5 Game-Changing Insights for Amazon Brands: Lessons from the Crowler Brands Proposal
For any brand selling on Amazon, the difference between “good” and “great” often comes down to a series of operational, creative, and strategic choices. In a recent deep-dive proposal call for Crowler Brands, Elevate Growth Group — a premier Amazon agency — shared a host of playbook insights that can benefit any business striving for marketplace success. Here are the top takeaways for Amazon brands ready to level up:
1. Reviews Are the Real Flywheel
One of the central themes was the power of reviews—not only for social proof but for organic ranking. Amazon’s algorithm rewards listings that consistently earn 4 and 5-star reviews, and reviews with recent activity (recency bias) have an outsized effect on rankings. The agency stressed learning from 1 and 2-star feedback—using secondary imagery and detail pages to address and even “dissuade” problematic customers likely to leave poor reviews.
Pro Tip: Build processes to monitor and mine both low- and high-star reviews. Address weaknesses in images or FAQs and double down on emotional triggers from positive feedback in your listing copy and visuals.
2. Optimize Listings Before Spending More on Ads
A best-in-class ad strategy will never save a poorly optimized listing. As Jeff Wilcox, Elevate CEO, put it, “We never want to be at a place where that revshare feels like a tough check to write… we want to get the best titles, best bullets, best images, best video, everything that we can.” Only then does it make sense to scale ad spend for effective growth.
Pro Tip: Audit your titles, bullets, backend keywords, and images. Don’t pour budget into advertising until you’re confident your creative and content are outperforming your competition.
3. Category and Parent-Child Relationships Matter—A Lot
Being miscategorized (e.g., storing a wall cabinet under “Buffets and Sideboards” instead of exploring more relevant categories) can dramatically limit your discoverability and sales. Grouping products correctly under the right parent listings can boost bestseller rank and review counts, which drives further organic growth.
Pro Tip: Analyze whether your products are in the most discoverable categories and grouped optimally. Small changes here can yield outsized impacts.
4. Full-Funnel, Segmented Ad Campaigns Are Non-Negotiable
Many brands stuff ad campaigns with too many keywords or blend branded and non-branded targeting. Jeff Wilcox emphasized separating branded and non-branded campaigns and using an intentional funnel strategy: automatic campaigns to harvest winners, then broad/phrase to test, then exact match and conquesting campaigns to maximize high performers.
Pro Tip: Simplify campaigns. Isolate what works, and don’t be afraid to start fresh with lean, focused campaigns mapped to buyer intent.
5. Ad Spend Growth Should Be Stepwise—And Tied to Metrics
Crowler’s leadership was frank about ad spend: “12.5% is a staggering number for us… we’re at maybe 1.5–3% now.” Elevate recommended not ramping up spend until after conversion rate and listing performance are improved, and then scaling in increments tied to performance milestones.
Pro Tip: Don’t be pressured to spend big on ads from day one. Work incrementally, measure conversion improvements, and increase investment only when you see clear ROI.
Extra Credit: Don’t Forget the Power of Off-Amazon Traffic & Storefronts
The call also touched on driving off-Amazon traffic and leveraging enhanced Amazon store features. Improving branded search volume and marketing to store followers can be untapped levers for growth.
Final Thoughts
The “done for you” agency model is about more than just handing off work—it’s about strategy, optimization, and ruthless focus on the biggest levers for Amazon growth. Whether or not you outsource, these lessons—from reviews to category selection to incremental ad scaling—are worth adopting into your own Amazon playbook.
If you’re serious about scaling your Amazon brand, make sure you’re treating every aspect of your listing and advertising with a strategic, data-driven mentality. And remember: it all starts with the basics, done brilliantly.
Inspired by insights from a recent Crowler Brands* (name changed to protect client anonymity) proposal call crafted by the Elevate team.