What’s in a name?

With the recent birth of our sixth child we were once again confronted with the awesome task of choosing a name that our daughter will carry with her for the rest of her life. What makes it even more difficult is the incredible number of choices, as indicated by one of the baby name books we looked through—20,001 names for babies.

Parents may take the easy route and name their child after a family member, and others will simply call their child “Boy” or “Girl.” Athletes and entertainers who are in the public’s mind are often a source of names, as well as political and historical characters. Many are named after biblical figures or saints who have inspired parents; while others may choose a name that is distinct so their child will stand out from the usual names that a teacher reads from a class roster.

Studies show that children as young as seven, as well as adults, will shape an opinion about you based on the desirability of your name. Consciously or unconsciously, we have a private picture of the people who answer to certain names. In a San Diego study, research suggested that average essays by Karens, Davids, and Michaels got better grades than average essays written by Berthas, Huberts, and Elmers. The theory was that teachers expected kids with popular names to do better (the Pygmalion effect) and so they gave higher grades to those children.

People sometimes change their given name for entertainment reasons or because they don’t like the name they were given at birth. Abigail Van Buren, also known as “Dear Abby” to the readers of her newspaper column, has the given name of Pauline Ester “Popo” Friedman Phillips. Cherilyn La Pierre simply shortened her name to Cher, and how about those popular songs from the 70’s by Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. (John Denver).

For the vast majority of people, however, the name that is on the birth certificate will be the same name used throughout their life, and that will mark a person’s headstone. For better or worst, your name is your verbal brand or label that will identify you out of a crowd.

In his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie professed that “the average man is more interested in his own name than he is in all the other names on earth put together.” He believed that one of the secrets to the success of politicians, business leaders, and others was the ability of a person to remember and use another person’s name. Carnegie went on to state: “Remember that a man’s name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

If you are aware of how good you feel when someone remembers and calls you by your name, then doesn’t it make sense to learn your customer’s names and compliment them by using it during a conversation? Add a smile, and a caring attitude to the mix and you will have a dynamite customer service program that will blow your competition away. Why are we so certain about it—because very few businesses on Saipan do it.

One mystery shopper service makes visits to evaluate the level of customer service at Saipan businesses. A graded area is if the shopper’s name was asked or used during the transaction. How difficult is it to ask someone his or her name, or look at a form of identification when a purchase is made? Yet, more than 1,500 visits later, not one evaluator’s name has been asked or used once during the transaction process.

Ask yourself, when you go shopping, how often is your name used when talking to employees? Unless you are a very regular shopper, at most businesses on the island you will be treated with the same level of impartiality on your 100th visit as you were on your first visit. How much does it cost to ask for the “sweetest and most important sound” that a person is more interested in than any other name on earth? Absolutely nothing.

This one easy practice that could make your business stand out among the other me-too, commodity-based business that vie for the limited dollars consumers have to spend. It will add much to the overall experience one has when making a purchase because when you call someone by their name, they are transformed from a stranger into an acquaintance who is now a guest, or even a friend.

A person’s name is very important (at least to that person). A parent takes care to name a child, and you should take care to learn a person’s name because it demonstrates that you do care.

For us as parents, we chose a name that would reflect our daughter’s Spanish heritage. Welcome to the world Alicia Mireya Villegas.

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They have consulted with over 400 businesses in 40 different industries. For better business results go to BizResults.biz to read previous articles.)