A Definitive Guide to Dealing with Negative Reviews on Amazon
November 7, 2019
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Posted in Amazon, Amazon Products, Amazon Seller, Improve Sales, Product Marketing, Show All
Everybody who’s ever sold anything on Amazon knows how important positive reviews are. Big companies, sales managers, and independent sellers – they all need to pay special attention to what customers are saying and how they’re reviewing these comments. The feedback you receive from your customers will make a huge impact on those that are to follow, and might largely determine whether someone shops from you or not. However, you can’t expect everyone to leave a positive review.
Negative reviews are the nightmare of every Amazon seller. Still, not every negative review is the end of the world, if you know how to deal with it. Dealing with negative reviews on Amazon is a must, and if you’re not certain how to do it, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s break the entire situation down and see what is it that you need to know about negative Amazon reviews and how to handle them.
Understand The Customer
First things first, you need to be able to understand your customers in order to know how to respond to their actions.
Thousands of people leave negative reviews on a daily basis and not every review is the same. If you understand why someone left the negative review, you’ll be able to respond to it better.
To help you understand where the negative review is coming from, we’ve put together a list of reasons why people leave negative reviews to Amazon sellers:
– They’re not happy with the product.
If a customer isn’t satisfied with the product because it didn’t meet their expectations, the negative review they left might help you improve your service. This is essentially a good thing and you should use it as a tool for improvement.
– They want to let other people know about the flaws of the product.
If the customer isn’t happy with the product, they might leave the negative review to let other people know and not make the same mistake. Although this is bad advertising for you, you can turn it into your advantage by acknowledging it and finding a way to improve the product.
– They want to hear back from you.
Sometimes, all that your customers want is an apology, an explanation, or some form of feedback on your behalf. They need to know you didn’t try to trick them on purpose so they leave a negative review to hear back from you. You have to respond to each review to make sure no one is left angry and disappointed.
These main reasons for negative reviews could be a good starting point for you. Make sure you step in the shoes of your customer prior to responding.
Then, make a judgment call and respond.
Now, let’s take a look at your options when it comes to dealing with negative reviews.
Responding to Negative Reviews
Negative reviews are not something you can simply ignore and pretend like it never happened. This will backfire at you and the consequences will be much greater.
On the contrary, you need to deal with all the negative reviews properly, to ensure your past and future customers are satisfied.
The list below will help you find your way out of every negative review situation and build your case on facts and proper responses. Here’s what you need to know and do:
Always Respond
The golden rule of Amazon reviews is to always respond to every review your customers left. This is especially the case if you don’t have hundreds of reviews on a daily basis, but a humbler number.
If your customers took the time to write it, you need to take the time to respond.
Therefore, when someone leaves a negative review, you need to:
– read it immediately
– never ignore it
– start thinking about a response
If you ignore the review, the customer will get angry and you might have to deal with more than one negative review. Then other customers will see all the drama that’s happening and they’ll most likely give up on you without giving you a chance.
So, respond and don’t ignore it.
Monitor Constantly
The reviews section is something you constantly need to monitor and pay attention to. This is because you need to respond to your negative reviews as quickly as possible.
If you leave a review unanswered for too long, it may seem to the unsatisfied customer or anyone else that:
– you’ve decided to ignore it
– you’re afraid to respond
– you don’t care about it
– you’re trying to avoid answering it
The longer it stays there without your answer, the worse it’s going to look.
Therefore, try creating a strategy:
– constantly monitor your reviews
– read the new ones as soon as they’re posted
– deal with the negative reviews as soon as possible
Respond quickly to show you care and you’re a professional. Stay alert and provide quick responses to each of your customers.
They will know how to appreciate this.
Check Your Facts
Once you receive negative feedback, you’ll instantly start feeling anxious and agitated. Also, you’ll assume that the customer is wrong and you’re right.
This means that your ability to see things clearly and write a quality response will be questionable.
Therefore, try to stay calm, and focus on dealing with the review like a professional:
– analyze the problem the customer has come across
– double-check your facts to see whether or not they’re right
– consult anyone who’s had anything to do with that specific customer and their order
Once you’ve got all the facts together, you can see what went wrong with the order, and how you can respond to this feedback.
You’ll know for sure whether or not you’ve made a mistake or the customer is the one to blame.
Don’t jump to a conclusion before you’ve done all the work to ensure you’ve got all the information. Only then can you write a quality response.
Provide an Apology
Regardless of the problem and the way your customer is speaking to you, you always need to provide an apology.
There might be cases when the customer is wrong, they made a mistake while ordering, they didn’t read the product description, etc. Still, you need to provide an apology:
– We’re sorry you’ve had to get through all this trouble. We’ll try making our product descriptions more easy to understand and less confusing.
Even though they are the ones who made the mistake, you still need to show compassion and promise you’ll make improvements based on their negative experience.
Always apologize.
Stay Professional
Among the negative reviews you receive, there will be those with extremely impolite languageand dozens of exclamation marks.
These reviews are rude and not worth your time and energy, but you know you can’t just leave it there.
In addition, here’s what else you can’t do:
– respond in the same manner
– tell a customer they’re rude and impolite
– tell a customer you won’t tolerate such behavior
Although you’d like to tell them a whole bunch of things, you need to hold it together and respond like a professional:
– say you understand what the problem is and how they feel
– offer an apology- offer a solution
Don’t let anyone get to your nerves and think twice before posting any response.
However, if the person behind these comments is overly abusive and starts disturbing your staff or other customers, you need to stand up for them and report the person in question.
Draw the line and don’t let anyone take advantage of you, your staff, or your customers.
Offer Something as an Apology
In cases when the negative review is completely justified and you are actually to blame, you could go a step further and apologize to the customer using more than just words.
To let the customer know you’re deeply sorry for what happened and you want them to continue shopping from you, you could give them something for their trouble:
– a gift card
– a discount coupon
– a complementary product they might like
Anything will do the trick, along with the apology.
The customer will see it was an honest mistake and you feel bad about it. They might even write a follow-up review based on what you did to apologize.
Consider this option when you’re to blame and you feel the need to walk the extra mile for a customer.
Discuss Matters Deeply
There are some issues that can be solved in less than two minutes after reviewing the negative feedback. However, if a customer faced a more complex issue, you need to dedicate a bit more of your time into solving it.
Therefore, when someone faces a more complex issue, you shouldn’t try solving it by leaving comments about their negative review.
Instead, ask them to solve the problem elsewhere:
– invite them to a private conversation via phone or email – give them a chance to tell you the whole story
– show them you care and you want to help them
Instead of wasting your time in the comments section, ask the customer if they’d like to move the issue offline and offer your full attention and help.
You’ll be able to solve the problem better and potentially even turn an unsatisfied customer into a loyal one.
Proofread Your Comments
Although your unsatisfied customers’ primary concern won’t be your grammar or the ability to write like a professional, you still need to ensure you’re coming across as a reliable and trustworthy seller.
If your comments are written in a confusing or even inaccurate manner, people might be turned down and disappointed.
Therefore, before you respond to a negative review, take a minute or two to:
– proofread what you’ve written
– remove grammar or spelling mistakes
– think about the structure of your comment
If you need help proofreading, you can turn to reliable writing service online and get them to take care of it for you.
Pay attention to what and how you’re writing to maintain a positive reputation and stay professional in every sense.
Fix The Problem
You can say you’re sorry a thousand times and write polite and professional responses to every single review your customers leave.
But, how much is all of that worth if the problem remains?
The most important thing you need to do and the ultimate best way to deal with a negative review is to remove the source of the problem which made your customer unhappy.
Removing the issues and fixing the problems is the best thing you can do to make your customers happy and satisfied.
Therefore, focus your attention and energy into:
– learning from your mistakes
– making sure you don’t make them again
– removing one issue at a time
– turning a negative review into a positive change
Then, you can let the customer know you’ve fixed the problem based on their review and how much you appreciate their suggestions.
There’s no better marketing than this.
Reviews Are Important
If you’re reading all of this and thinking “Why should I care about reviews?” you’re in big trouble.
Online reviews are extremely important for the success of any business, and it’s no different for Amazon.
According to Forbes, 91% of 18-34-year-old consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
This means that people feel the same way about reading a review as they feel about calling their best friend and asking them for advice.
Online reviews help you:
– build trust with your customers
– get ahead of your competition
– raise brand awareness
– build strong relationships with customers
– have people dare to shop from you
Your reviews section will play a huge role in your Amazon profile and if you fail to make it representative, you’ll fail to improve and develop as a seller.
Therefore, Amazon reviews do matter.
Final Thoughts
Negative reviews are an integral part of Amazon and something you can’t avoid. They will continue happening to you, and you’ll have to deal with them constantly. That’s why it’s great that you’ve taken the time to read the guide above and learn about properly dealing with them.
The steps and guidelines above will ensure you make the most out of every negative review. You’ll be able to understand where it’s coming from and how to turn it into a positive thing. Start using this advice today and turn your negative reviews policy around.
