Marketing Me: Phone Call - UNKNOWN

The other day, my mortgage company called me. The caller ID on my phone said "Unknown". My mortgage is my largest expense each month. It's my home for crying out loud. So why in the world would the company which has earned my largest payment not take advantage of the advertising and marketing of their business name?

Many companies these days do not include their company name in the outbound caller ID. In phone terminology, caller ID is called "call appearance". The reasons companies have "Unknown" for call appearance are multiple.

For instance, some companies do not want call recipients to know who is calling quite simply because they want the recipient to answer the call. This tactic is used by collection agencies because they know the recipient will not take a call from a bill collector if they know it is them.

Other times, calls are done by call centers which are contracted by a company, but are truly not the company in question. Thus, they choose not to put "Company A" on the call appearance, but rather leave it blank.

Sometimes, a company's phone system has not been correctly configured or is a VOIP system which is incapable of producing a correct call appearance.

Regardless, companies are wrong not to include their name and number in the call appearance.

For instance, if it's my mortgage company, I want to know their number! How many times have a I dug around for my statement to find the customer service number? With the number, I can add it to my phone's phonebook and can call the company whenever I want.

With "unknown" as the call appearance and lack of phone number, I cannot make that call quickly and which business does not want their customers to call? Goofy.

If you have a business, call yourself sometimes and see what your phone system is sending your customers. You may be surprised.