How Your Feedback Rating Can Increase Conversions on Amazon

Sales on Amazon continue to grow each year and that’s good news for third-party sellers on the marketplace who experienced record-breaking sales last year. Amazon is a very rewarding place to sell but also a very competitive one. To be successful on Amazon, you need to meet buyers’ needs and ensure the feedback rating is a positive one. After a transaction is complete, buyers get an opportunity to rate seller performance from one-star (awful) to five-star (excellent).
The feedback a seller receives makes up their Amazon feedback rating which is a key factor when Amazon considers which seller to award the Buy Box to.
And, with close to 90% of sales on Amazon going through the Buy Box, any seller who wants to be successful on the platform, needs to win a fair share of it. A great feedback rating will boost your Buy Box chances and also help buyers make a purchasing decision.
Consumers are savvier than ever and around 92% of us will check online reviews before making a purchase. On Amazon, it is very easy to compare sellers and see which one looks the most reliable and trustworthy.

Which of these sellers would you trust more?

How Your Feedback Rating Can Increase Conversions on Amazon
Imagine, you’re buying a product that is similarly priced, are you more likely to buy from a seller with 100% positive feedback or one with 94% positive feedback?
The vast majority of consumers will always go with the seller with the better feedback rating, which is why collecting positive feedback and removing neutral/negative feedback quickly is so important.

How can you get positive feedback on Amazon?

Simply put, you need to meet (and if possible) exceed customer expectations and then ask for feedback in the right way. Amazon wants sellers who provide excellent customer service and meet their high standards when it comes to customer satisfaction. Let’s look at some at some things sellers can do to deliver an awesome customer experience and increase the likelihood of a buyer giving them a five-star review.
If you’re selling on Amazon, you should ensure they ship on time in order to protect their Buy Box eligibility. Valid tracking numbers should be provided for 95% of packages shipped.
With Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon will store your goods, then pick, pack and ship the order on your behalf. On the big advantages of FBA from a feedback perspective is that if anything goes wrong with fulfilment, Amazon will take responsibility for it and it won’t affect your Amazon feedback rating.
Sellers should aim to respond to customers within 24 hours of receiving the message. It’s also worthwhile personalising your communications as this will lead to higher engagement rates. Remind buyers that customer satisfaction is important to you — many buyers don’t realise they are buying from third-party sellers and not Amazon itself.
When it comes to listing items, sellers should provide accurate product descriptions, clear product titles and high-quality images. Well-written descriptions with effective bullet points can have a huge impact on your conversion rate.
Finally, Amazon expects your prices to be competitive which isn’t the same as having the lowest price. One way to ensure that your prices remain competitive 24/7 is by using an automated repricing solution such as RepricerExpress.

How can you prevent negative feedback on Amazon?

Negative feedback occurs when you fail to meet customer expectations.
How Your Feedback Rating Can Increase Conversions on Amazon
One company who failed spectacularly to do this recently was United Airlines. In case you missed the story, the airline overbooked a flight and then randomly selected one passenger to not fly on the flight he had paid for. After protesting, he was forcefully removed and the company has since faced a backlash for their actions.
In this situation, United failed to consider the customer’s needs and provided a solution that is likely to make some consumers choose a competitor for future purchases. If United was an Amazon seller, you could be sure they would be getting a one-star review from a certain doctor! On Amazon, sellers should always consider the customers’ needs.
Unfortunately, even if you do your best to ensure you deliver an amazing customer experience, things can go wrong and you may find yourself getting a negative review. However, if this happens…don’t panic!

Seller tip

The Amazon Seller app is a useful free tool which allows you to contact Amazon and respond to customers.
Check that the feedback left is valid. As mentioned earlier, if there was a problem with shipping and you’re an FBA seller, Amazon will take responsibility and it won’t affect your seller rating. Amazon will strikethrough the feedback and add a comment to say, “This item was fulfilled by Amazon, and we take responsibility for this fulfilment experience.”
Amazon will also remove feedback which includes obscene language or personally identifiable information. Or, if the seller feedback contains a product review, they’ll also remove that as seller feedback should only be about the services provided by the seller. If the feedback left is within Amazon’s guidelines, then you’ll want to contact the buyer and attempt to resolve their issue. Feedback on Amazon can be removed for up to 60 days.
If an order arrived late, you can apologise and offer a partial refund or a full refund for any shipping charges. If you hear back from the customer, you can politely ask them to consider removing the negative feedback. However, you can’t connect the refund to the feedback removal.
Receiving negative feedback doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. It could be an opportunity for you to improve an area of your business where you are weak and provide a better customer experience

Seller tip

Neutral or three-star feedback can also affect your conversion ratio, so treat this the same as you would negative feedback.
Positive feedback can help you increase conversions by building trust with the buyer and showing Amazon you can be relied on to deliver an awesome customer experience. If you opt to use software to automatically request feedback for every transaction, choose a solution which is fully compliant with Amazon and designed to increase conversions such as FeedbackExpress.
When requesting feedback, don’t ask for a positive review or offer incentives as this is against Amazon’s policy. If something goes wrong somewhere along the line, do your best to try to resolve any issue quickly. Removing just a handful of negative reviews can make a big difference. However, you should never pressure buyers into removing feedback.
Maintaining an Amazon feedback rating of 95% or higher will increase your chances of winning the Buy Box more often. And, more Buy Boxes means more sales and increased profits!
Do you have any other tips to increase conversions on Amazon? Tell us below or Tweet us!