Customer reviews are one of the most important factors that influence online shoppers’ buying decisions. According to a survey by BrightLocal, 91% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase, and 84% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Reviews can also boost your product’s visibility, ranking, and conversion rate on Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce platform.
Why buying reviews is illegal and risky
Some sellers may be tempted to buy reviews to boost their product’s ratings and sales on Amazon. However, this is a very bad idea, as buying reviews is illegal and risky. Buying reviews violates Amazon’s policies and the Competition Act, which prohibit offering any compensation or incentives for reviews, such as discounts, free products, gift cards, or sweepstakes entries. This is because these practices can mislead customers and create unfair competition. Buying reviews can also damage your reputation and credibility if customers or authorities find out that you are using fake or biased reviews. You may face legal action, fines, or account suspension by Amazon or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if you are caught buying reviews. Moreover, buying reviews can skew your product feedback and prevent you from improving your products or services, as you will not receive honest and constructive criticism from your customers. Buying reviews can also backfire if the fake reviewers leave negative or irrelevant comments, which can harm your product’s image and performance. Therefore, you should avoid buying reviews at all costs, and focus on generating reviews organically and ethically.
How to get more reviews on Amazon without buying them or breaking the rules
Getting more reviews on Amazon can boost your sales, ranking, and reputation. But how can you get more reviews without violating Amazon’s policies or resorting to shady tactics? Here are some tips to help you get more reviews the right way:
- Make it easy for customers to leave a review. One of the simplest ways to get more reviews is to ask your customers to leave one. You can do this by sending a follow-up email after the purchase, using a call-to-action on your product page, or creating a feedback survey. Make sure your request is polite, clear, and timely. Don’t spam your customers or pressure them to leave a positive review.
- Provide excellent customer service and high-quality products. The best way to get positive reviews is to deliver a great customer experience and a product that meets or exceeds their expectations. If your customers are happy with your service and product, they are more likely to leave a positive review and recommend you to others. On the other hand, if your customers are unhappy, they are more likely to leave a negative review or no review at all. So, make sure you provide fast and friendly customer service, accurate product descriptions, and high-quality products.
- Join the Amazon Vine program. The Amazon Vine program is a way to get honest reviews from trusted reviewers. Amazon invites some of the most helpful reviewers on its platform to join the program and receive free products from participating sellers in exchange for their honest opinions. The reviewers are not obligated to leave a positive review, and their reviews are marked as “Vine Customer Review of Free Product”. To join the program as a seller, you need to have a professional seller account, enroll in the Amazon Brand Registry, and have products with less than 30 reviews.
- Use third-party email responders or review platforms. If you want to automate and optimize your review requests, you can use third-party tools that integrate with Amazon and help you send personalized and effective emails to your customers. Some of these tools also allow you to monitor and manage your reviews, respond to negative feedback, and generate reports and insights. Some examples of these tools are FeedbackWhiz, BQool, and SellerLabs.
- Create an email list or a social media community. Another way to get more reviews is to build a relationship with your customers and engage with them on a regular basis. You can do this by creating an email list or a social media community where you can share valuable content, offer discounts, and ask for feedback. You can also use these channels to ask your customers to leave a review on Amazon, but make sure you follow Amazon’s guidelines and don’t incentivize or manipulate your customers to do so.
- Use product inserts or packaging. A product insert or packaging is a physical piece of paper or material that you include with your product. You can use it to thank your customers for their purchase, provide additional information or instructions, and invite them to leave a review on Amazon. This can be a subtle and effective way to remind your customers to leave a review, but make sure you don’t violate Amazon’s policies or offer any incentives or rewards for doing so.
- Reduce negative reviews by addressing customer issues promptly and professionally. Negative reviews are inevitable, but you can reduce their impact by responding to them quickly and professionally. You can use negative reviews as an opportunity to show your customer service skills, apologize for any inconvenience, and offer a solution or a refund. This can help you turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal one, and also show potential customers that you care about their satisfaction.
What are the ethical and legal ways to generate reviews organically
Getting more reviews on Amazon can help you increase your product’s visibility, ranking, and conversion rate, as well as build trust and loyalty with your customers. However, you need to follow ethical and legal ways to generate reviews organically, without offering any compensation or incentives for reviews, as this can violate Amazon’s policies and the Competition Act. Here are some of the best practices that you can use to solicit reviews from your customers:
- Ask your customers politely and sincerely for reviews: You can send a follow-up email, use a call-to-action, or create a feedback survey to ask your customers for their feedback after they receive their product. You should be courteous and genuine, and avoid influencing the content or rating of their feedback. You should also provide a direct link to the product page or the review form to make it easy for them to leave a review.
- Follow Amazon’s guidelines and best practices for requesting reviews: You should familiarize yourself with Amazon’s policies and regulations for requesting reviews, such as not asking for a positive review or a specific rating, not offering any incentives or compensation, and not including any marketing or promotional content. You should also respect your customers’ privacy and preferences, and avoid spamming them with review requests.
- Use the “Request a Review” button on Amazon to send a standardized message to your customers: You can use the “Request a Review” button on Amazon to send a simple and neutral message to your customers, asking them to rate and review your product. This message is compliant with Amazon’s policies and regulations, and can increase your response rate.
- Provide value and information to your customers before asking for reviews: You can provide value and information to your customers before asking for reviews, such as tips, tutorials, news, or updates about your product or service. This can help you build a relationship with your customers, and show that you care about their experience and satisfaction.
- Be transparent and disclose any relationship or affiliation with the reviewers: You should be transparent and disclose any relationship or affiliation with the reviewers, such as if they are your employees, friends, family, or partners. This can help you avoid any conflicts of interest or bias, and maintain your credibility and trustworthiness.
- Respect your customers’ privacy and preferences and do not spam them with review requests: One of the best practices for asking for reviews from your customers is to respect their privacy and preferences, and not spam them with review requests. This means that you should only send review requests to customers who have given you their consent, either by opting in to receive marketing communications from you, or by agreeing to the terms and conditions of your service. You should also allow them to opt out of receiving review requests at any time, and honor their choices. Moreover, you should only send review requests that are timely, relevant, and personalized to your customers, and limit the number and frequency of your review requests. By doing so, you can avoid annoying your customers, damaging your reputation, and reducing your response rate. You can also show that you value your customers’ opinions and trust, and build a lasting relationship with them.
Getting more reviews on Amazon can be challenging
Remember, customer reviews are not only a way to boost your product’s performance on Amazon, but also a way to build a relationship with your customers, learn from their feedback, and improve your product or service. Therefore, you should always respect your customers’ opinions, thank them for their reviews, and respond to their comments. By doing so, you can increase your customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy, and grow your business on Amazon.
