Amazon reviews are a crucial part of customers’ decision-making process. Without the ability to touch, feel, and test a product in real life, consumers look to reviews to determine whether or not an item will fit their needs.
In fact, a survey by Dimensional Research found that reviews impact the buying decisions of 90% of consumers.
If you want to boost your e-commerce sales and you’re wondering how to get reviews on Amazon, then you need to make a strategic plan.
Below, we’ll cover some of the ways you can get more reviews and build a successful Amazon e-commerce business.
Why Getting Amazon Reviews Are Important for Your Business
Feedvisor found that 89% of consumers are more likely to buy products from Amazon than any other retail site.
On Amazon, reviews are especially important. Their commitment to customer satisfaction has meant a lot of resources invested in making sure the sales stick. Individual businesses using the platform for e-commerce need to collect positive reviews for products to rank high and be found by consumers.
Most people won’t buy a product if it has a low review rating. A study by Podium found consumers won’t engage with businesses that have less than a 3.3-star rating.
Likewise, Podium found consumers aren’t only concerned with price; they also want a good buying experience, and most are willing to pay up to 15% more to ensure that happens. Concerns about shipping times, product functionality, and quality are all present in your consumers’ minds as they shop.
Reviews help consumers understand how products function, how reliable they are, and how the business selling the product interacts with their consumers.
They also offer data insights into consumer behavior, wants, and needs. Even negative reviews can have a positive impact on your business if you know how to use them.
If a business understands how to get reviews on Amazon, they have a better chance of driving conversions, keeping long term customers, and being successful in an e-commerce platform.
If you want to increase your sales on Amazon, reviews are an excellent place to start.
Here are just a few ways Amazon reviews can impact your e-commerce business.
Amazon Reviews Build Trust Between Brands and Consumers
Amazon reviews are one of the best ways to attract customers to your products. They help customers understand your product and how it works, so they can feel confident in their purchases.
In an online world, where regular sensory information is excluded, this is a huge selling point for new customers.
Consumers have a natural skepticism when shopping online. Negative reviews can give the impression that your product is a scam or your business is unreliable.
Reviews also act as natural, word-of-mouth marketing between consumers.
Amazon Reviews Affect SEO
Amazon considers the consumer experience to be the most important factor in its service offerings. From ordering to delivery, return, and review options, they aim to make their customers happy.
Amazon encourages its retailers to emulate this value in their stores. They reward retailers with high customer rankings by promoting their products more often in search results. This is because the higher your reviews are, the more likely you will do right by your customers.
Likewise, many consumers will modify their search results to put top-rated items first. If your product is well-liked and well-reviewed, it is likely to be seen by more people.
Amazon Reviews Offer Insights
Amazon reviews can help you understand what your customers like or don’t like about your products. It also allows you to compare your products to your competitors and understand what your consumer base is looking for.
Even negative reviews can offer valuable insights into how your products are resonating with consumers. Paying attention to these details can improve your review ratings and your product catalog as a whole.
Amazon Reviews Drive Conversions
Consumers don’t trust ads and other content from brands. As a result, many are more skeptical than ever about buying products online.
From a consumer standpoint, the more you know about an online product, the more comfortable you are going ahead with a purchase.
Amazon reviews act as informative, crowd-sourced opinions about products that consumers can trust. The more people believe your brand is honest and trustworthy, the more likely they are to interact with it.
Amazon Reviews are a Free Marketing Tool
People trust other people when making purchasing decisions.
Think about the days before online shopping. If you were looking for a new TV, you’d probably ask some family members, maybe a couple of friends, or even a neighbor about the best deals in town.
Online reviews work in a similar fashion. They allow consumers to communicate with each other about which products are good, bad, and which arrived as advertised.
A study by BrightLocal found 84% of consumers trust online reviews just as much as they trust personal recommendations.
Amazon reviews can act as a grapevine marketing tactic that builds brand loyalty, encourages repeat business, and helps get your product into consumers’ minds.
How to Get Reviews on Amazon: 6 Tips
Amazon has strict rules to ensure reviews are honest, legitimate, and unsolicited, so there’s no quick fix to getting your reviews up and running.
To start with, Amazon does not allow businesses to solicit positive or false reviews from their customers through discounts or gift cards.
That means if you want to know how to get reviews on Amazon, you may need to get creative.
Here are a few simple ways to get the Amazon reviews you need to grow your Amazon e-commerce business — and make sure your customers are happy.
Request a Amazon Buyer Review
If you want to learn how to get reviews on Amazon, your first step is to ask.
Amazon automatically requests feedback on all purchased products. Their simple email template is uninspiring and won’t always convince a customer to leave a review.
Instead, send a personalized review request to customers. This will let them know you care about their experience and are engaged with your consumer community.
Make leaving a review easy by adding a link in your email that takes them directly to the review page.
You can also use automated e-commerce tools to send these requests like SageMailer, Jungle Scout, and Feedback Express.
Asking for reviews can also increase the number of positive reviews — because unhappy customers tend to leave reviews more often than happy customers.
Use a Packaging Inset to Request a Review
Adding a small slip to encourage customers to review your products is an easy way to get more Amazon reviews.
Packaging inserts are also a good way to minimize returns by ensuring customers know how to easily contact your business.
Because of Amazon’s strict non-soliciting guidelines, there are a few rules you should follow when using a product insert.
Do not:
- Include logos or display a URL.
- Use any “if” statements or leading language like: “If you love our product, leave us a review.”
- Use words that can be misconstrued as leading such “happy,” “ecstatic,” or “positive.”
- Manipulate product review or seller feedback with language that misleads the reviewer (Example: “We are a small, locally owned business” or “Enjoy a 10% discount when you leave a positive review.”)
- Include a marketing or promotional messaging of any kind.
Join Amazon Vine to Get More Amazon Reviews
Amazon Vine is an internal service Amazon launched to validate the reviewing process and stop sellers from purchasing fake reviews.
Customers can sign up to be verified reviewers and receive free products in return.
For sellers, you can join as long as you commit to giving away products for free.
Amazon Vine is a great way to get genuine, honest reviews from verified reviewers. Each reviewer is hand-picked by Amazon to ensure quality and commitment. Amazon Vine reviews are thorough and usually include images or videos to help other customers understand the products.
Vine reviews are a great way to collect reviews and tap into the SEO benefits that Amazon reviews offer.
The downside of this program is there is no guarantee your reviews will be positive.
If you’re just learning how to get reviews on Amazon, negative reviews might seem like a big deal. The upside is negative reviews can give you insights on how to improve your products and services.
So don’t get too down about negative feedback.
Be Honest in Your Amazon Listing
One of the easiest ways to get bad reviews is to mislead your customers in your listing.
It’s never a good idea to promise features that won’t be delivered or to lie about sizing, quality, or durability.
If you’ve ever been on the internet, you know how much people love to leave bad reviews. In fact, you’re probably more likely to get a review when a customer dislikes a product than when they do like it.
Be diligent and concise when describing your products in your listings. Don’t try to oversell or manipulate your consumers. Chances are, it will come back to bite you.
Reach Out to Customers Who Reviewed Related Products on Amazon
You can find customers who have bought related products to yours by looking for the “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” and “Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed” sliders.
It’s a good idea to check out competitor products and reach out to competitor reviewers.
Not only is this a good way to win business, but you have a better chance of getting a review from someone who is already interested in related products, such as k-cups if they just purchased a new Keurig coffee machine.
You can usually find reviewer information by clicking on their name and viewing their profile. Then, send an email or social message to see if they are interested in reviewing your product.
Even if they say no, you’ve got your product into their mind, and that’s a great marketing opportunity.
Provide a Great Customer Experience
Negative reviews don’t just happen when a customer doesn’t like the product — they can come from customers who are unhappy with the customer service.
If you want to avoid negative reviews, make sure the product you offer is what the customer expects.
Don’t make promises you can’t keep, and don’t mislead your consumers.
Look at reviews regularly and respond to customer questions and messages. If several customers mention your sizing chart is off, it may be time to readjust it. If a customer receives a damaged product, make it right.
Amazon takes pride in its customer service tactics and they reward retailers who follow their lead. If you want to rank high and make sales on Amazon, you need to put customers first.
Looking for more tips for gaining reviews? Here’s an extra 10 tips to convince your customers to review your products.
Conclusion
Remember, good customer experience is one of Amazon’s core values.
Make sure your product is up to par before going out and searching for reviews. Then, use the strategies above to encourage users to share their two cents.
And remember, bad reviews can be a drag, but look at them as an opportunity to improve your products or services. A few bad reviews are unlikely to tank your business.
If you want to boost your Amazon marketing plan even more, choose the right Amazon marketing agency.
Have you found any other tricks for getting more reviews on Amazon? Share them below.
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