Amazon Reviews Comments Feature: How Important Is It?

Back in December 2020, Amazon informed sellers that it will remove the comment feature on customer reviews. This feature was very helpful to sellers who wanted to reach out and address customer’s issues. Sadly, Amazon thought otherwise. Amazon felt the feature was “under-utilized” or was not being used. The only problem with the comments feature on the Amazon reviews was that the original commenter was not notified that somebody responded to their review. Thus, if the seller responded to the Amazon review asking the commenter to contact them, they wouldn’t know. This could be the reason why Amazon felt that it was “under-utilized.” 

Alternatives to the Comments Feature on Amazon Reviews

Even if the comments feature was removed, there is still a way to acknowledge the Amazon reviews. Sellers and other buyers can click the Helpful or Report Abuse button. However, the Report Abuse option only applies when the comment is against Amazon’s Community Guidelines. 

As a seller, your only hope is that the customer will try to contact you for any issues with their order or get third-party software that you can use to track those who gave product reviews. However, using a third-party software is not that accurate, too. 

Good News for Brand Registered Sellers!

Amazon finally listened to brand owners and decided to allow them to contact customers who left negative reviews. This feature is only available to registered Brand Owners and, of course, has its limitations. However, since this is a new feature, there are still bugs to it. 

As a registered brand owner, you can access this feature by going to Brands > Customer Reviews. You should see an option to contact the buyer. 

To ensure that brand owners do not post messages that lead to customers making favorable reviews, Amazon already has preset email templates to address these concerns. You have 2 options: to offer a refund or replacement or clarify the issue with the buyer.

Here’s what the message templates look like:

Once you submit the message to the buyer, you can now see them on your Seller Central account. If you want to send a follow-up message, you can do so. However, just make sure that you adhere to Amazon’s policies so your account won’t get suspended. 

As an Amazon Seller, you must utilize this feature. In a previous blog, you read that customer reviews are important whether they are positive or negative. In this case, you now have the option to respond to negative Amazon reviews and acknowledge the positive reviews through the Helpful button. 

What If I Don’t Have the Option to Respond to Amazon Reviews?

If you are not yet brand registered or you simply do not have the option due to a glitch, don’t despair. There are solutions to this problem. 

• Respond to Q & A’s – On your Amazon product listing, scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Customer questions and answers section. You can also set your email preferences to receive notifications when a customer asks a question. Use this opportunity to re-educate your customers about your product and address any misgivings that they or other customers may have. This is also a perfect opportunity to show that you care enough to address their queries. 
• Listen to Customer Feedback – Address negative feedback like you would customer reviews. Responding professionally and promptly to feedback, no matter how bad, lets them feel that you understand their needs and that you are willing to help them out. It also gives the impression that you are professional enough to listen to what they say. This is also an excellent opportunity to improve on products and services. 
• Use Product Inserts – Using product inserts is an effective marketing strategy that does not require a big budget. Be careful with the information you put, or else you will get flagged or suspended on Amazon. 
• Use Email Marketing – Send email broadcasts to your customers and ask them to fill in a survey in exchange for a coupon. This is a win-win situation because some of them may use the coupon and buy from your store, plus you get feedback on your goods and services. 

Update: If you see the error message below, it means that your account was affected by the glitch. Since this is a new feature, it is not perfect. Let’s just wait until Amazon fixes it.

Conclusion

Now that Amazon has rolled out this new feature to brand registered sellers, it would be great to get yourself brand registered. There are a lot of perks to being brand registered so better make the most out of it. 

If you need help in managing your customer service message templates, give us a call or send us a message. We’ll be glad to help you out! 

“To earn the respect (and eventually love) of your customers, you first have to respect those customers. That is why the Golden Rule behavior is embraced by most of the winning companies.” 

– Colleen Barrett, Southwest Airlines President Emerita