Sometimes, business feels like it’s going great. You feel totally on top of everything, you know your sales are growing and your customers are happy, and you even have the best-priced liability insurance.
But sometimes things aren’t so cheery. Maybe you have noticed a dip in sales in your Amazon store recently? Maybe you dreamed of selling your handcrafted necklaces on Amazon. Everything was looking bright, and you seemed to have been on the path to success. The business was going smoothly, and customers seemed impressed with your products and happy with their purchases. You received excellent product ratings, referrals, and people kept coming back for more.
And then all of a sudden, a complaint pops up, followed by another one and another one. You worked hard to make a sale, and now things are starting to look hopeless as your product page is riddled with numerous negative reviews. It can be a soul-crushing experience for every Amazon seller.
Bad reviews on Amazon can affect your business in multiple ways:
- They can impact your conversion rate and sales.
- They can damage your product’s ranking and visibility.
- They can give you a negative reputation.
In this post, we’ll explore how destructive reviews can impact your Amazon business and what you can do to mitigate the damage.
Online Reputation Management: What’s at Stake?
When it comes to online retail, bad reviews can be incredibly damaging. A single negative review can deter potential customers and lower your conversion rate. 92% of consumers say they avoid doing business with a company after reading a negative review. And once a customer has left a bad review, they’re likely not to return; nearly 60% of customers say they would not use a business again after reading a negative review.
Bad reviews also have an impact on your product’s ranking and visibility. Amazon uses a complex algorithm to determine which products are displayed in search results and product pages. This algorithm takes into account a variety of factors, including reviews. So, if your product has a lot of bad reviews, it’s likely to rank lower in search results, making it less visible to potential customers.
Finally, bad reviews can give you a negative reputation. In the age of social media, it’s easy for one bad review to spiral into a PR nightmare. Once a negative review goes viral, it can be tough to recover. Fortunately, you can mitigate the damage of bad reviews.
How Positive Reviews Affect Amazon Sales
Technically speaking, positive reviews and ratings also boost your conversion rates, online visibility, and brand reputation. In the Amazon sphere, they determine how your store occupies space. Your store’s ranking on Amazon will rise with positive reviews, making it easier for shoppers to find you and purchase your products.
SEO (search engine optimization) is another critical component of your Amazon business. Your store’s search engine ranking is directly affected by the number of product reviews on its page.
Whether they are a couple of words or a long paragraph, any good rating will lead to a boost in your business.
In a marketplace such as Amazon, reviews and ratings effectively attract customers so they can browse, click, and buy – boosting your business on the world’s largest online marketplace.
Amazon's Sensitiveness Towards Customer Needs
Any vendor on Amazon will agree it is better to have no reviews than negative ones. Even one negative review can cause a customer to leave. Additionally, poor ratings and reviews can negatively affect listing ranking. It’s because Amazon’s A9 algorithm considers not just search engine rankings but also user feedback and conversion rates.
Why Do Customers Write Negative Reviews?
Everyone has different reasons for writing product or service reviews, whether positive or negative. Some are valid, and some are petty. Knowing why customers give critical feedback is essential to responding appropriately. You will also be able to identify ways to address some of their concerns. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common reasons why customers write negative reviews on your Amazon product page:
- Customer Service
You may not have everything your customers need. Many customers are willing to overlook a few defects that are found in their purchases. Some won’t complain if their package arrives a day late or two. But they won’t look away from bad service. If you don’t meet their expectations, not take their concerns seriously, or fail to provide them with any meaningful support, they will let everyone know about it. Bad service experience can hurt your brand reputation.
- Price
Price is a significant factor, especially when making purchases online. Customers will choose the product they want at the best price on the market. Therefore, if they find a product much cheaper on Amazon from another seller than from you, they may leave a negative review. You may not necessarily have to lower your price but you should make sure that your customers are paying for the quality of your product. If they are not, you might be accused of overcharging, and that accusation may appear in the form of a public review. Your job as a seller to make sure your customers are getting what they are paying for and not less.
- Shipping
A customer places an order online and gets a different package instead. Or a package gets lost in transit and sent to a different address. Sometimes, an item arrives with missing pieces that were included in the order. The seller may have made an honest mistake in some cases, but in others, it is beyond his/her control. Either way, it is going to make a customer angry enough to complain about it online. Make sure you hire a reliable shipping company that will handle your merchandise with care. Always keep your customers in the loop.
- Delivery
Amazon Prime members receive free two-day shipping on most items. If your customer uses this service, they won’t have to worry about waiting around for their item to arrive. However, if they ordered something that didn’t show up after three days, they may wonder what happened and write about it. If they ask about it on your product page, let them know that you are on top of things.
- Returns
Some products sold on Amazon are only eligible for returns. If customers buy a product that isn’t returnable, they might be disappointed when they realize they need to send it back. Even if you have been clear that you don’t have a return policy, you can issue store credit to your customers.
- Product Quality
Your customer may have purchased a product that doesn’t work correctly. Maybe it broke right away, or perhaps it took several weeks before it started working correctly. Either way, they may be frustrated with the product and decide to leave a negative review on Amazon. If you are receiving these complaints in high volume, you might want to investigate your warehouse’s packing department. In the meantime, you can issue a refund to your customer.
- Warranty
Customers who purchase your product on Amazon may be entitled to a warranty. However, if they notice that the manufacturer’s warranty expired long ago, they may be disappointed that they are no longer entitled to assistance. Make sure you are clear about the warranty period from the time of purchase.
Will Negative Reviews on Amazon Result in Account Suspension?
Negative feedback can damage a seller’s reputation and the platform’s reputation. As a result, it’s best to avoid negative feedback and understand what measures you can take to prevent your Amazon seller account from being suspended.
The seller is typically suspended based on the number of negative comments and sales, but it does not permanently suspend accounts based on reviews alone.
Amazon’s customer review policies are stringent, so it’s important to understand how to avoid account suspensions and poor reviews in advance.
Suppose you are worried that your seller account is at risk of being suspended or want to take precautionary measures to keep your online store active. In that case, you can get Amazon Suspension Coverage. Learn more about it here.
Has Your Product Listing on Amazon Been Hijacked?
You can overall have a great product and provide excellent customer service and still receive a few complaints here and there. Most negative reviews are not petitions to shut down your Amazon store and put you out of business. Usually, customers specify details in their complaints, most of which are valid, such as a defective product, being overcharged or charged for something they didn’t buy, delay in delivery, etc.
But you seem to be getting more negative reviews on your products than usual, or your customer support team is constantly flooded with complaints. This scenario could mean an Amazon listing hijacking. Someone, be it a competitor or a user, is impersonating your business and using Amazon to sell a counterfeit version of your products. Most customers won’t be able to tell the difference if someone is trying to infringe on your brand, pass their business off as yours, and steal your revenue. Your customers may think you are still selling low-quality products to them for a lot less (or a lot more).
Negative impacts of these counterfeit Amazon listings can include:
- Poor product and service ratings
- Loss in sales
- Increased competition
- Damaged brand reputation
The best way to protect your brand on Amazon or against liability claims from a customer injured by a defective, counterfeit product is to sign up for Amazon seller insurance. You can also file an Amazon infringement report. After that, you should apologize to your customers individually, explaining what happened and reassuring them that you have dealt with the issue accordingly.
Best Ways to Manage Feedback on Amazon
Responding to negative reviews on Amazon can be pretty uncomfortable. But they deserve just as much attention from you as positive feedback. Don’t contact the customer directly and ask them to remove their review (even after you have resolved the issue).
Amazon’s product review policies prohibit asking customers to remove or modify negative reviews. The validity of customer reviews is of the utmost importance to Amazon. If you violate the rules, Amazon will close your seller account, freeze your cash, and you may even be sued! There are much better ways to handle reviews.
What Can You Do?
As a general rule, the only way to save your brand reputation on Amazon is to minimize the risk of negative reviews by providing excellent customer service and concise product descriptions. There will always be that one disgruntled customer with a bucket list of complaints. Nevertheless, here are several ways to tackle negative feedback:
- Pay attention to reviews
An alert and conscientious vendor always pays attention to customer reviews. To satisfy your customers, you must act quickly and deal with the issues.
- Reply to a customer review publicly.
When commenting on a review, you first need to acknowledge the complaint and apologize for any inconvenience your customer experienced. You can then provide your perspective on the issue. Describe how you will solve the problem or reassure the customer you already have. Thank your customer and let them know how much you appreciate their business. Ask them to contact you privately and directly via your business phone number or email address so you can help them more efficiently.
- Follow up with the customer.
A simple call or letter expressing thanks for their feedback and addressing the issue would demonstrate your commitment to the customer. You can communicate with a customer using Amazon’s Buyer-Seller Messaging Service, or you may use their registered email address. Positive feedback can also help you deal with negative reviews. Send your buyer an email once the merchandise has been delivered. Be polite and ask them if they are satisfied with the merchandise. Don’t overwhelm them with a lot of emails, though.
- Install an Amazon Review Tracking Tool
Amazon provides tools to track customer feedback and notify you when a review is posted. The software will save you time that would otherwise be spent manually checking reviews for all listings. Furthermore, they can facilitate your Amazon review management process and assist with delivering positive results.
Can You Remove a Review on Amazon?
In most cases, Amazon takes the shopper’s side regarding a negative customer review. However, exceptions are made when complaints don’t follow Amazon’s community guidelines. You can click the “Report Abuse” button underneath the review if it contains profanities, threats, vulgarities, abusive language, promotes products from a competitor, or if you suspect you are being trolled. Only then will Amazon feedback removal occur if it’s in violation of Amazon’s criteria.
Your other option to remove a review on Amazon is to contact Amazon Seller Support. You can email community-help@amazon.com. Include the ASIN of your product, the date and time of the review, and the name or pseudonym of the reviewer. When you do, detail how and why the review violates Amazon’s guidelines.
Taking Control of Your Brand Reputation
A seller’s experience on Amazon is greatly influenced by the feedback they receive from customers, both positive and negative. The key to becoming a successful vendor is learning from unfavorable reviews and correcting previous mistakes. Feedback is a data gold mine that can assist you in finding important keywords and filling gaps in your product listing.
Dealing with negative reviews can be discouraging. Learn to take it in stride. Obtaining positive feedback takes a lot of time. Be patient but strategic.
Even well-known businesses and products do not have flawless records. An excellent product and customer service will set you up for success as a super Amazon seller.
In extreme cases, bad reviews can even indicate a pending lawsuit. As an Amazon seller, it’s so important to stay ahead of the curve and make sure that your business is protected no matter what. Spott’s liability insurance is the easiest way to make sure that you are never at risk of a lawsuit that could destroy your business. Get started today to make sure that you are always covered.
