3 Things to Know About Amazon Email Solicitations
Seller feedback and product reviews can help Amazon merchants increase sales, build reputations and conduct quality control. These ratings also help merchants ensure they are delivering the experience expected by their customers.
Due to some recent changes in buyer-seller communication policies, we’ve received a lot of questions about what is and isn’t acceptable to include in messages to customers. In this post, we’ll explore what’s allowed and what’s not allowed in emails to Amazon buyers, as well as take a look at Amazon’s recent policy change regarding buyer opt out.
- What’s Allowed?
Amazon’s incredible success is due in large part to a laser focus on providing positive experiences for customers. Merchants are encouraged to respond rapidly to customer inquires. Sellers should always make it a practice to contact buyers if any customer service issues arise.
Feedback and review solicitations are allowed and can provide great insight into the customer experience. This information lets sellers know what buyers really think. Sending a customized message can also foster a sense of connection between buyer and merchant. This type of message can include helpful product information, a quick story about the store’s mission or any other information that the customer may find relevant. Just be sure that the messaging does not attempt to manipulate users into leaving a specific type of rating. (You can automatically send customized feedback requests with a tool like FeedbackFive.)
- What’s Not Allowed?
Do not use your email to try to get your customers to purchase from you on a different platform. Make sure to use the buyer-seller messaging service within the Amazon platform or respond to the buyer’s encrypted email address if you use your own email system. Using the encrypted email address means that a copy of your message will be shown in the “Sent Messages” section of the buyer-seller messaging page. (FeedbackFive works with Amazon’s API so that your messages are still sent through the buyer-seller messaging service.)
You can find out more about what Amazon permits and does not allow in buyer-seller communications by reading about prohibited seller activities and actions.
- Buyer Opt Out
Amazon recently made some policy changes that allow buyers to opt out of nonessential communication from sellers. Merchants can still send information to opted-out customers if it is critical to completing the order.
Since buyers can now opt out of emails, you are much less likely to send an email to a customer who doesn’t want to hear from you. A feedback management tool, such as our FeedbackFive platform, can simplify the management of buyer opt outs. Due to our vast community of sellers, FeedbackFive users also benefit from the global opt out feature.
It’s All About Customer Connection
Talking to your buyers is the best way to get perspective on what’s working and what needs improvement in your business model. Automating the initial customer communication with a feedback management tool can save you time and streamline your efforts into providing exceptional products and customer service. Try FeedbackFive to see how easy it is to get started.
Liz Fickenscher is the business development lead at eComEngine, a provider of smart SaaS tools designed to help sellers on the Amazon Marketplace.