Feedback Request Amazon: Tips for Asking the Right Way

Looking for best practices for requesting Amazon feedback?

As with anything else on Amazon.com, there are certain dos and don'ts to live by. After all, the last thing you want to do is annoy customers or get suspended by Amazon.

In this post, we'll share some tips for asking for feedback - the right way.

Understand What Amazon Says About Requesting Feedback

Some sellers wrongly assume that Amazon.com, Inc. ("Amazon") frowns on feedback solicitation. Despite what you may have read on the seller forums, merchant-initiated feedback is not only permitted - Amazon actually encourages feedback solicitation.

Don't believe me? Just check out the "improve your feedback rating" page on Amazon's seller help website. Toward the bottom of the page, you'll notice an entire section on the topic of feedback solicitation. There it is in black and white: "You may request feedback from a buyer."

Now, don't get too excited. There are a few ground rules you need to be aware of. I've summarized some of the more important ones here:

Dos

• Ask for feedback.
• Time your request(s) to arrive after delivery has been confirmed.
• Be polite and courteous.
• Respect opt-out requests.
• Abide by the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service rules.

Don'ts

• Offer to pay customers for feedback.
• Provide any incentive for leaving feedback.
• Try to divert the customer away from Amazon.com.
• Include marketing messages or promotion.
• Do anything else that feels spammy.

DIY vs. Automation

At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, "Even if I wanted to solicit feedback, there's no way I could fit it into my day. I'm already way too busy." Fear not, as you have a few options.

Do Nothing: Many well-established sellers know they should be soliciting but choose to do nothing. A hands-off approach to feedback management will certainly result in some ratings, but at what opportunity cost? For a high volume merchant like you, boosting feedback conversions by a mere 1% could result in thousands of new ratings each year. Those are pretty powerful numbers.

Manually Solicit: Alternatively, some sellers hire freelancers or interns to manually solicit on their behalf. Not a bad idea, but is that model really scalable? Probably not. When order volume triples in November and early December, who will pick up the slack? Good question.

Automate Everything: As a Professional Seller, you have access to the Amazon Marketplace Web Service API. This opens up countless opportunities to automate your Amazon business - in particular, the opportunity to streamline your feedback solicitation and tracking. For example, our FeedbackFive system connects to your Amazon account and sends solicitation emails on your behalf (based on your preferred timing rules). The software will also monitor your feedback ratings, alerting you when it's time to take action. FeedbackFive helps you make sense of feedback with less effort, allowing you to focus on more important matters.

Crafting the Perfect Message(s)

Before you send your first feedback request, you'll need to spend time crafting the perfect email. Of course, the subject line and content are important parts of your message. (Here are some content tips we recently shared for Amazon feedback solicitation emails). In addition, you'll also want to familiarize yourself with Amazon's HTML guidelines. If you're taking a DIY approach, you may need to hire a graphic designer familiar with coding to help you out.

Alternatively, if you sign up for FeedbackFive, you bypass many of the headaches of the DIY approach. FeedbackFive customers have access to our inventory of time-tested feedback and review solicitation email templates. We also offer a gallery of product, theme and holiday-specific layouts.

Enterprise-level customers even receive one custom-designed email template. Let our team of talented designers help you tie in your company's branding and color scheme.

Share Your Feedback

What other feedback related questions do you have? What tips do you have for requesting feedback? Share your questions and suggestions in the comments.