Brands Let Consumer Voices Rise to the Top

Digging out from my vacation-backlogged in-box, I found these emails from LEGO and Home Depot, both celebrating consumer ratings and reviews. More than the fact that both brands invite public feedback from customers, I love how both use this content to promote an edited assortment for other customers. They're engaging on multiple levels.

For Home Depot, it appears to be a monthly feature (though this is the first time I've noticed the email); the subject line was "Top Customer Reviewed Products for August". It's a great way for them to show off what others think are their best products. I think it's great they're doing it, although for the category it's a little strange because this ends up as such a random assortment. I suppose, per this email, if you're looking for an area rug, a mailbox or an airless paint sprayer, you're in luck.

The concept  seems to work a little harder for LEGO since the product assortment isn't as broad. Plus, when I'm looking for LEGO gifts, I'm more interested in starting with ratings. And I love the way they set it up, "Thanks to consumers' ratings and reviews, it's clear there are some LEGO sets no one should live without! Check out the sets fellow LEGO fans have most highly recommended." In addition to each item's LEGO brick (their version of stars) rating, the email showcases quotes from the customer reviews.

Many reviews are organized into "Pros" and "Cons," and certain reviewers are denoted as a "Top 250 Contributor" if they provide numerous, helpful product reviews. Beyond that, reviewers are ranked based on the number of reviews and helpfulness of each one.

From a brief pass through the reviews, LEGO customers are about as thorough and detailed as the brand is.