If you suspect malicious activity by the competitors, you should document the incidents and should report these violations to Amazon. About legitimate product complaints, you should always address them quickly, efficiently and publicly.

Many times you can associate a customer review with a specific order ID, but this is not always the case. Unfortunately, detecting malicious activity when it comes to negative reviews on Amazon takes some instinct and understanding of your category.

If you notice a lot of negative reviews in tandem with a new competitor who just launched, something might be wrong. If you have sent a new shipment to FBA and received a large number of negative reviews, it may be a legitimate claim and you may need to recall the package due to a defect. In any case, any sign of a problem requires quick investigation and correction.

You should respond to as many product reviews and as many seller reviews/feedbacks as possible. Develop a template for your responses. You can use some of the following starting points for negative and positive reviews left on your product page.

• Responding to positive reviews – Express your delight that the customer has a good experience with your product. Show gratitude to the buyer for taking the time to leave a review. Encourage brand loyalty and future purchases.

• Responding to negative reviews – Send best regards, and apologize for any issues and thank them for bringing the issue to your attention. Try and make it right for the buyer. Investigate the problem. If it is systemic, such as part of your supply chain, fix it as soon as possible.

Shoppers are more likely to buy from brands that care about their customers and are perceived to be customer-focused. Customer service is critical to business success. A shopper complaining is not a personal assault, so don’t take it personally or respond with an angry response. Always take the positive route.

• Show that your brand cares – Demonstrate that your brand cares and is customer-focused by responding politely and positively. Use the templates discussed above and remain optimistic even if the customer seems difficult to satisfy. Once you get into the habit of writing answers, it will happen naturally. Respond to different reviews in different ways. And yes, you can definitely ask the buyer for a review if you do so in accordance with Amazon’s Terms of Service. However, you cannot ask a buyer to change the review, even after the issue has been resolved.

Samples of what customers have to say about your products may be features that you should highlight on your list, or problems that you might have to solve. If you’ve recently received a large number of negative reviews commenting on sizing issues, perhaps you should add some comments to your list explaining that the product is actually a little longer than usual. If you’ve received a ton of positive feedback by highlighting the vibrancy of the color of the socks you sell, add vibrancy to your page description.

• Always review your reviews – Whether you set aside time to do this daily, weekly, or monthly (doing it weekly is recommended), make sure you pay attention and respond to what your customers are saying. Try and read carefully and look for recurring topics. Your customers will tell you how to fix your product and what new features they want, but you should seek and listen to them.

Since reviews are an important part of the online shopping process, it’s easy to get frustrated when you get negative reviews on Amazon. Use them as a learning opportunity so you can improve your shoppers’ experience. And if you feel suspicious, do not retaliate. Go through the appropriate channels, even if it takes a little time. Stay compliant and report anyone who violates the integrity of the Amazon Marketplace.

Author – Rizwan Zaffar (Originally posted in Ecommerce Outset)