Your name is beautiful

He remembered my name

I recently went to our dry cleaners and as I walked in the manager said "Hello Mr Hawtin." I had only met him once before, 3 to 6 months earlier and didn't recall saying or doing anything particularly memorable. He may have a photographic memory but the simple fact that he remembered my name was impressive and made me feel that I made the right decision by going to his shop. 

When I worked at UK supermarket Asda, Tom Leonard, (CEO of US Dairy Supermarket, Stew Leonard's with a reputation for legendary customer service) gave a talk to the top 100 Asda managers. He said that the most beautiful word to a customer is their name. It is standard policy in his store for the checkout operator to thank every customer by name when they leave. Someone asked, "How do you know their name?" He replied "It's easy. We read it off their credit card or cheque book."

Can you do this online?

The simple answer is yes. When I visit Amazon it recognises me and serves appropriate content. It remembers recent searches and suggests products to buy based on my purchase history. My purchase to visit rate is probably higher for Amazon than any other store. They make it so easy to buy, but in a smart way rather than a crass heavy-handed way. Sadly, so few sites do this. 

Web marketing tips that any business (large or small) could apply to attract and retain new customers

• If part of your web marketing strategy is to increase customer lifetime value by encouraging customers to make regular repeat visits then use cookies (with visitor registration) to recognise customers when they return
  
• You have to do more than just say "Hello Peter" - Offer appropriate content based on their previous history. 

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency (based in Wiltshire & Bristol) which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.