Case Study

Consistent Amazon Advertising ROAS of 11.5x a “game-changer” for Seeding Square

About Seeding Square

Jennifer and Karl Pratt invented Seeding Square to teach their kids how to grow vegetables. The garden tool, inspired by the popular Square Foot Gardening method, is fun for all ages. It makes it easy to space seeds perfectly, spot weeds instantly and get a big harvest from a small garden.

Sector: Home & Garden

  • Doubled sales YOY
  • 500% growth in impressions YOY
  • Consistent ROAS of 11.5x

The Challenge: “Getting on to Amazon was super-intimidating”

Jennifer launched Seeding Square on Amazon in 2015, learning as she went.

“Getting on to Amazon was super intimidating. There are a lot of hoops to jump through and all these different things aren’t necessarily intuitive if this isn’t your wheelhouse. It’s quite a lot to do and run and know all the intricacies and processes of how Amazon runs. I have one SKU and I find even with one SKU there’s a lot to unpack and there’s a lot to understand for running it all.”

While Jennifer had done a good job on her own with Amazon, she wanted to go to the next level to reach Seeding Square’s full potential. And she wanted to take work off her plate.

She knew she needed professional help, worrying that, despite her progress, she was “taking a ‘Swiss cheese’ approach … I’m not an Amazon professional.”

With Amazon driving her sales, it was important to get it right: “My sales are coming from Amazon. It’s the biggest piece of the pie when it comes to running my business.”

Advertising was a particular challenge: “My advertising costs were up, down and all around and I didn’t know when I should be turning off keywords here or adding keywords there or focusing more on this or that. I was just sporadically trying to throw noodles at the wall and hope something sticks.”

Counterfeit products were another major problem, with sometimes as many as three a day popping up on the platform, causing brand confusion and bleeding sales.

Beacon Services

  • PPC advertising
  • Product strategy

How Beacon Helps

We began by looking at Jennifer’s budget for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and optimizing ad spend to maximize revenue growth and profitability. Eventually we took on all PPC advertising for Seeding Square while Jennifer continues to manage inventory, shipping and other aspects.

Results began to show quickly.

“I know for a fact, hands down, that with [Beacon founder] Don and team on board I have had more growth than I would otherwise have seen and my costs to get that growth were absolutely slashed compared to where I was just randomly stumbling along hoping something would work,” Jennifer says.

“They just absolutely annihilate with the advertising on Amazon.”

Having advertising off her plate has also been a huge time savings for this busy entrepreneur.

In the past, on her own, she would work on her PPC campaigns once a week but “there was no rhyme or reason to my approach.” Now, she can see that the Beacon team is constantly deploying and adjusting campaigns to her advantage. “They’re on it … I’m watching new campaigns getting submitted, accepted and running – constantly … The magic is wonderful.

“This is a home-based business, but I’m working on a global scale, so I need to be able to delegate different things to different team members as I go … and be able to trust that the people you’re working with are doing what they’re supposed to do. Definitely, these guys are on it. For me that was such a load off to be able to hand that over to someone else.”

Counterfeiters are also speedily dealt with.

“Counterfeit products were appearing daily,” Don says. “Jennifer has a patent so we ensured that it was registered properly with Amazon and used Amazon’s processes for removing people that infringe on her product. It requires a multi-step approach, and we’ve now addressed the problem in every geography: Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.”

“Don has made this all a game-changer for my Amazon business,” Jennifer says. “Seeding Square is the number one product in its category from February to June every year without fail. It’s really exciting.”

“Don is a legitimate human being! He is a great guy, he is not pitching or working an angle. He is smart, he is funny, he’s on point, he is there to help you, he’s easy to work with. When I have a meeting with Don I know I’m going to be smiling a good chunk of the time… it’s an enjoyable experience. He’s fun to work with.”

Results

Seeding Square continues to sell like “hotcakes,” Jennifer says. “Every year I buy enough stock that I should have 70-80% growth year over year and [I think] there’s no way I’ll sell out. And every year I generally sell out.” Reach to customers has soared through our advertising campaigns while the average cost of sale continues to ensure profitability. Seeding Square consistently maintains a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 11.5.

What’s next for Seeding Square?

Jennifer sees continued growth for Seeding Square on Amazon around the world. The Beacon team continues to optimize pricing and profitability for world markets, and has helped her launch on Walmart in North America.

Beyond Seeding Square, Jennifer’s entrepreneurial spirit and penchant for invention have other products waiting in the wings for future development.

“I do know that the next product will be an Amazon product and I will be using Beacon for that too.”

Find out how Beacon Commerce can help you achieve YOUR Amazon ambitions.

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