is positioned toward different consumers. Enrolling these brands in Brand Registry provides us access to impactful Brand Content and brand specific tools, while also increasing our control over product detail page display.
Comprehensive Keyword and Competitor Research - Understanding the competitive landscape for Riedell’s different brands and how consumers are searching and browsing for products is critical to a successful strategy on Amazon.com. We performed in-depth keyword research into keywords to include in merchandising and advertising. Performing a competitor analysis allowed us to position the catalog against others in the space.
Product Listing Copywriting - Product detail page content impacts both product discovery through indexing and purchase conversion, both key factors in driving sales and brand awareness. We worked with Riedell to gain a detailed understanding of their products and brand positioning and create content that accomplished both value communicating and indexing goals. Additional casework and troubleshooting was performed in the case where content did not publish immediately to the product detail page.
Parent/Child Variations - Riedell’s products come in a variety of sizes, colors and styles. Variation of sizes, color and styles improves customer experience on Amazon by increasing availability of each model. The customer does not have to navigate more than they have to through the search results page to find the right skate.
A+ Enhanced Brand Content - A+ Content or Enhanced Brand Content provides a great platform for communicating additional product information that does not fit in standard product detail page fields due to size or format. It also presents an opportunity to cross merchandize and educate customers about different needs that the brand addresses.
Brand Story - Brand Stories are similar to A+ Content in that they allow you to submit an additional section of branded content directly to product detail pages. Goat Consulting created unique brand stories for each Riedell brand and submitted them to product detail pages to further establish each brands’ unique identity. The Brand Story is an easy way for Amazon customers to navigate to the Riedell Store to see the entire catalog line.
Storefront - A brand’s storefront on Amazon is central to its identity and crucial for communicating your brand’s positioning and range of offerings. We created storefronts that are specific to each of Riedell’s brands positioning with thoughtfully designed navigation structures that make the storefronts both easy to browse and to find the product Amazon customers are looking for.
Videos - Returns due to sizing exchanges come at a cost for Riedell. We worked with Riedell to upload sizing recommendation videos to all product detail pages to improve the rate at which consumers order the correct size the first time, reducing the rate of return.
Owning the Customer Experience through Winning the Buy Box with Direct Offer
Once the product listings were properly merchandised, Amazon customers were properly informed on product details and the reasons why Riedell Skates are the finest skates on the market. However, the offers on these product listings were made from Riedell Skates third party distributors and did not provide a competitive offer relative to other listings on the market. With guidance from Goat Consulting, Riedell Skates decided to offer the skates directly themselves through Amazon’s FBA program. Here is what Goat Consulting provided to assist with the selling and fulfillment strategy:
Competitor Analysis - Reviewing fulfillment and distribution strategy of competitors helped us understand the customers expectation for shopping for skates. We found that Prime shipping speed was a baseline expectation for Amazon customers and agreed on utilizing Fulfilled by Amazon as our fulfillment strategy.
Cost Analysis - We performed a review of FBA and other non FBA related Amazon costs to help Riedell gain an understanding of the true margins of a unit sold. This helped inform Riedell in terms of pricing and goals for Advertising return and efficiency.
Operational Training - Prior to offering direct sales to the end customer, Riedell’s business focused primarily on selling products B2B to distributors and wholesale accounts. Goat Consulting worked with Riedell to train and onboard employees on FBA inventory management and fulfillment.
Resolution of Shipping Issues and Reconciliation - When replenishment shipment inventory is misplaced, we open up case work to investigate the units and to reconcile and receive reimbursement for lost units. In the case that reimbursement is needed for removed inventory we open reimbursement claims casework to reduce costs for Riedell.
Growing Riedell Skates Customer Base Through Amazon Ads
The next focus for Riedell Skates is through reaching a wider customer base through utilizing Amazon Ads. Armed with the goals of increasing sales and brand awareness, Goat Consulting set up the architecture and continues to optimize the Amazon Ad campaigns including Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands. Understanding of Amazon costs helped us establish goals for return on Ad Spend to ensure margin standards were met for the client.
Sponsored Products - We utilized Sponsored Product Advertising to both improve brand discovery on generic non-branded search and to defend and increase visibility on branded search.
Sponsored Brands - Sponsored Brand campaigns presented a great opportunity to introduce multiple product models to customers at the top of search. These campaigns help us to increase visibility and traffic to the storefronts.
Continued Growth and Risk Mitigation
Goat Consulting continues to grow sales, mitigate risk, and find ways to reduce cost for Riedell Skates.
Risk Mitigation - Riedell’s products are offered in the sporting goods category. In order to be proactive with potential safety concerns and adult vs. child safety testing standards, we submitted safety warnings and child and adult product use statements.
Reduce Returns - Communicating product dimensions and sizing tips is an important aspect of reducing that rate which customers order an incorrect size resulting in a return. In order to prioritize this information we submit product dimension size chart graphics and a “how to size” graphic to product detail pages.
Managerial Strategy Reporting - On a monthly basis we provide Riedell with a report that details and summarizes all functions of Amazon performance and activity including: SKU traffic and sales performance, advertising and marketing, customer reviews and feedback, storefront traffic data, Amazon Post activity. Tracking these KPIs are indicators for where to focus attention and activities to meet Riedell’s goals.
Amazon Posts - We leverage Riedell’s social media activity and content to repurpose image content for Amazon Posts, which are published on an ongoing basis. Amazon Posts are a great free source of visibility and customer engagement for Riedell brands.
A Word from the Client
Goat Consulting has been phenomenal to work with. We had researched a couple other companies to help us with our Amazon sales initiative, but it was ultimately Goat Consulting checked all the boxes for us and we couldn’t be happier with the decision we have made. Once the initial set up work was completed, we saw immediate results. The team at Goat Consulting is responsive and engaging and continuously looks for ways to help us improve our business on the marketplace. They also help us to deal with and resolve issues quickly and effectively when they arise. We’d definitely recommend Goat Consulting to anyone looking to sell the right way on Amazon
-Tyler, Marketing Manager Riedell Skates
It has always been a winning combination of applying best in class products, Riedell ice and roller skates, with best practices for selling on Amazon, Goat Consulting services. We are proud to work with a Minnesota based manufacturer that cares deeply about the craft of producing the most high quality product like Riedell Skates. As Goat Consulting continues to grow, we hope to emulate a company like Riedell Skates.
If you want to take control of your brand presence on Amazon, please reach out for a consultation.