03 May Importance of reviews within Amazon: what they are for and what to do to get them

• Customer reviews are one of the most relevant aspects when making a purchase within the world’s largest marketplace .
• Amazon cares that they are all real and fights against fake reviews to ensure a great shopping experience.

With the emergence and rise of e-commerce, new advantages and opportunities have emerged for both sellers and buyers, but others have also disappeared. This time we talk about the relationship of trust that is created between a seller and a buyer. In traditional commerce, it is often decisive to close a sale because customers can resolve their doubts and questions immediately.

But on the internet this is not so simple, so the opinion of someone who has purchased the same product is essential when you want to buy something. In this way, it is possible to know if the item fits the description, if it is of good quality or if it will serve its purpose correctly.

Here’s why they’re so important and what you can do to get them.

Why are they so important?

First of all, they are essential because they help to generate that interpersonal trust that cannot be established in e-commerce and that represents one of the biggest problems of this type of business. According to a study by the consulting firm SeQura, just 5 positive reviews about a product can increase the probability of buying it by up to 270%.

On the other hand, regarding positioning, as we already explained here, reviews on Amazon are just as relevant as including links in content for Google: the more reviews and better rating, the more visibility and more authority.

The problem is that negative reviews are easier to get than positive ones. This is because if the product has not satisfied customers, they use them to show their discomfort and to complain. On the other hand, in order to get a positive review, it is not enough that the item in question is excellent value for money or that it works properly, but both the logistics and the after-sales service must be equally satisfactory. On average, the ratio of positive reviews to sales is 1%, which means that for every 100 sales a positive review is left.

What To Do To Get Positive Reviews

There is no magic formula that will increase the number of positive comments. The only way to get good customer reviews on Amazon is to be a good seller, be honest, and offer quality products that fit your descriptions. In addition, it is important to be attentive, attentive, offer excellent customer service and constantly work to offer a satisfactory shopping experience.

But, to complement this, many times you can carry out a series of actions to help increase the number of positive reviews.

1. Email automation: consists of scheduling a series of emails to communicate with the customer and show interest in making their shopping experience the best it can be. Normally, three emails are sent:
   1. Shipping Confirmation: To thank you for your purchase and confirm shipping.
   2. Follow-up of the purchase: it is sent approximately a couple of days later and the important thing is to make sure that the product arrived in perfect condition and show the customer that you are available for everything they need.
   3. Request the review: it is sent between 5 and 7 days later and must include some valuable content.

2. Include a card with a QR code: This code will link to a landing page (landing page) in which the customer will be able to find valuable content, such as downloading the instruction manual in digital format, learning about alternative ways of use, giving advice or having a personalized customer service chat.

3. Amazon Vine Program: consists of sending a specific product for free to customers who are members of the program, called Vine Voices, in order for them to generate a real and unbiased review. The downside is that they can be both positive and negative.

Prohibited Practices for Getting Reviews

Amazon has severely toughened its measures against this type of practice after having detected that its use can pose a problem for customer satisfaction. Here’s what you can’t do under any circumstances:

1. That the seller, a family member or an employee of the company directly publishes a positive review on their products or a negative one on those of the competition.
2. Offer rewards, refunds, or discounts in exchange for positive reviews or expressly request that a favorable review be left.
3. Only ask for reviews from satisfied buyers.
4. Generate a variant relationship between unrelated products to take advantage of reviews for one of them.
5. Manipulate the usefulness of reviews, in order to highlight certain comments above others.