Some dialects offer a conversion function that converts any null value into a specified string (if it is null):

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM customers WHERE ifNull(name,'') = ''

I really wish there was a PHP-like "empty" function to determine if something is blank, null, or zero.

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM customers WHERE empty(name)

I love that function. I use it a lot and it simplifies a lot of code and still works if you or the DBA changes the type.