The principle
Every SKU has a job.
Google Ads should know what it is.
Google sees products. We see jobs.
A SKU should not just exist in a feed. It should have a defined commercial job. Google Ads reads products, prices and conversions; the commercial intent behind them is not in the feed by default. We translate the commercial job into the product eligibility, conversion values and campaign decisions Google Ads can use.
Every SKU Has a Job is JudeLuxe’s principle for managing a product catalogue by commercial purpose. BOI® — Bid On Intent — is the framework we use to apply it: one primary job per SKU at a time, reviewed as margin, stock, demand and customer economics change.
Built for established retailers with real catalogues.
The principle matters most when a catalogue is broad enough that products genuinely differ in margin, stock position and the customers they bring in. A single blended target treats them all the same, so spend tends to drift towards whatever converts most easily rather than what the business needs.
It depends on the cost, stock and customer data you have. Where that data is incomplete, the first step is agreeing what can be used now and what needs to be built.
Different products serve different needs.
Across a catalogue, the business may need some products to acquire new customers, some to earn margin, some to clear stock, some to protect cash flow, and some to capture generic demand. Others support basket value by sitting alongside complementary products, and hero products may justify greater visibility than their own margin alone would.
These are examples of the needs and decisions behind a job, not extra job categories. In the account they resolve into the five formal BOI® jobs below.
Five jobs
One primary job per SKU, at a time.
| Job | Business question | Decision | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scale Grow demand within agreed economics. | Is there more demand we can profitably win for this product right now? | Widen eligibility and allow more spend, inside an agreed contribution floor. | Incremental units or new orders while contribution stays at or above the floor. |
| Profit Earn contribution after variable costs and advertising. | Does each extra pound of advertising leave contribution behind? | Fund spend only where contribution after advertising remains positive. | Contribution after advertising. |
| Protect Defend strategically important demand, with spend limits. | What would we lose if we were not visible here, and is that loss real? | Hold visibility on agreed terms within a set spend limit, and keep asking whether the spend is incremental. | Visibility on defended demand against its cost, with incrementality questions kept open. |
| Recovery Turn ageing or overstocked inventory into cash within an agreed contribution floor and time box. | How much cash can this stock release before it becomes a write-down? | Work within the floor and the time box, then reassess. Low stock is a constraint on spend, not a Recovery job. | Cash recovered against holding cost, inside the floor and time box. |
| Gateway Acquire customers or support basket value, only where repeat or attach evidence is measured. | Do measured repeat purchases or attached sales justify accepting less on the first order? | Allow a higher acquisition cost only when repeat or attach value has been measured, not assumed. | Acquisition cost against measured repeat or attach value. |
- Scale
Grow demand within agreed economics.
- Business question
- Is there more demand we can profitably win for this product right now?
- Decision
- Widen eligibility and allow more spend, inside an agreed contribution floor.
- Measure
- Incremental units or new orders while contribution stays at or above the floor.
- Profit
Earn contribution after variable costs and advertising.
- Business question
- Does each extra pound of advertising leave contribution behind?
- Decision
- Fund spend only where contribution after advertising remains positive.
- Measure
- Contribution after advertising.
- Protect
Defend strategically important demand, with spend limits.
- Business question
- What would we lose if we were not visible here, and is that loss real?
- Decision
- Hold visibility on agreed terms within a set spend limit, and keep asking whether the spend is incremental.
- Measure
- Visibility on defended demand against its cost, with incrementality questions kept open.
- Recovery
Turn ageing or overstocked inventory into cash within an agreed contribution floor and time box.
- Business question
- How much cash can this stock release before it becomes a write-down?
- Decision
- Work within the floor and the time box, then reassess. Low stock is a constraint on spend, not a Recovery job.
- Measure
- Cash recovered against holding cost, inside the floor and time box.
- Gateway
Acquire customers or support basket value, only where repeat or attach evidence is measured.
- Business question
- Do measured repeat purchases or attached sales justify accepting less on the first order?
- Decision
- Allow a higher acquisition cost only when repeat or attach value has been measured, not assumed.
- Measure
- Acquisition cost against measured repeat or attach value.
Illustrative example · not client data
Same product. Different job.
- 01Profit
Margin healthy, demand steady, stock at the right level.
The product is managed to earn contribution after advertising.
- 02Recovery
The season ends and excess stock starts to age.
People agree a contribution floor and a time box, and the product is worked to release cash within them.
- 03Reassess
The excess stock clears.
The job is reassessed. The product returns to whichever job its economics now support.
Every change of job is a human decision made at review. Nothing moves automatically, and the example implies no particular result.
Sometimes the right advertising decision is not to advertise the product.
A product with no stock availability cannot fulfil the demand advertising would create, and a product whose economics are negative after variable costs loses money on every sale it wins. In those cases, holding spend back is the commercial decision.
These are examples, not universal rules. Whether to advertise a product depends on its current stock, economics and role in the catalogue, and the decision is reviewed as those change.
How the job reaches the account.
- Conversion values. Values reflect contribution rather than revenue alone, so bidding sees what a sale is worth to the business.
- Feed labels and product eligibility. Labels in the product feed record each SKU’s current job, and product groups decide which products are eligible where.
- Campaign-level targets and budgets. Performance Max targets and budgets apply to the campaign, not to individual SKUs.
- Separation only when justified. Products get a separate campaign only where commercial differences and sufficient data justify it.
Where to see it in an account.
These are agency-reported account examples, each with its own measurement limits. They show product decisions in practice; they are not controlled proof of BOI®.
Questions
Every SKU Has a Job, answered.
Next step
What job is each product doing for you?
We’ll look at your catalogue by commercial purpose and discuss where advertising and product needs are out of step.
Discuss the jobs in your catalogueEvery SKU Has a Job is a JudeLuxe phrase with a trademark application pending.