Many years ago, when I had my first job in journalism, I misspelled a few people’s names. They were outraged, took it really personally and never let me forget. 

It did teach me a valuable lesson, though. If you misspell someone’s name, it can feel like an attack on that person’s identity, and leave them feeling humiliated. 

Clearly, then, you don’t want to misspell your customers’ names. 

But this idea also works in reverse. If you call your customers and referral partners by their name, it really affirms their identity. It’s a great way of building relationships.