Dealing with Negative Reviews on Amazon

Getting negative reviews on Amazon is just part of the normal course of business. No matter how great your product is or how carefully you nurture customer relationships, you will always get a few Amazon customer complaints. 

It’s not the end of the world and it can even be a good thing, as long as you do your best to keep them to a minimum.

Here’s what Amazon negative reviews mean for your business, and what you can do to manage them.

Negative Amazon Reviews

Amazon reviews are feedback from customers who have bought your products. These reviews often include a star rating (from one to five) and written comments. Reviews let customers share their shopping and product experiences. 

For sellers, these reviews are one of the most essential ways to build trust with consumers. The amount of positive (or negative) reviews you get can help you understand how customers feel about your products, while also influencing future buyers.

Unverified vs Verified Reviews

As a seller on Amazon, you’ll notice some reviews are marked as “verified.” Verified purchase reviews come from customers who have actually purchased your product, which adds credibility to their feedback. 

Unverified reviews come from people who might not have bought your product directly from Amazon, so their reviews can’t be confirmed. But, this is not the whole story: some unverified reviews are fake reviews. Some sellers try to use them as a way to build some kind of credibility in a non-ethical way.

How Reviews Help Sellers Build Online Presence

When potential buyers see that others had good experiences with your product, they are more likely to buy it themselves. High star ratings and positive comments show new customers that your product is reliable and good quality.

Amazon search favors products with high ratings and reviews. This means that products with better reviews often show up higher in search results, making them more visible to potential buyers. And better visibility can lead to increased traffic and sales. 

Reviews also provide direct feedback from customers, which helps sellers see what’s good and what needs improvement. By understanding what customers like or dislike, sellers can make improvements to make customers happier.

Detailed reviews can greatly influence a buyer’s decision. Many customers read reviews to decide if a product meets their needs. Positive reviews can make them feel confident about buying, while negative reviews can offer important warnings that might stop a purchase.

Amazon Review and Complaints | Dos and Don’ts

We get it: you get one bad review and it seems like the end of your career. But the truth is that, no matter how great your product is, you will likely get a negative review at some point. How you handle it is crucial.

Here are some tips on how to respond to a negative review.

Dos

• Respond quickly. You want to reply to negative reviews as soon as possible. A fast response shows that you care about your customers and you are willing to fix any problems.
• Be Professional and polite. If the customer has a bad experience, show empathy and apologize. This helps to calm the situation and shows you are sincere.
• Offer a solution. Try to solve the customer’s problem. This could mean offering a refund or even sending a replacement. If you show them that you are willing to help you have more chances of turning a negative experience into a positive one.
• Learn from your feedback. Use the feedback to make improvements. If you notice the same issues keep coming up, it’s a sign that you need to address something specific about your product.
• Encourage positive reviews. Ask satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. More positive feedback can help offset any negative reviews you receive.

Don’ts

• Do not argue with customers. Never blame or challenge a customer for the issue. This can make the situation worse and damage your reputation further. If there was a misunderstanding, feel free to explain it without being confrontative. Also, always provide clear next steps to solve it and make the customer happy. 
• Avoid Generic Responses. Personalize your replies as much as possible. Generic responses can seem insincere and might not address the specific concern of the customer.
• Don’t Ignore Negative Reviews. Ignoring bad reviews makes customers feel like you don’t care. It’s important to show that you are attentive and willing to help.
• Avoid incentivizing review removal. Offering money or gifts to get a customer to remove a negative review is against Amazon’s policies. Doing this can lead to severe penalties, including suspension of your seller account.

How to Deal with Negative Reviews on Amazon

There are a lot of unreliable sellers in the online world, and consumers have learned not to trust manufacturer descriptions. They rely heavily on reviews to make purchase decisions. They know that they can learn from the experiences of others rather than taking the risk themselves.

Negative reviews on Amazon are more than just the online version of customer testimonials, however. Reviews are also factored in by the retail giant’s algorithm when determining your organic product ranking.

Does Amazon Remove Negative Reviews?

Generally, Amazon does not delete negative reviews unless they break the rules. Reviews that contain obscene language, personal information, or promotional content are against Amazon’s guidelines and can be removed. 

If you believe a review violates these guidelines, you can report it to Amazon. However, genuine negative feedback about a product or service is usually allowed to stay.

Amazon wants to keep its system fair and reliable. They want customers to trust reviews. Because of this, they do not remove reviews just because they are negative. Instead, focus on addressing the issues that led to the bad review and improving your product or service.

How to Respond to Negative Amazon Reviews

Amazon’s policies do not allow sellers to ask customers to delete or edit an Amazon review. You cannot offer refunds, discounts, or other incentives to get a customer to remove a bad review. This kind of behavior is considered manipulation and can lead to serious consequences, including having your seller account suspended. 

Instead of asking someone to edit a review on Amazon, focus on resolving the customer’s issue. If you handle the situation well, you can politely ask the customer to update their review to reflect their new experience. Emphasize that their honest feedback is important to you.

Building a Positive Review Strategy

Managing your reviews proactively can help maintain a good reputation. Here’s how to get positive Amazon reviews and and minimize negative ones:

Deliver Quality Products

Make sure your products are high-quality. Test them thoroughly before listing them on Amazon. Quality offers lead to satisfied customers and positive reviews.

Provide Accurate Descriptions

Be honest and detailed in your product descriptions. Ensure that what you describe matches what the customer will receive. Misleading descriptions can lead to disappointed customers and negative reviews.

Excellent Customer Service

Offer great customer service at all times. Respond to inquiries quickly and handle any issues promptly. Positive customer interactions often lead to good reviews.

Follow Up with Customers

After a purchase, follow up with your customers to ensure they are happy with their product. You can do this through Amazon’s message system. A friendly check-in can show customers that you care about their experience.

Request Feedback

Encourage happy customers to leave reviews. A simple feedback request in your follow-up message can remind them to share their positive experiences. Just be sure to follow Amazon’s guidelines when asking for reviews.

Final Thoughts

You’ll get negative reviews on Amazon at some point, it’s part of doing business on the platform. How you respond to them can make a big difference, and you can take steps to minimize the damage.

The bottom line is good customer service. 

• Address issues professionally, offering solutions, and learning from feedback. In doing so, you can turn negative experiences into opportunities for improvement. 
• Focus on providing high-quality products and excellent customer service to build a strong presence on Amazon.

 And remember: don’t panic, every unhappy customer is an opportunity to learn if you know how to deal with them.

Author

Antonella Fleitas is a freelance content writer from Argentina. Antonella worked with many projects to create fact-based, evergreen content about science, language learning, and culture. Her main goal is to build a strong content foundation for her clients, based on meaningful stories that people can learn from.