Do you like your name?

Do you like your name?

I like mine. It’s unusual though, which is why, as a child, I’d be ecstatic if I found a mug / room sign / brooch (collecting brooches was big in the 80s ok?) with my name on it (and not preceded by ‘Gotta have’.)

It felt extremely personal. A rare find. To use modern parlance: I felt seen.

Fast forward to 2022 and personalisation is everywhere.

Seeing our name in an email subject line no longer feels revolutionary. Today it’s a natural part of the online experience.

Any Tom, Dick or Harry with a decent email platform can make that happen.

But not everyone can provide a truly personal product or service.

This is very much still seen a thing of real value.

It’s a reason people pay more for things when there’s a cheaper alternative.

Take pet food.

This week, Rupert, my dachshund, won a month’s supply of dog food. But not just any old dog food. These lumps and bumps have been freshly blended to order and tailored to his weight, temperament, and star sign.

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The last one’s an exaggeration.

But it’s truly bespoke. The packet even had his name on it. And was still warm when we got it.

I don’t know how much the raw ingredients cost, but by mentioning the words 'bespoke', 'tailored' and 'diet plan', they can charge a lot more than sad-old Pedigree Chum.

Personalisation enables firms to communicate what they deliver in a way that makes sense to people. And makes sense of the cost.

So talk up your personalised service, make a meal of it, because people know what the alternative is like: being treated as a number, or fed some off-the-shelf product that's not been created especially for them. Why put up with that?

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