For entrepreneurs running a business on Amazon and private label sellers, getting Amazon reviews is utmost important. The quantity of reviews, and of course the quality, can directly influence your revenue and visibility. Plus, they give positive signals to Amazon’s algorithms including the Choice Badge and platform search results. However, many sellers are completely unfamiliar with the process of getting reviews on Amazon … legally.
Hence, we’ve dedicated this blog post to the measures you can take to securely get reviews on Amazon for your business.
Note: All the tips mentioned in the list below are tried and tested. They literally carry risk when it comes to getting banned from Amazon for using shady review acquisition tactics.
1. Schedule ‘follow-up’ emails that ask for feedback
Amazon sends a generic email that asks buyers for ‘feedback on products’ after every purchase, but it’s a simple email that does nothing to motivate people. You can, instead, send a personalized request that asks for a review, shortly after someone has purchased an item from your Amazon store (it’ll be fresh to recall at that time). Tools like FeedbackFive make it convenient and simple to create and schedule personalized feedback emails. Additionally, consider including a link in the email to make the feedback process swift for the buyer (they can just click the link and get redirected to the page where they have to leave feedback.
2. Engage in relevant forums
Several people love talking on online forums when it comes to their interests. One of the best examples of this is available in the shape of Reddit. In Reddit, you’ll find several Subrredits, which are people-produced reddits of interest and contain conversations around specific subject matters. That implies that Amazon merchants can engage in discussions related to their products to attract potential audiences. The key is to provide value and make connections in these forums (could take a couple of months) before asking for reviews. Once people get familiar with your store, you can send them a sample or offer a promo in exchange a detailed, transparent review of your product/offering.
3. Contact individuals who’ve reviewed items similar to yours (even the products of your closest competitors)
Another thing you can do is get in touch with people who’ve reviewed items that are the same as yours by going to one of your products’ pages and clicking on ‘people who bought this also bought this item’. The items that pop up could be from your fierce competitors, but no one will stop you from viewing them or taking notes on the reviews they’ve received (remember to see what they’ve failed at and what reviewers find so satisfactory. And to get the details of the viewer, click on ‘customer reviews’, and then the name of the reviewer. If the contact information of a reviewer is associated with their details, it’s your lucky day! You can try connecting with them on LinkedIn or Facebook. If an email address is given, even better.
4. Leverage your own website (if you have one)
If you have a website outside of Amazon that gets a decent number of visitors each month, why aren’t you using it to request Amazon reviews? Though it can seem strange to drive people who’ve directly arrived at your site, where you aren’t competing with thousands of sellers, to the fiercely competitive Amazon, it just makes sense to highlight it if it’s your primary sale channel. Also, there are odds that people visiting this separate website of yours first saw you on Amazon, and if the separate website you’re running is less transactional and more informative, you’re unlikely to end up losing everything. It’s also a great way to cross-promote branding, which is essential to the growth and outlook of the ecommerce industry.
SellerMetrics, developer of Amazon PPC tool, also advises how important your product description can be. Make sure you to have a comprehensive but clear and concise product description for every item that you sell so your customers can get back to this page when writing their reviews.
5. Put a ‘request feedback’ flier in the package
If you’re completely responsible for order fulfillment, your likely have 100% of the contents of soon-to-be shipped packages. HOWEVER, if you’re using technology like Amazon FBA, you can only determine what gets placed inside the box, before it is transferred to the warehouse of amazon. After the inventory has entered the system, no changes can be made if the inventory is returned or removed to the seller. Whatever the case, you could insert a mini request for review letter inn the product box or its outside packaging. However, as in all other scenarios, its good to stay within the rules of Amazon. The policies that are most relevant include not redirecting consumers to your external website to gain outside visibility. Also, take all steps with care, as bending the rules to a great extent can risk a penalty or two.
6. Focus on upgrading the support
Know all the stories related to get-rich-quick programs? They’re seen in negative light because schemes like those don’t happen quickly. Plus, a solid plan has to be in place. While doing all this, however, don’t forget customer support. In fact, customer support is one of the keys to driving more Amazon reviews, even though you’re using service while the product to be promoted is a physical item. Fortunately, there’s a way to achieve balance between the two. What you’re doing in both instances is creating momentum and enhancing the experience of your visitors.
7. Look to Facebook groups
The best practice is to join Facebook Groups where all the reviews happen. Most of such stores comprise of reviewers and purchasers. Without any charge (aside from developing friendly relations with the admin), you can talk about products in the groups. Most people will ask you to send them a big sample, or throw in a big discount in order to keep them engaged and interested. Of course, this should get you the reviews you need for Amazon scale.
Conclusion
We’ve done what we could to share this knowledge with you. Feel free to give the above mentioned tips a go to increase your Amazon aptitude.