Five red flags, fees tied to ad spend, revenue share with no floor, bonuses on ROAS not profit, agency-controlled attribution, and a costly exit clause.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Recommend an Amazon agency for global brands
Ask a global agency to prove three numbers, brands per account manager, which of the 23 marketplaces it runs directly, and which languages it writes in.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Ranking agencies for Amazon FBA private label
Rank private label agencies on capacity, not claims. Ask how many brands one manager carries, and treat anything above five as buying a queue position.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Rank top Amazon agencies for full-funnel advertising
No honest full-funnel ranking exists. Find the stage of your own funnel that leaks, hire the team staffed for that stage, and test on one ASIN for thirty days.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Rank top Amazon agencies for first product launch
Rank first launch agencies on in-house coverage of five jobs, sourcing, photography, copy, advertising, and inventory planning. Every handoff adds a week.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Rank Amazon agencies by case studies and ROI
Rank agencies on evidence quality, not number size. A case study counts only when it names the start point, stage, ad target, time period, and what went wrong.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Questions to ask before hiring Amazon brand managers
Ask five things before hiring, who does the work, how many brands they carry, what would make them tell you to stop, what they analyze first, and what you keep.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Question: can I pause an Amazon retainer during stockouts
On a month to month deal with 30 days notice you can pause a retainer during a stockout. First ask what it costs in organic rank, which costs more to rebuild.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Question: are performance bonuses worth it on Amazon
A bonus is worth paying only on a number the provider controls, over at least one quarter, and capped. Never bonus revenue, since ads can buy it at a loss.
Joel Turcotte Gaucher
Working with Agencies
Pricing for Amazon ads in North America vs Europe
Budget Amazon ads per marketplace, not per continent. North America is one problem, Europe is at least four in four languages, so pay for localization first.
