Some companies address their customers by their first name, others exclusively by their last name. But how does this actually affect the person being addressed? Is it even possible to generalise?

The common form of address in the work environment

A few decades ago, it was still customary to address people at work by their first and last names. It was particularly unusual to address superiors by their first names. If this friendly tone existed at all, it was only in the departments of equal rank or directly among the managing directors. In recent years and decades, it has become more and more common to address each other by their first names. This is often introduced directly on the first day of work and addressing people by their surname is used at most during the job interview.

According to a survey by the job portal "Indeed", around 70% of employees address each other by their first names. In some countries this has been common practice for a long time, but in German-speaking countries it is definitely an innovation. For half of the respondents, the hierarchical level is the decisive factor in deciding on the correct form of address. Only 3.8 per cent of respondents address all colleagues by their last name. However, it should also be noted that these values can differ depending on the industry.

Who is allowed to offer the other person the "first-name" or address them by their first name?

Whereas in the past it was primarily age that determined how one was addressed, today it is somewhat more complex. According to etiquette, it is usually the task of older people to offer younger people the first-name form of address. Today, those higher up in the hierarchy offer lower-ranking colleagues or employees to address them by their first names - regardless of age.

In companies with flat hierarchies, as mentioned above, the first name is used for addressing from the beginning, which means that this question does not arise at all. A recent survey by Statista in cooperation with YouGov showed that this more friendly form of address is more widespread among younger people than among older ones. Among colleagues, however, people usually address each other by their first names, regardless of age. "The proportion of employees aged 55 and over who always use their surname is the highest: 12% of respondents in this age group say they do not address anyone by their first name at work. It is mainly the 25–34-year-old who address their superiors by their first names.

The impact of a more personal approach in customer communication

In a conversation with customers or business partners, a certain perceptiveness and knowledge of human nature is required. Here, it should be observed what the group dynamics are like and whether individuals already call each other by their first names.

In the relationship between customers and service providers, it is generally advisable to wait for an offer from the customer.

Online, things look a little different. Because especially in social media channels and on websites of "younger" companies, visitors are usually addressed directly on a friendly level.

The assumption here is that this approach creates closeness and conveys the feeling that one almost belongs together like a family. A test conducted by a digital marketing agency with the help of Google Ads shows that this is not always well received. In this test, users were first addressed formally in an ad, then in a further test phase in a friendly and casual manner. The result: The formal form of address achieved 68 clicks on 3324 page impressions and thus a click rate of 2.05 percent. If the users were addressed in a flippant and casual manner, this brought the website operator only 66 clicks on 4113 page impressions. This results in a click rate of 1.6 per cent.

The ideal way to communicate optimally with strangers, colleagues and customers

Even if it sounds trivial and not very elegant at first, the best solution can be to ask the counterpart about his or her preference. At the company level, surveys among employees or in staff appraisals are suitable. When communicating with customers, it is important to wait for their offer of a more personal first-name address. If this is not forthcoming, it should be avoided as a matter of principle. After all, once you have jumped from the formal to the personal level of address, you usually can't simply go back. And often the more friendly relationship is accompanied by a certain carelessness in general communication.