Phew! It’s been two weeks since Prime Day (or more accurately, Prime Days). Our clients saw an average of a 30% increase in sales compared to normal weekday traffic. (Even better- we saw an increase of almost 50% over Prime Day and Black Friday 2018.) Of those orders, 21% were repeat customers — vs. 9% for the month of June. We saw increases across all marketplaces, not just on Amazon. It’s important not to neglect other platforms on an Amazon specific sales day.
With such an increase in order volume, now seems like a great time to talk about capitalizing on reviews.
Why do Reviews Matter?
- Reviews impact your product ranking. The more reviews, the higher your product will show in search results.
- Customer conversion rate is higher on listings with more reviews.
- Amazon does not consider a product with less than 15 reviews “retail ready” and it is unlikely that Amazon ads for that product will be effective.
How to Gain Reviews on Amazon:
- Customize your Request Email. WBX Commerce sends an email to customers automatically post order delivery on your behalf. You can customize the text of this email in the settings pane of your WBX Commerce Dashboard (scroll to the bottom of the page to locate the “Reviews” box, and enter your desired text.). For the auto-text WBX Commerce uses click here, and for an example customized email click here.
- Send a Postcard. Customers who received a physical letter or postcard were 18% more likely to leave a review!* WBX Commerce collects customer names and addresses in the Dashboard for you. Companies like Postable make it easy by printing and mailing everything for you.
- Email your Non-Amazon Customers. It is “Amazon Legal” to ask your existing customers from other platforms to leave a review on Amazon. (The reviews won’t be “Verified.” Verified means the reviewer purchased the item on Amazon at no more than a 49% discount. Unverified reviews are weighted less heavily than verified ones in the Amazon algorithm, but they still “count.”) You can do this by sending a quick email to your email list, or including it in your Shopify email templates.
- Post on Social. Customers that like and follow your social media (like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat) profiles are already engaged and brand loyal- Don’t shy away from the occasional post reminding people how powerful reviews are for the success of your brand.
- Enroll in the Early Reviewer Program. Amazon will solicit reviews on your behalf for newly launched products. The program lasts for one year or until you get 5 reviews; whichever happens first. Keep in mind that in order to enroll, the listing must have less than 4 reviews.
Pro Tip:
Although you cannot provide a discount in exchange for a review, you can still throw in a deal that’s available to customers immediately (whether they leave a review or not.) This could be including a promo code in your review request emails or printing it on your postcards. This can be the extra nudge some customers need to follow through. We are happy to review the text of any email or postcard for you to screen for language that might trigger a negative response from Amazon!
*Based on a private study
