![]()
LEGAL WAYS TO GET AMAZON FBA REVIEWS
Incentivized reviews have dominated Amazon marketplace since the review feature cropped up. Most sellers on Amazon had become addicted to this incentivizing drug. Since Amazon banned incentivized reviews, most addicts are on hangovers while others are experiencing near-suicidal withdrawal symptoms.
You don’t have to feel victimized. If you are a genuine seller with great product to sell, this is the moment to celebrate. Yes, it is like being a sprinter who relies on natural energy yet, you are denied a win by a competitor who is on steroids. Banning of steroids and enhancement substances will definitely be great news for you since you won’t face unfair competition and your natural effort will be recognized and awarded.
To both the genuine competitors and the ‘enhanced’ competitors, there are many legal ways to get Amazon FBA reviews. The following are just but a few of them;
- Provide a superior quality product
- Provide excellent after-sale service
- Positively engage your customers
- Boost customer’s overall product experience
- Build Goodwill
- Communicate regularly and effectively
- Update your customers on new product features and new product launches
- Offer extra benefit to customers that are not incentivizing
- Expose your product to greater viewership to increase potential customers
Key strategies to get Amazon FBA reviews in legal way
- Marketing inserts
- Email follow-up
- Vine program
- Leveraging traffic flow to increase probability of reviews
Marketing inserts
Marketing inserts are adverts placed inside the pack as part of the product.
Examples of marketing inserts include:
- Gift cards,
- Cross-sells,
- Thank you notes
The key aims of marketing inserts are:
- Build customer loyalty
- Boost revenues through cross-sales
- Personalized message delivery that can inspire positive reviews
Email follow-up
Email has remained the most effective form of written business communication over the internet. Modern email services have increased in terms of enhanced features that you can not only send an email in full colors but also graphics, videos and animated arts. This has boosted the richness of content.
One of the best ways of retaining customers is to keep communicating to them even after a sale has been made. This not only helps to reduce chances of negative reviews but also helps to improve chances of positive reviews.
Amazon Vine program
Amazon has created the only program in which you can get incentivized reviews. This is called Amazon Vine program. If you still feel that your customers need to be incentivized to make reviews, then, this is the only option available to you.
What is Amazon Vine
Amazon Vine is an invitation-only platform that encourages genuine and verified buyers to make independent and impartial review of targeted products in the Amazon marketplace.
What are the targeted products on Amazon Vine program?
Amazon Vine program targets new or pre-launched products.
How does Amazon Vine work?
Amazon sends periodic newsletter ‘Vine Voices’ notifying and informing Vine reviewers on the products enlisted in the Vine Program. Vine Reviewers are then invited or encouraged to apply to review products that they are interested in and are granted a go-ahead based on the qualification criteria.
Once an application is accepted, Amazon sends successful applicants sample products for them to review. After receiving the sample product (selected by Amazon itself, and not the seller), a reviewer is allowed up to 30 days to make an honest and unbiased review about the product.
After submitting the review, the review is allowed to retain the non-consumed part of it, (if possible) or return. The reviewer is not allowed to resale the unconsumed product.
How is Amazon Vine different from traditional review system?
The following are key differences between Amazon Vine system and traditional review system:
- Amazon itself invites reviewers rather than you
- There is no direct contact between the seller and the reviewer
- There is no incentive for the reviewer to make biased review. This is because, unlike the seller, Amazon is a disinterested party that represents both the seller and the buyer.
Are Amazon Vine reviews incentivized?
Yes, Amazon Vine reviews are incentivized reviews. This is because reviewers are offered incentives by Amazon in form of Amazon Gift Cards as a form of reward for making their reviews. However, Amazon does not direct or encourage the reviewer to make positive review or make a certain kind of review rating. This is just like paying an independent auditor for audit, or paying an examiner for exams. You don’t intend to influence the auditor or examiner but simply to pay them for service rendered or facilitate delivery of the service.
Thus, the key difference between Amazon’s incentivized reviews and seller’s incentivized reviews rests in the decisional independence accorded to the reviewer. Amazon grants the reviewer decisional independence which removes any element of biased direction. On the other hand, a seller would naturally like to influence the reviewer (or the reviewer might feel obliged) to make positive review and positive rating which is in itself biased and a deliberate misrepresentation of facts intended at deceiving potential buyer.
How does Amazon Vine benefit your FBA business?
Amazon Vine is the only incentivized way to get reviews for your products on Amazon. The following are ways by which you get to benefit from Amazon Vine as a vendor;
- You receive exposure by Vine Voices
- You receive genuine and reputable endorsement
- Your Goodwill grows
- Your gain more potential customers
- Your sales soars
What are Vine Voices?
Vine Voices refers to independent reviewers carefully selected by Amazon to review products on Amazon Vine program.
How are Amazon Vine Voices (reviewers) selected?
Amazon Vine Reviewers are selected through an invite-only program by Amazon. Though not explicitly mentioned by Amazon, the following are some of the criteria used to select Amazon Vine reviewers;
- Reputation – This refers to the quality of reviewing carried out by a potential Amazon Vine Reviewer. This quality is based on relevance, clarity, accuracy and helpfulness of the review to the intended audience – customers. It should be capable of improving their experience in making a buy decision. It should also be reliable in terms of helping customers make the right choice.
- Independence – The review should be unbiased and not hinged on incentivizing a customer to make a buy decision. It should be able to provided facts and information and let the customer make own judgment as to whether to buy or not.
- Expertise – The reviewer should have shown proven in-depth knowledge, understanding and skills in regard to a particular niche within which the product under review falls.
- Experience- The reviewer should have a proven track record over reasonable time period for making reviews that meet that above mentioned criteria.
How can you enroll your products to Amazon Vine program?
Enrolling for Amazon Vine program requires you to first become Amazon Vendor. Before you choose to become Amazon Vendor, you must first understand the difference between being Amazon Seller and Amazon Vendor. Secondly, you must appreciate the pros and cons of the two options.
The following are the key differences between Amazon Seller and Amazon Vendor;
- Amazon Seller operates via the Seller Central platform while Amazon Vendor operates via Vendor Central platform
- Anyone can sell on Seller Central while only invitees can sell on Vendor Central.
- Unlike Seller Central, you must have intellectual property ownership rights to be able to sell on Vendor Central.
Pros of Vendor Central
- Higher levels of consumer confidence – Amazon grants you “Sold by Amazon” seal of approval which boosts credibility of your products in the mind of the potential buyers. This makes your product more likely to be bought than similar products that lack this seal.
- Greater access to top-notch marketing tools – Amazon provides Vendor Central with more powerful marketing tools not available to Seller Central.
- A+ Content – This is content with highly enhanced features and attributes. This is extremely important for branding, product differentiation, advertising and Public Relations purpose. Vendor Central allows A+ Content while Seller Central does not.
Cons of Vendor Central
- Expensive analytics – Seller Central has high quality analytics for free. Vendor Central only offers simple, basic analytics. For you to get high quality analytics similar to those on Seller Central, you have to pay.
- Invite only – You must be invited by Amazon to become a member of the Vendor Central. Amazon allows you to ‘request ...
