Dear Sir or Madam
The other day I received a large envelope from BackChannelMedia. It contained an 8-page, card-stock, glossy booklet about the company; a 26-page spiral-bound report on the company's Q4 projects printed on high-quality, glossy stock; and a finely printed, 18-page research report that was, ironically, about achieving differentiation in an increasingly competitive TV market.
Why "ironically"?
Although the envelope was addressed to me, the "personal" letter inside from co-CEO Daniel Hassan was addressed "Dear Sir or Madam."
Are you kidding me?! A company the size of BackChannelMedia pays $2.36 in postage to send out three slickly produced (i.e., expensive!) pieces of marketing collateral--one about differentiation--designed to turn prospects into buyers to "Dear Sir or Madam"?? Unbelievable.
There are so many low-cost options for printing letters with the simple customization of adding the recipient's name in the Dear X field that I was shocked to receive this letter. I wonder how many marketers would actually take the next step to contact BackChannelMedia for help differentiating their firms when the company can't even make the effort to use the recipient's name on the letter.
BackChannelMedia isn't alone. This morning I received an email from supposed masters of personalization Amazon.com. It was addressed "Dear Amazon.com Customer" and led off with "As one of our best customers in Books." Like the missive from BackChannelMedia, the email was a sales pitch; in this case for me to buy books as holidays gifts.
Amazon has my email address and my name (I'm a registered user), knows I'm a high-value customer in a specific category, and has a recommendation engine so effective it set the bar for other websites, yet it doesn't have, or doesn't care to use, the technology to address email messages to its "best customers" using their names?!
I just don't get it.
There's an adage that says the sweetest sound to a person's ears (and, in direct marketing, view for their eyes) is their name. Using a customer's name is the simplest and most basic way to make or build a connection. And with the ease today of dropping a recipient's name into a communication, why would these big companies choose not to? What do you think?
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Nick,
You're right on. There's a store I love called Kate's Paperie that I recently visited to purchase notebooks. As the cashier handed each customer ahead of me in line her credit and reciept, he would say, "Thank you, [insert first name here]."
I was surprised that he didn't address each person "Ms. [insert last name]." I personally didn't mind, because I appreciated his effort to connect, but I'm sure some customers were taken aback by his informality.
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Malcolm,
That is truly classic!
Something similar happened to me last year. I received a hard sell phone call from a curt, aggressive salesperson trying to sell sales training. (Thanks, but no thanks!) She obviously had some random "phone book" list (versus a target prospect list) of people to call.
Hi Ginger,
Another example from people who should know better.
This time from Hopewiser. They got my name right in the letter but not my address. Guess what they sell? Yes accurate address information. The name of the company says it all.
In my view these type of problems come from not having a joined up customer strategy across the business. Whenever different departments work in their own ways these type of silly but damaging things occur.
Dear Ginger (or should that be Ms Conlon?)
I think you've highlighted how companies still don't understand where relationships start and it's difficult to have a relationship without using someone's name so why not use it if you know it?
You can take this to extremes though. I don't like being addressed by my first name in a letter if I don't know (in the loosest sense) the person who has sent it but a more formal personal greeting is OK and, I suspect, unconsciously begins a relationship with the company better than the anonymous one.
As you say, the information should be available and the technology has been around for years so it's surprising when companies' campaigns don't make use of it.