Anyone who buys on Amazon knows just how valuable product reviews are.
When purchasing a product online, people depend solely on reviews and experiences from other buyers to help them
understand almost every detail of the product, and guide them to their purchasing decision. So, for
Amazon sellers, having a good number of reviews on their products is crucial for building trust around
their brand, until of course … a negative review rolls around.
As you know, Amazon is monopolizing and is trying to keep all customer data, which means the ability to
communicate with customers directly is minimal. Amazon has never really had any good options for
dealing with negative reviews or unsatisfied customers, making it very difficult to turn around a negative
experience. As an Amazon seller, this has ALWAYS been extremely frustrating.
BUT… just recently, Amazon revealed a new feature that will completely change the game for both
Registered Brands on Amazon (sellers like us), as well as buyers.
The announcement went like this:
“We listened to your feedback!“
“We’ve been tracking feedback from brands related to the Customer Reviews experience. We heard
that you love having a way to see all your reviews in one place and that it is nice to be able to filter by
star rating and time period. You also shared your frustrations over not being able to directly engage
with your customers who left critical reviews.“
“We’re now offering a brand-only benefit that allows you to reach out to buyers who purchased your
branded product directly from you, who left critical (1-3 star reviews) via templated emails that allow
you to communicate with buyers via buyer-seller messaging.“
“We believe this will build brand trust and help establish stronger relationships between you and your
customers.“
FINALLY! The moment we’ve all been waiting for! We asked, and Amazon delivered (for once, lol).
The templated emails are simply messages that allow brands to offer a refund, replacement for a product, or
the option to contact the buyer to clarify any product issues. Although the messages can’t necessarily be
written authentically by the seller, this is still a massive step that will increase the overall reputation and
trust of so many Amazon brands. The one thing to note is that this feature is ONLY eligible for Register
Brands, so if I were you, go get a trademark and put your application in because it’s becoming more
evident that Amazon is favouring brands, and will continue to.
The inability to directly contact unhappy customers has long been a matter of frustration for Amazon
sellers. Negative reviews can seriously impact sales rankings and your bottom line, so not being able to
do anything about it has been very discouraging for many brands. With this new feature, however, brands now have the opportunity to turn a negative experience into a positive one, guaranteeing 100%
customer satisfaction with each purchase.
