Top 4 Tips to Get Reviews on Amazon

How important are customer reviews to online shoppers? Very important, as it turns out.

Online reviews are the modern media word of mouth, where people provide feedback on products and share their recommendations. They are immensely powerful and can considerably impact how your business is perceived. 

Customer reviews are critical to Amazon sellers. As the world’s largest eCommerce platform with 9.7 million sellers worldwide, reviews can help them stand out in this overly-saturated market. 

The statistics speak for themselves:

• 79% of users are more likely to buy products with higher ratings and better reviews.
• The purchase likelihood skyrockets by 270% when a product posting has at least five consumer reviews.
• Reviews significantly boost all products, but higher-priced items experience the most significant jump in conversion rates (380% increase) than lower-priced items (190%).

Achieving a high review count has become a crucial decider to the long-term success of an Amazon seller. 

If you are an Amazon seller, the first thing you need to understand is why consumers leave reviews in the first place.

Motivations behind Amazon customer reviews

The Amazon review section is a smorgasbord of satisfied customers, perplexing complaints, legitimate criticism, and suspicions of legitimacy. There are a variety of reasons why people leave online reviews.

If a consumer has a positive experience with a product, they will want to let others know about it so they can share the experience. They may also feel that they should reward the seller with a positive review for providing excellent service.

Some do it to provide constructive criticism, so the seller can improve upon the product or make necessary changes to their service. A few negative reviews can be helpful for businesses, as it makes the product more believable. No product is flawless, and a lack of negative reviews may arouse suspicion.

However, Amazon has a persistent problem with fake reviews, as it struggles to rein in coordinated efforts to flood product listings with positive or negative reviews.

For this reason, Amazon has introduced various rules and restrictions to tackle the fake review problem.

Rules about how (or how not) to get reviews on Amazon

Amazon has strict policies that are meant to protect the authenticity of Customer Reviews. If you are found to have broken them, you risk having your product listing suspended or even permanently removed. It is well worth educating yourself on these rules to avoid accidentally breaking them.

Violations to Amazon’s Customer Reviews policies include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Posting reviews on your own product page or competitors.
• Offering a third party a financial reward, discount, free products, or other compensation in exchange for a review.
• Asking a customer to change their review. 
• Asking a family member or employee to post a review of your product or that of a competitor.
• Using a customer account to write or change a review on your or a competitor’s product.

There are easier ways to get reviews on Amazon that don’t involve cheating or breaking Amazon’s policies.

How to get reviews on Amazon

1. Provide an excellent customer experience

Excellent customer service can make the difference between a one-time purchase and a repeat customer.

The first step is to include an honest description of the product and provide accurate, precise information about the product as possible to avoid any confusion or false expectations. 

Similarly, ensure you have high-quality images of the product to know exactly what they are buying. Then ship it promptly, providing them regular updates to keep them informed of its journey. If the customer experiences any problems, respond promptly and resolve them quickly. 

Once they have received the item, send a follow-up email asking for feedback. Amazon asks for customer feedback following a purchase, but it’s a generic email that will often go ignored. 

Instead, send a personalised request, including their name and a little message thanking them for making the purchase. Ideally, you want to send the request shortly after receiving it, so the product is still fresh in their minds.

2. Launch products with Amazon’s Early Reviewer programme

Getting reviews can be an uphill battle for sellers trying to promote their new products. Fortunately, Amazon offers a way to speed this process up with their Early Reviewer Program.

As a member of the program, Amazon will reach out to shoppers who have bought your product on your behalf, offering them Amazon gift cards to review your products.

Whatsmore, shoppers in the Early Reviewer program tend to be better reviewers since they write reviews often and know what’s helpful to other Amazon users. 

If you wish to enter the program, your product has to have fewer than five reviews and cost more than $15. To cover the cost of the gift cards, Amazon charges you a one-time fee of $60, which is only charged once you have received your first review.

3. Use your newsletter and leverage social media to get more reviews

The people who receive your monthly newsletters and follow you on social media are already loyal customers and will be well-informed about your products. 

In newsletters, you can highlight recent product reviews and encourage subscribers to write their own. 

At the same time, you can post testimonials across your social media platforms promoting your product. What’s more, they can share the content with their friends and family, bringing more attention to your products and potentially generating more sales. 

4. Reach out to reliable reviewers

With Amazon, you can find users who have reviewed products similar to yours (even your competitor’s products) and reach out to them.

Simply go to your product page and go to the “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” and “Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed” sections. Then read through their customer reviews and view their profiles. If they provide their contact information, you’re in luck! Send an email. If only their name shows up, try contacting them on another social media platform like Twitter or Facebook.

Alternatively, you could solicit Amazon’s top reviewers – a compilation of esteemed reviewers who are valued for their insightful and objective critiques. Many of these reviewers have titles such as “Top Ten Reviewer” or “Hall of Fame Reviewer,” which can be found alongside their reviews, making their feedback even more valuable. 

Get more reviews

There’s no doubt that reviews are powerful. From generating sales and increasing revenue to growing your brand and improving the customer experience, reviews are essential to success on Amazon.

In short, more reviews translates to more sales. 

We recommend also having a system to request reviews regularly, such as automating the ‘Request a Review’ messaging system. Our friends at eComEngine offer an ideal solution with their FeedbackFive tool.

We can handle the day-to-day management of your Amazon account so that you can focus on your business. Get in touch today to find out more!