How can I improve my Amazon seller feedback rating?
In this post we’re going to define seller feedback, why it’s important, and how you can get the good kind.
What is Amazon Seller Feedback?
Seller Feedback is the system or process of rating sellers on Amazon. The ratings center around the customer service and seller fulfilled order experience. This is different from leaving a product review, which focuses on the item itself.
Only those who have purchased from a seller can leave feedback. These buyers have a 90-day window to leave their stellar or critical reviews with or without comment. Amazon then uses this along with other factors to measure your performance on the platform.
How to Find Your Seller Feedback Rating
Sellers can find their seller rating through their Seller Central account. Navigate to Performance, then click on Feedback to access your feedback manager.
The Benefits of Seller Feedback
Better SEO and Rankings
No one really knows the specifics of Amazon’s A9 algorithm, but there are a few things we can make out. Seller feedback influences how your products rank on Amazon’s search engine results pages (SERPs). If you’ve ever seen the second or third pages of Google search results, you’ll know that you’re in the minority. Of the searchers on Amazon, only 30% go to the second page.
Better Visibility and Profit
Knowing the vast majority of buyers stay on page 1, positive seller feedback can help you get the most eyes. Naturally, the more people see your product, the more likely they are to purchase from you. When they choose you among other sellers, you earn more, This also means you can get more positive reviews. Amazon sees this and it can factor into raising your ranking even higher. This “visibility snowball effect” is one way top sellers can maintain their ranking.
Avoid Penalties
Negative seller feedback can be linked to several Amazon seller metrics. Let’s take a look at order defect rate, for example. This measures the amount of orders that receive negative feedback, an A-Z guarantee claim, or chargeback claim. Amazon will take notice if you have high ODR and you can potentially lose seller privileges or get your account suspended.
Amazon is all about the experience of the consumer. If you fail to operate above the expected level as signaled by your metrics, your seller status will be in jeopardy.
How to Get Positive Amazon Seller Feedback
Provide Excellent Customer Service
Customer service should permeate the whole process.
Pre-purchase – This is the stage where they are browsing and learning about your product. The way you display and summarize product info on the product detail page is already a form of customer service.
Mid-purchase – This stage involves answering additional questions about the product or the checkout process itself. Is your contact information easy for people to see? Do you make sure to reply to people promptly when they message?
Post-purchase – This includes anything that happens after checkout. A customer will want consistent updates so they can track their order. Make sure you are as reachable in this stage as you were in the previous stages. Also, consider how you process returns and other claims. Is it easy? Are you accommodating and understanding?
Offer a High-Quality Product
Product reviews are for the community to learn about the product itself. However, if your products arrive battered and bruised all the time, that’s seller feedback territory. Sometimes, you just have to up the quality of packaging to solve the issue. Other times, it’s the products themselves that are poorly made. If the topic of a lot of your feedback relates to this, it might be time to switch suppliers or manufacturers.
Promptly Resolve Customer Issues
You can have your customer support contact information flashing in bold red colors on the product page. You can make the sweetest sounding promises and look like the kindest seller out there. However, all of that means nothing without action.
If it takes you months to resolve simple issues, people will begin to think you are all talk. If they don’t think you care, they will take their business elsewhere. This is why it’s important to make your presence known. Let them know that the seller on the other side of the screen is someone that takes their concerns seriously.
All sellers make mistakes and run into issues. That’s one of the reasons Amazon seller forums exist. Sometimes, it isn’t about the mistakes you make, but the steps you take to resolve them. Customers tend to notice if you go above and beyond for their sakes.
Request Feedback from Happy Customers
You can include a reminder in the packaging or use Amazon’s Request a Review feature. When adding a reminder in the box, make sure it grabs a customer’s attention without being obnoxious. Let’s use pop-up ads as an example. While it is effective at getting attention, it also does it by getting in the way. This is a risky way to do rating requests and may even sour the experience in the long run. Instead, you can add an insert or a card expressing your gratitude for their purchase. You can say something like “We value your voice. Please leave us a review!”
How to Remove Seller Feedback on Amazon
Understanding Seller Feedback Removal Policies
It may be easy to remove comments under YouTube videos or social media posts. But with Amazon, there are certain guidelines that govern whether feedback is valid. These guidelines serve to protect sellers from unwarranted or unrelated critique while directing customers on how to voice their concerns. Buyers know that, when commenting on sellers, they need to avoid the following:
- Promotional content
- Comments that contain illegal content or encourage abusive behavior
- Comments containing offensive and abusive language
- Providing personal or sensitive information, whether your own or others
- Content that may infringe on intellectual property rights
- Feedback related to item or delivery pricing
- Product reviews
- Feedback related to an issue with FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon)
- Other comments unrelated to buying experience
Submitting a Removal Request on Amazon
If feedback contains any of the above, you can go ahead and submit a removal request.
First, you’ll want to navigate to Feedback like we described earlier. Then, find the unrelated feedback and look for an arrow to the right of the comment. Here, you will actually see a few options.
Contact the customer – You can explain the situation directly and let them know the issue with their feedback. Then, you can politely ask them to remove it. If the feedback is valid, this is also a good way to let customers know you’re coming up with a solution.
Post a public reply – You have the option to post a public comment under theirs. You might do this if you want to communicate that you are attempting to fix the issue.
Request removal – When you click this, Amazon will evaluate the validity of your request. This is usually a quick process. Otherwise, you should follow up after a couple of days.
How Is Your Seller Feedback Calculated on Amazon?
Understanding the Amazon Seller Feedback Rating System
There are currently two main ways a consumer can leave Amazon seller feedback. The first way is to go to Leave Seller Feedback. The second way is by going to their orders page. Next, they need to view order details and select “Leave seller feedback”.
Seller feedback consists of leaving a star rating from one to five. Customers also have an option to leave a comment along with their rating. All these ratings are then combined in order to find the average seller rating score.
Factors That Impact Your Seller Feedback Score
- Order Defect Rates
- Delivery Times and Shipments
- Frequency of Tracking Updates
- Rates of Returns and Refunds
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between ‘seller feedback’ and ‘product reviews’ on Amazon?
Product reviews have to do with the item itself. Seller feedback has to do with the entire experience of ordering the product.
How often should I check and respond to my seller feedback?
Since negative seller feedback affects the success of your store, you should check on it regularly. If you can’t do it daily or every other day, do it once a week at least. If Amazon doesn’t believe that you are providing a good customer experience, they could limit your visibility or even suspend your account.
What are the long-term impacts of consistently high seller feedback ratings?
- Better seller rankings on SERPs (possibly page 1)
- Better likelihood of winning the Featured Offer (BuyBox)
- Better visibility equating to better sales
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And here’s some free resources:
- Monthly Finance Meeting Agenda
- 9 Steps to Master Your Ecommerce Bookkeeping Checklist
- The Ultimate Guide on Finding an Ecommerce Virtual Bookkeeping Service
- What Is a Profit and Loss Statement?
- How to Read & Interpret a Cash Flow Statement
- How to Read a Balance Sheet & Truly Understand It
Conclusion
Amazon seller feedback can be a double edged sword. Sellers that provide excellent customer service and fulfillment can get a boost from positive ratings. On the other hand, negative feedback can signal that you have areas you need to improve in. Either way, it’s important to keep an eye on what customers say. They may not always be right in the type of feedback they give, but they are what keep you in business.
