No CommentsAnd we’re back, taking the hard-lined approach with yet another Amazon product. You have to tear down to build up, so no hard feelings!
This week we’re tearing down a listing from Livin’ Well for an Owl Scarecrow. That’s right; a solar-powered owl decoy to keep birds at bay. It’s one of those less-than-obvious products that usually have a ton of potential.
The weirder, the better!
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First things first, when we checked this out, the owl was selling $26,000/month, and only had 79 reviews. Definitely intriguing!
Right away, Adam and Joel noticed the featured product photo on the listing* and gave it a huge thumbs up. But then they noticed room for improvement.
*At the time of publication, this product listing is no longer available on Amazon.com
Improvement #1: Optimize the Title
This might be the most common mistake we see over and over again – a title that isn’t quite using the right keywords. Just a few minutes of research in Keyword Scout allowed the judges to determine that “owl decoy” was typed into the search bar much more often than “owl scarecrow.”
And leading with the brand name is fine in the title. But if you do, then jump right into the most-searched/important keywords for your product.
In this case, Livin’ Well went with “latest model” as its most important keyword. And while it does indicate that there have been recent updates, specifying the year of that update (eg. model 2018) would be helpful. A lot of people put in the year when searching products they know have more than one model. Plus, people would then know it was done recently
Other than that, some simple repositioning of keywords in the title should do the trick. It’s all there. It just needs to be in the right order to tell Amazon what keywords they’re trying to rank for.
Improvement #2: Review Check
In the star department, Livin’ Well isn’t doing so well: 2.9 out of five stars. Sellers should aim for a rating of a minimum of four stars, or even 4.5.
By examining the most recent reviews, we can see that customers’ suggestions have gone unheard and unheeded. The “latest model” they’re touting may be new, but it certainly doesn’t appear to be improved.
In fact, our research shows that competitors in this category have low ratings across the board.
What does that mean? It means that the quality of the products being sold in this niche needs to be improved. Current sellers are probably manufacturing the items as cheaply as possible, not bothering to put in the extra time or money to upgrade.
If Livin’ Well addresses the issues that come up repeatedly in the product’s reviews by modifying the product, they have a good shot at getting those coveted four and five-star reviews.
Improvement #3: Price Adjustment
Can we get a price check?!
To review the pricing of the decoy’s competitors in the Lawn & Garden category, we used the Jungle Scout Chrome extension. Products with a similar quality sell for almost HALF the price of Livin’ Well’s owl. Not only that, the owl’s higher-priced competitors offer a discount with purchase.
Either way, this demonstrates that Livin’ Well’s price point is a tad too expensive. Without extra features to differentiate it from its competitors, the cost is unwarranted. As soon as customers realize this, they’ll go for the cheaper competitor’s owl scarecrow!
It’s time for Livin’ Well to reassess their profit margins and lower the scarecrow’s price. Or, if they don’t want to do that, they need to make upgrades/improvements to justify their price over their competition’s.
Positive Takeaways
- A follow-up email! And who doesn’t love getting a thank you note. Plus, Livin’ Well was smart and included a request to review. We might change a few details of the email, but overall it was a nice touch.
- The product material was solid and came with mounting supplies, to secure the structure.
- Product instructions. Again, people appreciate clear and concise instructions. Buyers want to see exactly how the product functions. They don’t want to guess how it works.
The Final Score
The Amazon Unboxing Scorecard was used on this listing teardown (and every teardown in the series), and this is what we came up with today:
- 105 out of a possible 150 points.
Even though we found areas of improvement, the owl decoy still passes the test – even if Fetcher Frank disagrees. 🙁
Could Livin’ Well optimize the product and its listing? Sure! But it’s a great example of a balanced list of pros and cons and, ultimately, we’re leaving the final verdict up to you.
Check back next week to watch us take the latest listing through its paces. Will it receive a passing grade too?!
