Need some help getting more Amazon reviews in 2020?
Over the last couple of years, Amazon has cracked down on black hat tactics to increase review counts. Long gone are the days of buying reviews and counting on unverified reviews to stick. On the flip side, there are more review strategies that are Terms of Service (TOS) compliant than ever before. Have you launched a product, or are you considering launching? You need a plan to help you get more Amazon reviews.
Reviews are the name of the game and have a direct correlation to your success on Amazon. We worked with a small company whose sales jumped from $52,000 per month to over $67,000 per month when their review count went from about 750 to 900.
Do you have a plan in place to bring in a steady flow of reviews? If not, we’ve got some work to do, but we’re here to help. At TurnKey Product Management, we want to make sure that you have strategies for getting customer reviews while also complying with Amazon’s TOS.
Early Reviewer Program
The Early Reviewer Program is perfect for the seller who has less than 15 reviews on their listing. You can get up to 5 reviews for $60. You are enrolled in the program until you collect the five reviews or for a year. Amazon does not guarantee these reviews! You could complete the program with less than five reviews. However, in our experience, sellers typically finish with all five reviews.
Before thinking to yourself, “Five reviews is hardly anything,” remember the first five are so important not only for building credibility but for advertising as well. Without those first five reviews, your paid ads are more likely to flop. Don’t underestimate the difference five reviews can make.
Request a Review
Request a Review is an Amazon powered review strategy staple for sellers. You can now request a review from every shopper between 5 and 30 days after purchase and. In Seller Central, under the Orders tab, click on Manage Orders. Then when you click into Order Details, there’s an option to Request a Review. This option is free to sellers and incredibly simple to roll out. On average, sellers see a 3-5% response rate. At the very least, you should have someone on your team tasked with sending out review requests once a week. Autoresponder guidelines have gotten tighter and more restrictive when it comes to soliciting reviews. However, you can feel confident that you cannot only ask a customer for a review; you are also playing by the rules.
For best practices, we recommend waiting at least a week before requesting a review. You want to give the buyer time to receive the product and make sure it’s delivered on time and in great condition, so shipping mistakes don’t show in your reviews. If you sell a supplement, we recommend waiting until the last minute possible, so customers have a chance to form an opinion on a product. You don’t want to end up with a negative review just because you asked for it too early.
Depending on your volume, there are now tools that let you Request a Review in bulk – on autopilot! Our favorites are Jungle Scout and Feedback Whiz. Easily add it as a Chrome Extension, and you’ll never have to request reviews one at a time again. This is a no brainer strategy when it comes to collecting reviews!
Vine
Amazon Vine is an excellent option for sellers with Brand Registry and listings with less than 30 reviews. This is also a free tool to enroll in, and it only costs you the cost of the product. In this program, 30 Vine Voices redeem your product in exchange for a review within 30-days. If you already have five reviews on a product, you can only enroll 25 units. This is a fantastic opportunity to get your first thirty reviews and fast! Plus, these Vine Voices are people that are seeking out opportunities to write reviews. Of course, they are doing it for the free product, but they also have experience crafting reviews, and their feedback would be a welcome addition in your customer reviews.
Turning Feedback into Reviews
One of the oldest tricks in the books is to ask shoppers who leave feedback to post their comments as a review. Most people don’t understand the difference between feedback and reviews, and while seller feedback is a vital account metric, reviews carry you a long way in conversions and sales.
We recommend someone on your team dedicating a short amount of time each week to respond to feedback. It’s best practice to write a template that gives you a good starting point and customize it based on the message.
Here’s an example of a way to ask:
Hi (Insert Name), We’re so glad to hear you’re enjoying (insert product)! Would you mind posting your feedback as a review? Feedback and reviews are different on Amazon. Both help us, but reviews go a long way in the success of our brand. If you have a couple of minutes, you can leave a review for our product here: [insert link]
As a small business, we really appreciate your support!
The Takeaway
At the end of the day, having a fantastic product combined with an extraordinary customer experience backed by a helpful customer service team will result in ever-growing 5-star reviews and raving fans.
Customer reviews should be a top priority in your business, and if you don’t already have a system in place, it’s time to get started. These strategies can be a lot to implement at once, but you just need to start. While these features are very user-friendly, bringing in an expert to help you along the way is always a bonus and can definitely help you to see your products full potential on Amazon. Click here to visit TurnKey’s website to get the help you need to scale your Amazon sales to the next level and save you time in the process!
Jeff Lieber and his team from TurnKey Product Management provided this article. TurnKey is an Amazon consulting company that sells over 8-figures in revenue for its clients each year. Whether you’re just starting or are an Amazon expert, TurnKey can help take your sales to the next level. Click here to visit TurnKey’s website where you’ll find free resources and training on how to scale to 7+ figures on Amazon. Plus, you can contact TurnKey there to help scale your business.
