kev/null design/book/comics/games/photos/presentations

Remembering Birthdays is not Customer Experience

In Unfiled on 15 October 2004. Tagged Unfiled.

Many sites ask you for birthday information for one reason or another (sometimes for no reason at all). Putting aside the fact that sites really shouldn’t ask for information they don’t need, using the information for additional spam really makes little sense to me.

On birthdays (I’ve had a few), I have found I typically receive just as many birthday wishes from friends by e-mail as I do from websites I’m registered with. I also receive more post cards from stores, dentists, etc than from friends.and family in regular snail mail.

This pattern is not indicative of my friends’ thoughfulness nor how many friends I have.

Sending an automated birthday reminder, even if it’s your birthday, is not personalization and is not enhancing customer experience

Just because it arrives on a birthday doesn’t make it any less spam. In fact, I’d argue it is more frustrating to receive mails that say “Happy Birthday” from people who you know do not care it is your birthday.

So my advice is to stop asking for birthdays and stop sending unsolicited mails on birthdays even if you have the information.

Digg this!