Whenever Amazon change their policies, it always confuses sellers for a while until they get used to the new ways.
Often the updates are restrictive and stop us doing things we’ve always done. But, luckily, the policy changes I’ll talk about today should make our lives a little easier.
Last month, Amazon changed their policy regarding the communication we sellers are allowed to do with our customers. In short, it’s going to be much easier for us to talk to them – but with anything, there are caveats.
So, what do the changes mean for us?
- Now you can officially ask for a review
Amazon has made it clear that it’s okay to ask a customer for a review. And although it’s always been the case, we previously had to do it through the Request A Review button in Seller Central, and now, we can directly message the customers and ask them.
That brings us to the next big change…
- You can now use software to automate communication with your customers
Amazon has made it clear that you can use applications that ask for reviews for you – making your life a whole lot easier by automating the process.
To see what apps you can use, head to the Marketplace Appstore and scroll down to Feedback and Reviews.
Even though all of the software you see here will do the job for you, the two that I’ve used and therefore recommend are SellerLabs and Sellics. Both of these apps do the job fantastically and are very easy to use.
A few caveats…
Although this new policy update will make our lives easier, it’s not perfect and here are a few things you need to keep in mind when messaging your customers:
(This list isn’t exhaustive. If you want to see the full policy, check it out here: Communication Guidelines.)
- If you send an external link, it must be secure (HTTPS, not HTTP)
- You can’t send emojis or GIFS 😢 (This one is the hardest for me. I love emojis! ❤️❤️)
- You can’t send email address and phone numbers
- You have to communicate with your customers in their preferred language – You can’t rely on auto-translate. So, if you sell in France for example, and the customer has chosen French as their preferred language, you need to communicate in French. Sacré bleu!
Emojis or not, Amazon’s new policy changes will make it much easier for us to communicate with our customers and ask for lots of lovely reviews!
I hope I’ve covered the important bits here – thanks for reading guys and gals!
Hugs and kisses.
Stacey xxxx