The Challenge
Due to supply chain issues, PRIMO Elektro (a Belgian consumer electronics brand) saw their sales of stick vacuum cleaners on Bol.com decline by 57% at the end of 2022.
We activated the Bol.com marketplace “flywheel” by maximizing the potential of the three key components of e-commerce: content, media, and product offerings. By doing so, we achieved a weekly sales growth of 147% within 10 weeks.
The stick vacuum cleaner category is an important category within PRIMO Elektro’s portfolio and represents a large share of their total revenue. Due to various market events and supply chain issues, PRIMO Elektro suffered from a deteriorating market position. In practice, this meant a 57% decrease in sales compared to the previous year.
Greenhouse chose a future-proof approach focused on activating the Bol.com marketplace flywheel. We did this by taking the following steps: creating more visibility, in order to create more clicks to the products, and then generate more sales. More sales result in a better score in Bol.com’s algorithm, which in turn leads to a higher ranking in search results. This, in turn, leads to more visibility. By influencing these factors, we were able to fully utilize the flywheel effect.
Our target? To increate weekly sales by 130%, create a healthy profit margin and to have at least two products on the first page, within 10 weeks.
“Greenhouse conducted a thorough analysis of our products and provided feedback in a clear manner. They changed the content of our stick vacuums and launched a sponsored products campaign, which resulted in a significant increase in sales that we achieved together.”
Michael Vleugels E-commerce Manager, Primo Elektro
Our approach
To activate the flywheel effect, we maximized the potential of the three key components of e-commerce: content, media, and product offerings. For this, we used our own Greenhouse best practices.
All product titles and texts were rewritten with SEO keywords from Bol.com and Google. The product texts were filled with product information, user tips, user questions, customer feedback, benefits of buying via Bol.com, and a clear call-to-action. Only the images that contributed to the product story were enriched with product information. The remaining images were removed to reduce noise.
To strengthen the retail pillar, the stick vacuum cleaners were added to Logistics via Bol and the Select program. An automatic mailing was set up with external tools to generate additional reviews. Finally, products were priced strategically.
When everything was optimized, it was time to start generating traction. For this, we used a 2-phase sponsored products advertising campaign.
- In Phase 1, we ran two offensive auto campaigns for four weeks, aimed at generating as many clicks as possible. This accelerated the flywheel effect and worked as a catalyst on the product ranking.
- In Phase 2, the optimized content showed that the achieved growth could be continued organically. We then optimized for a healthy ACOS percentage and supplemented the sponsored product campaigns with Exact Keyword campaigns to maximize sales with an improved profit margin.
Impact & results
The first content optimization showed an immediate increase of 24% in sales per week. With media and retail optimization, sales growth per week after 10 weeks was a whopping 147%! And revenue growth was even higher; 160%.
With this strategy, not only were the short-term goals achieved, but future-proof growth was also ensured. Three months after baseline measurement, the flywheel effect of the PRIMO Elektro’s Stick Vacuum Cleaners is still visible. Sales within the Stick Vacuum Cleaner category have since increased by 205%. In addition, the conversion rate has doubled, the gross margin has increased by 10%, and at the time of writing, there are four PRIMO Elektro’s Stick Vacuum Cleaners on the first page.
