This post discusses how to get product reviews on Amazon. We outline the options, guidelines, and best practices related to getting product reviews as a Seller on Amazon. A few months ago, as of March 10, 2021, Amazon Seller Central retired their Early Reviewer Program, which previously gave sellers with new listings the option to pay $60 in exchange for help in gaining their first 5 product reviews. They stopped new enrollments to the Early Reviewer Program on March 10, 2021 and stopped offering services to sellers enrolled in the program on April 25, 2021. (Early Review program FAQ). Whether or not you were a seller that took advantage of this program, you may want to consider your other options.
Reviews provide social proof and information about the product. They allow Amazon customers to see from other Amazon customers the experience of the product. Higher ratings and more reviews can provide an indication to potential customers that many other buyers have had a positive experience with the product.
As we introduce this topic, it is important to note that Amazon has very strict review guidelines and we encourage you to follow them. Engaging in any activities against guidelines could lead to listing suppression, account suspensions, and impact your ability to sell. More information can be found on Seller Central’s Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct and Amazon Community Guidelines. As you engage in activities related to Amazon Reviews, consider that the potential for hundreds of great reviews does not outweigh the risk of losing the ability to sell your product on Amazon.
The Difference Between Seller Feedback, Product Ratings and Product Reviews
Before we outline the options for how to get product reviews on Amazon, it is important to make a distinction between Product Reviews, Product Ratings and Seller Feedback, as these are commonly confused by both sellers and buyers. We will explain the difference between Seller Feedback, Product Reviews, and Product Ratings.
Seller Feedback
Seller Feedback is feedback at the account level. This feedback is for your actual selling account, rather than an actual product. This feedback displays on your seller info page, which can be accessed by customers if they click on the blue "Your Selling Name" in the buy box on a product listing. However, we frequently see that customers accidentally leave product-related feedback on the seller feedback. This is fine, but it won't necessarily be seen by someone purchasing that product. If you are brand registered, you are able to post a public reply to Seller Feedback from the feedback manager page, using the drop-down under "actions" on the far right. We don't find these necessary to respond to, while it does not hurt to respond, there have been no proven benefits. While some shoppers may visit this page, it is not very common practice, especially when you are the only one selling the product or when it is FBA. When there are multiple offers on a product, a customer may be more likely to investigate the seller.
Product Reviews
Product Reviews are at a product level, this is what can be seen by scrolling further down a product listing page and includes actual text and sometimes photos/video. Product reviews are reviews that relate to the actual product and according to the Amazon Community Guidelines, should provide “helpful and relevant” content to customers. Amazon has removed the option for sellers to respond to Product Reviews. Product Reviews are important as they hold a significant influence in a potential customer’s decision to buy. According to a Goat Consulting Customer Research survey we conducted with over 2000 respondents, a Product's Review Rating (as in the quality of reviews or number of stars), ranked as the 2nd most important factor during the purchase decision, falling behind price but beating out review quantity, product features, images, videos, and other values . (Amazon Customer Research, Question 25).
Product Ratings
Product Ratings are also at the product level. Ratings are the customer’s star rating of the product out of 5 stars. Product Ratings do not require the customer to leave a text response, and customers can leave a rating without leaving a review.
How to Get Product Reviews on Amazon
Now that we have defined the different rating systems available for Amazon customers, let’s discuss ways that Amazon Sellers can get product reviews.
Have a Good Product and Sell It
The best way to get great, genuine and compliant product reviews on Amazon is to have a great product and sell a lot of it. According to our Goat Consulting Amazon Customer Survey, 73.4% of Amazon shoppers have left a review, and that is primarily triggered by an exceptionally good or bad product experience (Amazon Customer Research, Question 48, 53). The more units you sell, the more likely you are to rack up good reviews. Although this is a bit of a “chicken before the egg” dilemma, better product reviews will also influence more sales. As these things go hand in hand, figure one out and you are on a track to success. To drive more product sales, consider promotional tools, such as Amazon Coupons, Amazon Advertising, or Amazon Posts to push product sales, and reviews should follow.
Manually “Request a Review”
Another option to try to drive more Amazon product reviews is manually requesting product reviews on orders that have been completed within the last 30 days. Amazon doesn't allow review requests on order past 30 days. This process had to be done manually on the individual order level. Submitting a manual Review Request can be done from the “Manage Orders” Page on Seller Central. From here you can locate a shipped order, and then click on the Order ID under the “Order Details” column. This will bring you to the Order Details page, where you can select “Request a Review”. Clicking this button will have Amazon send the customer an email requesting a review using a stock request template. This process can be tedious and time consuming if you have many orders each day. For that reason, large sellers may want to consider a 3rd party service that automates this process.
Use a 3rd Party Service to Automate Review Requests
If your unit sales exceed your capacity to manually request a review, you can consider a 3rd party service that automates this process. Before using a 3rd party service, you will want to ensure that their practices don’t interfere with Amazon’s Guidelines. Some 3rd parties that provide this automation service include Feedback Five and Jungle Scout.
Amazon Vine
Another potential option to get reviews on Amazon is Amazon Vine. According to Amazon, this program “invites the most trusted reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new and pre-release items to help their fellow customers make informed purchase decisions. Amazon provides Vine members with free products that have been submitted to the program by participating vendors.”
The drawbacks of this program is that there is no guarantee these will be positive reviews. Amazon Vine has trusted reviewers use and review your product, but if they don’t like it they are still entitled to leave an honest review. Any reviews generated by Amazon Vine will stay on the product listing, you are not able to remove them by any means. By using this program, you may open yourself up to a greater risk of negative reviews, as there is a higher chance that someone who was given your product versus someone who specifically chose to buy the product may not know how to use it or it may not fit with their lifestyle, resulting in a negative review. For example, if you sell sports equipment but the trusted reviewer does not play or value sports, they are not necessarily prone to have a positive impression of the product. With Amazon Vine, you also have to offer the item for free to the reviewer. If you are selling a higher priced product it may be worth first considering those costs, and if the program is still worth pursuing knowing the review has the potential to be negative.
To use Amazon Vine, you must be a Professional Selling partner, have registered a brand in Amazon Brand Registry, be identified as a brand owner, and have eligible FBA offers. In order for the items you enroll to be eligible, they should meet the following criteria: Be brand registered in Amazon Brand Registry, have fewer than 30 reviews on the product detail page, have a buyable FBA offer in ‘New’ condition, not be an adult product, have already launched at the time of enrollment, have available inventory and have an image and a description.
Product Inserts
Another option to remind customers to leave a product review on Amazon is to include a product insert. You can create a small card or flyer that asks the customer to leave a review, and include it with your item before sending into Amazon. Once again the wording on this card must remain neutral to avoid violating Amazon’s guidelines and potential suspension. On this review insert, you can list something like "Thanks for your purchase! Let other Amazon customers know what you think of this product. Leave a product review." This wording remains neutral and does not risk soliciting only positive reviews. If you specifically ask customers "do you like this product?" you may enter some grey area on Amazon's policy and risk the message being viewed as positive solicitation only.
How to Get Product Reviews on Amazon Conclusion
To conclude, there are a few different ways to increase your potential review count on Amazon. You can send manual review requests, try Amazon Vine, or outsource to a 3rd party service, but our greatest recommendation is just to have a good quality product, and continue to sell as much as you can, and the reviews will follow. If you want to learn more about product reviews or anything about selling on Amazon, reach out to us.