Originally published on April 3, 2018, updated May 18, 2023
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If you're a relatively new seller on the Amazon marketplace, you might be trying to understand how Amazon customer feedback works.
For example, what's the difference between a "review" and "feedback"? Does a customer's rating remain public after it has been published? How does all of this impact my sales revenue?
These are all good questions.
In this post, I'll briefly touch upon a few of the ways that Amazon shoppers can express their feedback.
Before we discuss the topic of public ratings, I thought we should first address a somewhat overlooked form of customer feedback: direct messages from buyers. When I say "overlooked," it's not to imply that sellers frequently ignore incoming customer messages. Quite the opposite - Amazon actually measures seller responsiveness as a key performance metric and says to "Respond to buyer messages within 24 hours, including weekends and holidays. Auto-responders are not considered a valid response."
So, clearly, if you want to succeed on Amazon.com, you must get in the habit of swiftly responding to buyer messages. What can be less obvious, however, is the importance of such private messages on a seller's business. Like any form of feedback, a direct message offers valuable insight into buyer concerns and preferences. In addition, a private email gives the seller a chance to correct potential issues before they are transferred to the public domain.
Judging by the "Contact Seller" form, it's apparent that many shoppers use this as a conduit to share feedback with sellers. Here are just a few of the "Subject" lines that a shopper can choose from when contacting the seller:
So, the next time a customer sends you a private message with one of these headlines, you might actually want to thank them for keeping it private!
Not all feedback is negative. Likewise, not all feedback is private.
When a customer buys from you on the Amazon marketplace, he or she is entitled (but not obligated) to rate the transaction by leaving public seller feedback. Seller feedback:
With public feedback playing such an important role for third-party merchants, many sellers develop strategies to maintain a pristine seller reputation. Some turn to manual solicitation, while others use automated platforms, such as our FeedbackFive tool.
Although sellers have been known to use the words "review" and "feedback" interchangeably, they're actually two different entities in the Amazon world. In fact, we've written quite extensively on this topic, such as our popular article, "Feedback vs. Product Reviews: What's the Difference?". In case you don't have time to read the full post, allow me to briefly summarize it.
Reviews:
It's no surprise that merchants involved with private labeling and bundling are particularly interested in review solicitation and tracking. In reality, any Amazon seller could glean valuable insights from product ratings. Such information can especially be useful when making sourcing decisions, restocking, or venturing into new product categories.
As you can see, customer feedback plays an important role on the Amazon marketplace. Smart sellers take steps to proactively manage such feedback, thereby laying the groundwork for happier customers and stellar reputations.
Originally published on April 3, 2018, updated May 18, 2023
This post is accurate as of the date of publication. Some features and information may have changed due to product updates or Amazon policy changes.
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