I started a new job recently, at a financial trust. Part of my job is, for now, to learn about the financial structuring of companies setting up in Luxembourg and wanting to expand internationally. I’m also in charge of marketing (whatever there is to be done in a company that generates most of its customers from word of mouth), and to continue on selected strategic consulting projects (a continuation of my previous (freelance) activity).

A basic administrative requirement of my job is to, of course, have an email-address, containing the domain of the company in it. It’s basic PR, when you contact a potential customer, to use a common domain-name, also increasing brand-recognition. But what about phone-numbers? I get my email-address and business-cards for free, but have to pay for most of my phone-costs myself, the reason being that it’s not really something that has to be associated with the business.

That would be different if the identifier that I used would be a branded one, representing the company I work for.

Today, I had to deal with a payment issue with my Dutch bank, Rabobank. Via their website, you can call them for free, using the very clear “Rabolijn” username on Skype. I would love for something similar to exist on phone, which would instantly identify me as such whenever I call someone.

When you think about it, seeing a number for strangers calling you really seems like something from the 20th century. We use digital mobile phones which communicate across digital communication channels. Already, it is certain that the internet of the next decade will be dominated by mobile communications. So, how hard is it to send a name + a number to another person’s phone, when you are calling them?

My thought is: not very hard.

Vincent

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