Even the best products are not immune to negative reviews. High quality products like the iPad or MacBook also get their share of less positive reviews. The trick is not to avoid bad reviews completely, but to deal with them effectively.
Strategies for handling and minimising negative feedback
Every product will receive critical feedback sooner or later, which can be particularly frustrating if there are not yet many positive reviews. A negative average can quickly have a detrimental effect on conversion rates. Here are some best practices to improve your review management:
1. Proactive response to evaluations
Direct contact: This is often the best first step. If you can identify the buyer by their order number, take the opportunity to thank them for their feedback, show understanding and offer a fair solution. Don't push for a change to the review, but explain that the customer can always revise their opinion if they are ultimately satisfied. However, since April 2020, Amazon has restricted the ability to contact them directly, so this may not always be an option.
Removal of unauthorised reviews: If reviews relate to aspects such as shipping and not directly to the product, they can be reported as inadmissible and potentially removed.
Commenting on reviews: Even if a direct dialogue with the reviewer is not possible, every negative review should be commented on publicly and professionally. This shows other potential customers how actively and customer-orientated you deal with feedback.
2. Differentiation between seller feedback and product reviews
Customers can rate both you as a seller and your products. It is important to differentiate between these two types of reviews, as they require different action strategies.
Product-related seller feedback: Here you can contact the reviewer directly and clarify that the feedback was incorrectly related to the product and not to the seller's performance. A friendly and customer-orientated approach can help to change the feedback.
Shipping-related feedback: Such reviews should be reported to Amazon, as they are often unjustified and can be removed quickly.
Conclusion and long-term strategies
Ultimately, the best way to avoid negative reviews is to continuously improve product quality. This can not only fix existing problems, but also attract new customers and provide value to existing customers. Follow customer feedback to continuously improve your products and use returns data to identify weaknesses.
Negative reviews are often written faster than positive ones. A follow-up email after the purchase can be a method to encourage customers to share their honest opinion. However, be aware of the legal framework, in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Overall, proactive review management is the key to success in online retail. Whilst there is no guarantee of being able to delete every negative review, by managing feedback you can still have the potential to turn negative reviews into positive ones.
