Amazon recently added a “Request a Review” button to the Order Details page in Seller Central, building many questions for sellers. In this article, we’ll discuss both updates and what they mean for third-party sellers.
Why Don’t I Have the Amazon “Request a Review” Button?
There are several reasons why the “Request a Review” button may not appear on specific orders. The most likely reason the button might be missing from your orders is that the customer already left a review for the purchased product, and there’s no reason to request further feedback. Another possible reason would be if an Amazon-automated or third-party review request has already been sent for the order.
It seems that Amazon is attempting to control and limit sellers’ abilities to freely communicate with buyers, beyond the power of their Terms of Service.
How the ‘Request a Review’ button works
The ‘Request a Review’ button seeks to replace outside messaging systems and email contacts.
In late 2019, Amazon totally removed contact information from Order Details, including last names and shipping addresses. At most, sellers are able to see the first name of the buyer and the city they live in.
And while sellers can still use tools such as Jungle Scout’s Promotions & Email Campaigns feature to send customers customized messages (including requests for reviews), these are funneled through Amazon to protect customer contact information.
Also, the ‘Request a Review’ option is only available once per sale. Using Amazon alone, sellers must manually click to request a review for each order, rather than automating email requests to all customers.
4 Reasons Why You Should Use the Amazon Request a Review Button
There are many advantages to using the Request a Review button. Here are four reasons it might be a good option for you.
- It’s Always Compliant with Amazon’s Guidelines
Staying up to date with Amazon policies can be challenging, especially if you are selling products in multiple marketplaces.
The Request a Review message was created by Amazon and cannot be changed. That means that as a seller you can rest assured that the request will always meet Amazon’s communication standards, even if the rules change. This is a smart and safe way to request those all-important reviews for your products.
2. Better Communication Worldwide
Contacting the buyer in their preferred language increases your odds of getting a review.
By using the Request a Review technology, you can benefit from Amazon’s knowledge of their customer. The message will be delivered to the buyer’s inbox in their language. You don’t have to guess at their preferred language based on location data or hire a professional translator to communicate.
3. Set It and Forget It
Clicking on the Request a Review button for each of your orders can quickly become tedious, fortunately automation is available.
The Request a Review feature allows you to work smarter, no matter where your products are sold. Since buyers tend to trust what they know, it’s important to generate reviews in each marketplace you sell in. While Amazon will show international reviews on your listing, reviews from the buyer’s home marketplace are likely to increase trust in your product. Requesting reviews can help increase your sales, boost product visibility, and position your product higher in Amazon searches.
I personally recommend the Helium10 Seller Assistant Chrome Extension. You can request up to 100 reviews per click of a button on your order page with this handy dandy extension.
4. Every Seller Needs Reviews
The Request a Review system offers you another way to get reviews as well as seller feedback.
Both are essential to your Amazon seller health, but it can be challenging to get buyers to leave ratings. Amazon’s message is clear, concise, and very user-friendly. Adding this method of requesting reviews to your toolbox is a great Amazon strategy.
What does Amazon’s ‘Request a Review’ mean for sellers?
This new ‘Request a Review’ option indicates that Amazon prefers an in-house automated method for sellers to source customer reviews for their products — a notoriously difficult task.
Currently, Amazon prohibits sellers from:
- Incentivizing reviews: Before October 3, 2016, sellers could offer free or heavily discounted products in exchange for reviews.
- Using manipulative language: In product inserts, emails, and any other seller-to-shopper communication, sellers cannot use manipulative language to seek reviews. Phrases like “we are a family-owned business” and “our products are made in the USA,” will get you in trouble with Amazon.
- Cherry-picking: Sellers cannot seek reviews only from shoppers they know had positive experiences with their products.
Ask For Reviews
Whether you choose to use the Request a Review button in Seller Central with automated functionality (Seller’s Assistant Extension) or email segmentation features, every seller has to decide which powerful features they can use to help them build a good seller reputation while saving time.
In business, as in life, form emails are never as effective as customized, personalized communications. Form emails become old, redundant, and will eventually be ignored or deleted over time. With increasingly limited ability to contact buyers, smart sellers will seek every opportunity to maximize the potential of those finite touchpoints. Creating engaging emails that resonate with your customers is the best way to generate product reviews, and it’s possible to do exactly that with powerful and compliant product review tools.
Conclusion
The Request a Review message is a completely TOS-compliant way to ask for reviews. Helium10 Seller Assistant Chrome Extension makes it easy to request reviews in bulk on a continuous basis. You can also choose to send branded seller messages via the Buyer-Seller Messaging service with an email tool, but it’s important to follow Amazon’s communication guidelines when doing so. If you have any questions about your review strategy, we are here to help.