Amazon reviews are incredibly important for driving purchases. They have a significant impact on your products’ Buy Box performance, which dramatically affects your listings’ visibility.
They really help to convert buyers too. 72% of shoppers don’t take any action until they’ve read reviews of a product they’re looking at. Simply put, if you get more Amazon reviews, you’ll also get more sales!
Rules about how to get reviews on Amazon
Amazon has plenty of rules and restrictions when it comes to online reviews. If you break them, you risk having your product listings suspended or permanently removed. It’s worth educating yourself properly on these rules, but here are the major no-no’s:
- Don’t write reviews for yourself or competitors (or have your friends, family, and coworkers do the same)
- You’re not allowed to write fake reviews (positive or negative)
- You must not offer discounts or free products in exchange for reviews.
Amazon would prefer that all of your reviews occur organically, but we all know that customers could use a little push. So how are you supposed to get more reviews on Amazon without breaking the rules?
How to get more reviews on Amazon
Below, we share five ways to get Amazon reviews legally!
1. Ask for reviews
We’ll start with the obvious: the best way to get Amazon reviews is to actually ask for them. In fact, the majority of shoppers (77%) are willing to leave a review if a business asks them.
By default, Amazon will email your customers asking for a review after their purchase. You can send one additional review using Amazon’s “Request a Review” button.
Clicking this button sends customers the same email Amazon already sent them, though, which lacks a personal touch. Another issue with relying on the “Request a Review” button is that there is no easy way to request reviews at scale, instead the seller must manually request a review from each customer – which can be a cumbersome process.
Instead, try using review automation software like eDesk Feedback to send your own personalized review request emails in bulk. It’s super simple to generate reviews using smart, selective feedback requests that resonate with your happy customers at the right time – All on autopilot.
Image: Show positive reviews being received for Amazon
You can create your own email template that reflects your brand’s voice, dynamically inserts the customer’s name and product, and includes your brand logo and product imagery. That goes a long way toward reminding the customer what they bought and encouraging them to leave a review. But if you’re worried about complying with Amazon’s messaging rules, you can use eDesk’s default Amazon review request template, specifically designed to be 100% Amazon compliant.
But the best part about using Amazon feedback software is that you can specifically target the customers who are more likely to write you a good review. You can configure your feedback rules to only email customers who have left you reviews in the past, those who received their order on-time, those who bought a product that tends to produce positive feedback on Amazon, and more.
With eDesk Feedback, you can target customers with review requests based on;
Channels
- Apply the rule to all channels or specify a particular one
Order
- Targets orders based on the date they were placed
- Target orders by value
- Contact all customers or target customers who have purchased from you before
Product
- Specify certain product conditions
- Target-specific products by name, SKU or ASIN
Fulfillment
- Target FBA or non-FBA specifically
- Target standard or expedited shipping
Destination
- Target-specific countries based on delivery
- Target-specific states/regions
Even better, when a customer has an open customer service ticket in your eDesk mailbox, custom Feedback rules can be used to automatically block the sending of a review request. This provides added peace of mind that the reviews you do receive are less likely to be negative.
Simply choose when to send the request and which orders to send it for—the rest is done automatically!
Tips for sending smarter feedback requests
Using feedback software certainly helps, but you still need to write a compelling message to get more reviews on Amazon. Here are some pointers to follow:
- Timing is everything: Send a request when the buyer is most likely to respond. Consider time zones, national holidays or other instances when they may not be available. Ensure that you schedule your request when the buyer has had a chance to use the product.
- Be selective: Ensure you get Amazon reviews from customers that you’re confident received the best possible experience. Factors to consider are on-time delivery and seamless support. If your customer has raised a support query with your company, choose to exclude them from receiving a request for feedback.
- Don’t request feedback on fragile products: Products that might break on delivery are the ones to avoid when aiming for a high feedback score. Instead, choose items that travel well and have a good review history. Analyze the products that have historically scored well with your buyers, so you can target positive feedback from happy customers.
- Exceed customer expectations: When requesting feedback, go one step further and provide your customer with any product resources that might entice them to throw an extra star your way, or include links to video tutorials, so they can get the most out of your product.
- Anticipate customer needs: Address any common queries relating to the product, and ask your customer if they need any help getting started.
- Reverse negative feedback: If you receive negative feedback, the most important thing to do is apologize. Your response should be personalized so that your customer feels their opinion is valued. Address your customer positively, with a respectful tone, but try not to be too casual as this can upset an angry customer even further.
2. Provide excellent eCommerce customer service
Excellent customer service can make the difference between a one-time purchaser and a loyal one. Any interaction you have with your customers, from a question about how your product works to an update on their shipping status, is an opportunity to improve their perception of your brand.
The better your customer service is, the more likely your customers will leave a positive Amazon review. All the more so if you ask them.
Here’s when to do it:
- When your customer service team successfully resolves an issue or question, customers are generally quite happy. When they’re in that positive state of mind, it’s a great time for you to ask them for a review.
- Even if a customer returns a product, they can still review it — especially if the reason they returned it wasn’t due to product quality. They can speak to how helpful your team was.
- If customers ask about a product before purchasing, email them a week or two later to see if there’s anything else you can do to help them out. If not, you can ask them to write you a review on Amazon.
Beyond getting their problem solved, the biggest thing customers look for from customer service is a fast response. Make sure you’re using eCommerce helpdesk software to ensure your team is as efficient as possible. eDesk, for example, offers AI-generated response templates, the ability to sort tickets by urgency, and robust collaboration features.
3. Enroll your products in Amazon Vine
Enrolling your products in Amazon Vine can significantly boost your Amazon reviews and overall sales. Amazon Vine is an invitation-only program designed to gather authentic reviews from trusted and experienced Amazon customers, known as Vine Voices, which are made up exclusively of Amazon’s most trusted customers. These individuals receive free products from participating sellers in exchange for unbiased reviews. Through Vine, sellers can target influential reviewers who have demonstrated a history of providing detailed and insightful feedback. By offering free products, Vine incentivizes these reviewers to share their honest opinions, thus increasing the volume of reviews for enrolled products.
Once enrolled, Amazon will select eligible products for distribution to Vine Voices, facilitating the generation of valuable reviews and enhancing product visibility and credibility on the platform.
To participate in Amazon Vine, your business and products must satisfy certain criteria. You can learn more about the enrollment criteria and how the program works here.
4. Get Amazon reviews with a product insert
It’s easier for shoppers to leave a review soon after purchasing a product. Wait, too long, and they’ll forget why they loved it and how positive their experience was with your customer service team.
Sure, you’ll be emailing them asking for a review, but why not give them another friendly push right there in the product packaging?
Start off by expressing your gratitude that they purchased your product. Then let them know how reviews help your business, and give them clear instructions for writing a review on Amazon. Furthermore, make sure to include your customer service contact information so they can easily contact you if needed.
When designing your product insert, refrain from suggesting that you only want them to write a positive review. That’s against Amazon’s review policy.
5. Regularly offer discounts and special promotions
There’s a fine line to getting your product pricing just right. Customers are most satisfied when products are priced reasonably — neither too high nor too low.
Having said that, everyone loves a discount. Studies show shoppers who receive a $10 voucher experience a boost in oxytocin levels and feel happier. That’s precisely how you want shoppers to feel when they leave a review.
While you can’t ask customers to leave a review in exchange for a discount, you can offer discount codes as part of your regular promotion strategy.
Much like the Amazon Early Reviewer Program, a great way to launch your products to much fanfare is to offer an introductory discount exclusively available to your email subscribers. Then, after they purchase, you can email them asking them to review you on Amazon.
You can also discount your products regularly throughout the year and ramp up your review requests during those times to naturally generate more positive reviews. By the way, product discounts are also an excellent way to grow your customer base — 90% of shoppers say they’re more willing to try a new product if they have a coupon.
Final thoughts
There are some great marketing tactics mentioned above to help you get more reviews on Amazon. From using the right feedback software to enrolling your products in Amazon Vine, there’s certainly a lot you can do.
Every Amazon seller must always bear in mind the importance of consistently providing top quality customer service. If you respond promptly and effectively to customer queries, you’ll build your reputation, ratings and sales.
