What's In A Name?

Jeff Bezos, the man behind the largest online retail colossus on the planet urges companies to remember one vital business tip: always "obsess over customers". Our friendly, American, barista formerly known as Starbucks and now only illustrated by the iconic logo strongly subscribes to the same ideology. Consequently, my morning coffee and afternoon 'Frapp' routine has changed. I am now more than a scribble on a plastic cup. My existence has broadened from an earlier MCCF* or a GBA** to my true name. Well sort of.

I cheerily made my way into the welcoming world of the twin-tailed Siren (Mermaid in common parlance) and sure enough, swiftly at the heels of my order, I was asked for my name. Now, Anupriya is a rare mouthful even for an Indian name so I decisively settled on Anu also taking the time to smile and spell it out. I was delirious with relief that it would take a retail outlet quite a bit of effort to fudge that one up. I was wrong.

As the incriminating (though admittedly delicious!) pictures above demonstrate, my three letter abbreviated moniker was altered to ENO or perhaps, if we are more forgiving, ENU. I love my provider of coffee. I really do. However I struggle to reconcile myself with my new name that GSK uses to peddle "fast acting effervescent antacids" internationally.

Strike 1 dearly loved provider of all things caffeine.


Notes:

In all seriousness though, I get why Starbucks has a sudden interest in customer names. The marketing strategy of increasing customer engagement, one first-name at a time makes sense. One of the easiest rapport building strategies employed by retailers, using a customer's name undoubtedly personalises the transaction and the overall customer experience. I wonder how accurate is the quantification of the adverse coverage of misspelled names, annoyance of extra time spent at the tills, and curiously (thankfully rarely!) the outrage from some very guarded customers who, all said and done, just don't want to give away their identities.


*   Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino
**  Grande Black Americano

Of Customer Service, Ducks and Brand

Brand is one of those things, which if you get right is an enduring asset for the organisation and a dependable schema for the customer to consolidate their views of your product/organisation.

All the marketing best practice principles aside, if your brand manages to be emotionally charged as well, you have a winner. I am passionate about brands and just like everyone, have a few clear favorites. I do however love to analyse that little bit further, what makes a particular brand 'tick', what was the evolution of the thought process that the creative teams (at the associated Ad Agency) exercised, what might be the size of the target market who may experience the same affective association with the brand as I do...It's a stimulating intellectual workout.

Endless Fascination with Ducks

Having very lovingly observed and enjoyed the advertising work engaged by my phone company, I wanted to let them know of my appreciation. I also wanted a reward out of it. So (in a very British tradition) decided to write them a letter.

My Letter to the phone company (referred to as Telecom Provider X*)

Dear lovely people at Telecom Provider X,

just the other day, I realised that I have been a loyal Pay-monthly customer for a very long time. I thought I'll take this chance to commend you guys for your stellar customer service. Performance aspects aside, your service alone prompted my additional subscription to your Broadband. I also like all the branding stuff that's going on at Telecom Provider X. Especially those Adverts where you promise the customers 'treats'. You know, the one where all these bright, yellow, plastic ducks complete an arduous journey and arrive at a tranquil lake where people dip in and fish them out? Some of these ducks are fancy iPods and other delights. Now, I am not saying I want an iPhone for being so loyal to you and paying all my bills on time but don't I deserve some treats? Do you think I could be sent some promotional ducks?

My heart is set on them.

I am also willing to settle on a shiny new iPod Touch (as I currently lead a miserable life with my 8GB iPhone which is insufficient for my music) and may allow you to engrave it with 'From Telecom Provider X with Love'.

The good people at Telecom Provider X replied:

Good Morning Anupriya,

Thanks for getting in touch about promotional ducks. Anupriya, I'd like to inform you that these promotional ducks which you've seen in the advertisements are being promoted as surprises for Prepay customers. However, I've personally checked your account and can see that you're a loyal customer with us for a long time now so I've gone ahead and added a subscription discount of £10 for 3 months to your account. It will be effective from [dd/mm/yy]. I hope this'll bring a smile on your face.

Guess what, it most certainly did!

They really should have sent me some ducks as well though.

*The Telecommunications provider has been anonymised for obvious reasons.