Amazon has provided a way to proactively ask for product reviews that (so far) offers no risk of restriction or suspension. The new “Request a Review” button that appears on each order in your Order Details section contains a 100%-Amazon created request and is sent via a different mechanism than Buyer-Seller Messaging. Let’s talk about reviews – why you need them, what is currently getting sellers in trouble in regards to asking for reviews, and what you should know about this new feature in Seller Central.
Amazon Reviews Are Still Important
On the Early Reviewer program overview in Seller Central, Amazon has an image that states that reviews impact customer trust as well as discoverability and search ranking. And, they report that “a product’s first review has been shown to increase sales by up to 3.5x.”
There are varying reports on the effectiveness of Amazon-supported means of getting reviews, such as the Early Reviewer Program and Amazon Vine. However, overall sellers have said that both of the aforementioned programs can help get reviews. While both of those programs have criteria an ASIN has to meet before it can be enrolled, the new Request a Review button can be used on any order that hasn’t been refunded.
How Is The Request A Review Button Different?
Unlike traditional proactive review requests that go through Buyer-Seller Messaging, the Request a Review button appears in your orders in Seller Central. The message that is triggered by using the button is delivered through a different system. While messages sent through Buyer-Seller Messaging can be customized, the message delivered to buyers via Request a Review is an Amazon-generated template that cannot be edited. The message asks for a product review as well as seller feedback. It is totally TOS compliant. Additionally, the message sent to buyers on your behalf is automatically translated to the buyer’s chosen language.
Why Should I Consider This Method?
As you are probably aware, Amazon has cracked down on non-compliant messaging in product review requests sent via Buyer Seller Messaging. While Terms of Service have changed very little in the last two years, we now know that if/then statements (“If you had a good experience, please leave a review, but if you had problems please contact us to make it right!”) are being flagged by bots and teams at Amazon. Messages like that, and messages with other non-compliant components (links to external websites, coercive language, etc.) are getting sellers in hot water with Amazon in the form of a 30 day restriction from proactively using Buyer-Seller Messaging. This is inconvenient, sure. The scary thing is that some sellers who have received more than one of these restrictions have received permanent bans on sending proactive messages. That’s bad for business, and bad for sellers. The Request a Review option is TOS compliant, and it’s able to be used even if you have a restriction in Buyer-Seller messaging. In other words, Amazon really wants you to try it out.
How Can I Use the Request a Review Button Efficiently?
It would be time consuming and tedious to go into each order and click the Request a Review button. Luckily, eComEngine has a way to automate this functionality. You can easily turn on the Amazon Feedback and Review Request Template in FeedbackFive to “set it and forget it.” With FeedbackFive, you can schedule the message to be triggered at a specific time based on your ASIN, as long as it is within a 4-30 day time period after delivery date. Additionally, you can exclude ASINs or orders from receiving the message, unlike other tools that just trigger the functionality for all orders.
If you have any questions about how this works, what the message buyers receive looks like, or if you want to make sure your traditional messages are TOS compliant, don’t hesitate to reach out to the team at eComEngine.
Liz Fickenscher
Liz Fickenscher is the Industry Liaison at eComEngine, a provider of software for Amazon sellers. Liz works within the industry to educate Amazon sellers on topics like TOS compliant product reviews, growing and promoting eCommerce brands, inventory management and more.
