Amazon Customer Reviews: Why Should Sellers Care?

Amazon offers two different paths for customers to share their opinions: feedback and reviews. Most merchants already understand the importance of seller feedback, but customer reviews (aka product reviews) are also very important. In this post, we’ll talk about some of those reasons, explain why Amazon customer reviews are important to buyers and also show you how to get more of them with minimal effort.

Reviews vs. Feedback on Amazon

The feedback buyers can leave for merchants is related directly to the customer’s experience with the seller. It’s not directly related to the quality of the product received, but rather the timeliness of delivery, responsiveness of the seller, and other factors related to the seller’s performance over the course of the order. A customer review, also called a product review, relates to the product itself. It has nothing to do with the fulfillment of the order.

That distinction between product reviews and seller feedback, while well known to Amazon pros, may be less clear to new sellers - and it definitely trips up buyers from time to time. The exciting opportunity for sellers of all stripes is to gain more traction from reviews, especially given their growing popularity among consumers.

Merits of Amazon Customer Reviews

Let’s look at this in the simplest way possible. Consumers trust online reviews. If you spend any time on Amazon, you’ll see all the evidence of this you need. Most products have dozens if not hundreds of reviews. Analysts also expect the future of online reviews will be a lot more personal. Meaning, reviews could be attached to the reviewer’s social media profile. So not only will people care about online reviews, they also will be able to see what their friends have said about particular products. Amazon product reviews benefit customers in several ways, including:

• Confidence about the actual product
• Freedom to leave honest feedback about a product
• Confidence in the accuracy of reviews left by others

Sellers also benefit in these ways:

• Greater visibility for the products they sell
• Increased product intelligence, gained through positive and negative reviews
• Insight into macro customer trends

When Customer Reviews Might Matter More

Certain types of sellers may benefit more from customer reviews than others. Types of sellers who have the most to gain from reviews may include:

• Private label/brand-owning sellers or manufacturers
• Sellers offering a newer product and have no current competing sellers
• Merchants who have an exclusive agreement with a manufacturer to be the only seller on Amazon
• Sellers who are selling a product that has many negative reviews

Private label brand owners can find reviews especially beneficial because reviews also increase the likelihood that other sellers will decide to stock the item (assuming that is part of their business model). On the other hand, sellers with negatively reviewed products can discover the problems and respond to reviewers, potentially turning the tides on the number of stars a product gets. Turning a downward-trending product into a high-rated product is a good reason to solicit reviews. Also, if you are creating your own branded products, tracking positive and negative reviews can help you make improvements in new releases of a product.

Using Automation to Get More Reviews

FeedbackFive’s Campaigns Feature allows you to easily send dedicated product review (customer review) solicitations. The tool also includes logic that allows you to choose when to send your request.

You can also use the Amazon Feedback and Review Request Template to send a combined feedback and review request that is always compliant with Amazon's policies. 

FeedbackFive Helps You Be Proactive

Smart sellers understand that both feedback and reviews play important roles in indicating customer satisfaction. By keeping a proactive approach to both, merchants are able to improve the buying experience and, ultimately, sell more on Amazon.