What's My Name? ...

Be sure to treat your patients name with care, dignity and respect. Remember it. Use it liberally when talking with him or her.

And get it spelled correctly when you send direct mail.

There is nothing more personal, sweet sounding and meaningful to a person than his or her name. Thus, when you send out a mailing based upon your house list it's important that you get the spelling correct ... regardless of whether you're sending out a one-to-one personal letter or a one-to-many personalized mass letter.

When I receive a mailing from a company I've dealt with in the past and they misspell my name -- particularly when I know that they have the correct spelling somewhere on file -- it makes me question their attention to detail and it begins to erode my opinion of them.

That happened recently when a company I've dealt with for years sent me a mailing addressed to Ms. Gaylan Stilson. Because the mailing wasn't a mass promotional piece where the company rented outside lists (and the misspelling could be explained away as the result of another company having me listed that way), it was clear it was generated in-house.

Will it cause me to stop doing business with them? No ... at least not yet. However, when you combine it with recent drops in customer service levels, it adds to my growing concern and disillusionment. And, I'm inching closer to making a switch.

So, make sure your patient names are spelled correctly in all of the databases you use.

Occasionally, an incorrect spelling may slip by. Hopefully, when that happens, the patient will bring the mistake to your attention so you can correct it immediately. Then re-check it in every database.

The opinion eroding factor builds exponentially with each additional mailing in which the name is misspelled.

Copyright 2007 by Galen Stilson