Crate & Barrel certainly seems to have the bases covered when it comes to implementing product ratings and reviews into their customer lifecycle program – both online and offline. Not only do they send post-purchase emails encouraging the customer to submit user reviews of their products, but they also close the loop by accompanying their shipped products with printed reminders to go online and post a review.

The emails are particularly well-done and incoporate a number of ratings and reviews best practices. First and foremost, the emails are dynamically populated with images and links to each individual product page. This attention to detail makes for a seamless transition between email and eCommerce sites. It also helps the user save time by not having to search the Crate & Barrel site for products that they’ve already bought, or spend time racking their brain to remember every item they purchased.

Equally impressive, Crate’s sister brand, CB2, drives traffic to ratings and reviews using offline methods of communication. As you can see from the accompanying photo, each order from CB2 comes with a little printed postcard informing customers where and how they can review their new products online. It’s a simple, clear and friendly way of driving customer response across channels.
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