Customer reviews and ratings are an integral part of Amazon, and why it is such a popular marketplace for shoppers. Products with more positive reviews are more likely to sell than products without them. This aspect is so critical to good sales that bad actors take efforts to manipulate reviews.
Getting organic reviews on your detail pages can be difficult, especially when launching a new product. Navazon has compiled a few useful methods of getting positive reviews from customers.
Key Takeaways
- Amazon has provided the Vine Reviewers and Early Reviewer programs to help sellers get those initial reviews
- Advertising, deals, and techniques to boost sales quickly gives you a good base of customers that can give reviews
- Sellers can request reviews from customers through Amazon or by reminding their audience on social media
Vine Reviewers
Amazon Vine reviewers are shoppers that Amazon trusts to leave honest and detailed reviews of products. After a seller enrolls products in the program, Amazon sends those items to applicable reviewers who can give thorough feedback before a product even launches. This way, a new product can launch with reviews already in place.
A vine credit is $2500 and allows you to send up to 30 units of a products. Vine credits can be negotiated with your Vendor Manager or Vendor Success Program Manager for a reduced cost.
Early Reviewer Program
The Early Reviewer Program was developed by Amazon specifically to help sellers get their first reviews for a new product. For products enlisted in the program, Amazon will contact buyers at random and ask for an honest review. The buyer gets a small gift card for their time after they have left a review, no matter what rating they give it. This helps the product increase its reviews and visibility on Amazon.com.
The Early Reviewer Program costs $50 per product enrolled.
Promotions
One way to incentivize reviews is with promotions and discounts. These deals not only increase the visibility of products in search results, but shoppers are more likely to buy a product if they see it at a lower price than they could get it otherwise.
Review Requests
Third Party (3P) sellers can contact shoppers who buy their products after the purchase has been made. While not all customers will reply, sending an after-sale email to thank the customer for the purchase and request they leave a review can greatly improve that quality of your listings. Remember, leave enough time for the item to be used well by the shopper so the review is informed. And don’t sound pushy or pestering in the message.
Social Media
Many companies invest great efforts into fostering a social media following. That audience can help you in your mission to improve your rating and reviews. Occasionally sending out a campaign to remind fans and supporters to write about their experiences with your product can yield very positive results.
Navazon has guided many clients products to success, whether they were longtime products that were struggling, or new launches. Contact one of our Amazon experts to see how we can help your business with gaining reviews and much more.