CardMarketing 2.0

These days, I use Skype to communicate with two or three clients almost exclusively. I do this for two reasons. Firstly, talking through Skype is better quality than my landline. Secondly, there are huge cost savings, as Skype to Skype doesn't cost me a penny (whereas if I was calling New York and Chicago, London or Dublin on a landline every day, it would cost me an arm and a leg).

Recent research from high tech research house, In-Stat, claims that more and more US businesses are doing the same. OK, they're not using VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology as an exclusive channel quite yet —and rightly so — but they are gradually moving in that direction.

Whether or not your company will start using Skype or some other VOIP provider at some point soon I can't say, but what I can say is that VOIP technology is a powerful new channel to communicate with prospective and existing customers through text, audio or video chat services. The fact that businesses are starting to use it more and more is proof that it's here to stay.