Dealing with Negative Reviews on the Amazon Seller Platform
On the Amazon platform, customers have the option to modify or delete their own review. Therefore sellers’ best opportunity to turn a negative review around is by communicating with their customers. Oftentimes clients can leave an overly negative feedback in the heat of the moment. However if the seller is responsive and can address all of customer’s complaints, then there is a high probability the reviewer will change his mind about the feedback.
Generally, the chance of a negative review being altered is high when:
- There was an error in the feedback, for example miss-clicked the star rating.
- The review is clearly exaggerated or obviously false
- The reason for the complaint has been addressed to customer’s satisfaction
Communication is vital in cases like these and there are things to keep in mind when communicating with customers:
- Do not violate Amazon’s rules by applying pressure on the customer to alter the review.
- Do not offer compensation or any other financial compensation in exchange for review removal. First address the customer’s complaint, and then enquire about the negative review.
- Always keep a friendly and non-offensive tone through the whole process
Some customers might not even know they could contact you directly for any complaints and felt like leaving a review was the only method to make their frustrations known. In the communication process, highlight to the reviewer how damaging a negative review can be to your reputation. Many customers will be very understanding of the situation if all of their issue was properly addressed.
In other cases, users are unaware that third-party sellers are involved with the sale and delivery of the products they purchase, but believe that negative reviews are a way to strike back against a big, anonymous corporation. An accurate description of your position as a private seller will lead to customers reconsidering their negative review.
Additionally, make it as easy as possible for the customer to change their review and offer them a step-by-step guide how the process looks like, similar to this:
- Go to Amazon.com and log in
- You find your reviews under “Your Profile” > “Reviews”
- Click on the review we contacted you about
- Select “Edit” or “Delete” Review
