In today’s online environment, keeping a steady stream of positive product reviews is critical to building a successful ecommerce business. Customers pay attention to what other customers are saying about your product. This is especially true when it comes to sellers who list their products on Amazon.
Gaining a positive review on Amazon will help your bottom line. However, sellers beware: The days of employing various tactics to ‘buy’ positive reviews are long gone. Instead, sellers should seek sincere, legitimate reviews from satisfied customers. That is the best way to build an online ecommerce business.
Descartes Sellercloud offers single-source management solutions covering every aspect of merchandise flow from purchase to acceptance. Our team of experts has gained extensive knowledge about how online sellers can thrive in today’s marketplace.
We have identified three best practices that sellers can start implementing immediately to increase the number of positive reviews they receive on Amazon.
Rule #1: Ask Your Customers to Review Your Products
Although this may sound obvious, many sellers neglect this simple step. One easy way to implement it is to include a straightforward, creative marketing insert with every item shipped. Marketing inserts are a low-tech way of gaining customer trust. When done right, customers see them as a pleasant surprise.
Beyond the visual benefits, inserts allow merchants to offer cross-sells, increase word-of-mouth buzz, and improve chances of reorders. In addition to these advantages, marketing inserts should include an invitation to submit a product review on Amazon with a link or QR code.
If the insert is sincere and offers good information on other products, asking for a review will not be considered an unwelcome intrusion. Sellers should ask for a review and offer gentle guidance on how to word it. This is known as ‘framing the review,’ and it is completely legitimate when done correctly.
The best way to frame the review is to educate your customer on how the product adds value to his or her life.
Rule #2: Use Email Correctly
Everyone hates spam, including your customers. However, this does not mean you cannot use email to attract positive reviews. The key is to engage customers with a logical and appropriate sequence of emails that culminate in a request to submit an Amazon review.
As with marketing inserts, the email sequence should help frame the review. Strategies that increase open rates are also important. Including your store name in the email will jog your customers’ memories and increase open rates. Some studies show that this one addition yields an average of almost 4% more open rates.
Subject lines that include financial incentives, such as coupon, win, free, save, sale, discount, etc., raise open rates by almost 20%. Another strategy is to ask a provocative question in the subject line, which can increase open rates by nearly 15% or more.
Timing is very important in email sequences. Asking for a review immediately after the customer purchases a product can be a turn-off. Waiting too long does not work either because the initial excitement of the purchase may have worn off.
The best strategy is to use a three-email follow-up sequence that culminates in asking the customer to review the product on Amazon, which includes a link. The first email should be a simple purchase confirmation. The second email should be a follow-up to determine if the customer is satisfied or has any complaints. The final email should ask for the product review.
Rule #3: A Little (Sincere) Flattery Can Work Wonders
By this, Descartes Sellercloud suggests contacting Amazon reviewers who have purchased products similar to yours. To find these people, go to your product page. Click on the option that reads, ‘Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought‘ or ‘Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed.’
A quick search will lead you to the latest submissions. Clicking on a reviewer’s name will take you to a buyer profile. You can then find their contact information or have the information you need to look them up on social media.
For this last tactic to work, sellers must take their time to build a relationship with the reviewer. You may have to send them a sample and ask for their opinion. By treating these reviewers as product experts whose opinions matter, you will likely build an authentic business relationship that can lead to many positive outcomes.
Ensure you are real, human, and sincere when approaching these individuals. Take no for an answer and be upfront about your intentions. Honesty, as always, is the best policy when it comes to inviting frequent reviewers to offer their opinions on your products.
Book a Descartes Sellercloud demo today.
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