Posts Tagged ‘Commodity’

What is the difference in Conference Calling Providers?

Friday, June 24th, 2011

If you are shopping for a conference calling provider it can be pretty maddening on trying to tell the difference in the services.  Some of that is created by the conference calling providers themselves.  When I look at some of the ads that are used to attract new customers and then look into the actual offers it is easy to understand how people can get confused.  Here are some of the things you should look for when shopping for a conference calling provider.

  • Quality and Reliability – It is funny, but when I talk to customers I rarely get asked about the quality of the conference call service.  Maybe conference calling has really become a commodity in customer’s eyes and they simply assume that the service will work no matter which conference calling service provider they choose.  Having been in the teleconferencing industry for over 16 years I have intimate knowledge of what goes into making sure that there is quality and reliability in a conference call service.  And I can tell you that not every service is the same in respect to quality and reliability.  It takes a real commitment on the part of ownership to make sure you do everything to insure the service is available and ready when people need it to be.  At Zip Conferencing we have done everything possible to make sure we are delivering the highest quality and reliability available.  After all, isn’t this the most important aspect of the conference calling service?
  • Toll Free Service- When you look at many of the advertisements of the conference calling service providers out there you will see some pretty low rates and even “free” conference calling services.  The last thing you want is to have your participants paying hidden charges to attend your conference call.  Imagine inviting prospects to your presentation only to have them paying to get there.  It certainly takes something away from your presentation.  Nothing beats the convenience and peace of mind that toll free conference call services can provide.  And at the low rates they are available today why would you want to do anything else?
  • Features- You may not use every conference calling feature that is out there because there are many.  But there is also no reason to try to save money by signing up with a service that has only limited features available.  Zip Conferencing is a conference calling provider that offers low rates with a full featured service.  Many of the features simply make your life easier before and during your conference call and some are essential conference call tools.  Why not have them and a great rate too?
  • Support – Hopefully a conference calling provider service will not require a whole lot of support because it works and is easily understandable.  But if you should need support, especially when you are in the middle of an important conference call, wouldn’t you want it to be there?  Zip Conferencing is a conference calling provider that has support available 24/7 and can even join your conference call for assistance if necessary.  You may never need it but isn’t it nice to know it is there if you do?

Conference calling services are an important communications piece of your business.  Make sure you look closely under the hood before you buy and get a service you will be happy with for years to come.

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A Conference Call Service is a basic business need

Monday, December 21st, 2009

If you were to start a new business today you would put some thought into all the things you will need to outfit your business.  No matter what business you are in there are some basic things you will probably want like a copier, some envelopes, paper, business cards and so forth.  One thing you should definitely consider for outfitting your company is a conference call service.  Zip Conferencing, like many providers of conference call services does not charge you anything to sign up for their service and you are not charged anything unless you use the service.  It is just like putting a stapler in your drawer so you can pull it out when you need it.

A conference call service provides you a high quality, low cost way to communicate effectively with your prospects and employees.  Let’s face it, as a new business you have to be careful of cash flow.  You can’t really afford to fly around the country to meet with prospects and clients.  But you do need to meet with prospects if you want to sell anything, so what do you do?  A conference call service will allow you to meet with parties around the country without leaving your desk.  It is easy to see that you will save a lot of money if some of your meetings are done using a conference call service.  And from the prospective customer’s perspective, people are very used to being on a conference call or a web conference and it is more than acceptable to hold a meeting using a conference call service.  It is now standard business practice to hold a preliminary sale s call using a web conference.  And you can share everything you would share in an in person meeting using a very affordable platform that eliminates the need to travel.  In addition to the cost you will save by reducing the travel expeses you will also get a whole lot extra time to do things other than travel.  And with a new business time is a commodity you simply can’t get enough of.

So, if you are just starting out in business, a conference call service is an essential business tool you should hire for your company.  It is a basic tool that will definitely come in handy and you don’t want to have to find one when you do need it.  Hire one now and then it will be there when you need it.

www.zipconferencing.com

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Are Conference Calls Simply a Commodity?

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

When I first joined the conference call service industry 14 years ago the average cost of a conference call was around $.20 per minute per participant, today it is around $.07 per minute and it is fore casted to decline to around $.05 per minute average by the year 2013.  What has driven this decline and are conference calls simply a commodity that should be judged on price alone?

The decline in the cost of conference calls has been driven over the years by competition in the industry.  The lowering of the telecommunications costs associated with providing the conference calls has allowed conference call service companies to lower their rates in order to capture business from the competition.  Also, the conference call service equipment has evolved over the years and the price of the equipment to provide conference calls has also come down in cost as the technology has gotten better.  Like the long distance call itself, as the costs have declined and competition increased we have seen a constant pressure on conference call service companies to deliver conference calls at an ever decreasing revenue.  Ultimately, as the prices continue to decline some of the service associated with conference call services will suffer unless people recognize that conference calls are not a commodity and are willing to pay a little more for the service part of it.

I have detailed in other blog posts about all that goes on behind the scenes at a conference call service company, so I won’t go into great detail here, but here is a quick summary.  First, you need high quality telecommunications connections from a large carrier that provides redundancy in their network or you risk quality issues and outage possibilities.  You then need to get the best conference call service equipment or you will not get the best results.  Your own network needs to be constructed with fail-over and back up contingencies.  And finally, you need to provide a level of customer service that provides your customers with a good customer experience.  All of these things cost money to the conference call service providers.  I don’t think that customers will be happy with a conference call service that has quality issues or doesn’t answer the phone when they need help or has an outage because the telecommunications carrier they use had a lengthy outage.  So, customers want to pay as little as possible for a conference call but certainly do not want to have an inferior service.

So here we are in the conference call service industry.  Given today’s available telecommunications rates which are not going down any more, the price of the conference call service equipment which is also not declining and the cost of personnel and I think you can see that the cost of the conference call is approaching the point where it cannot go any lower without sacrifice.  And I think if you ask the customers you will find that although they like to save money, a conference call is important enough to their business that the quality, reliability and service really do matter.  Conference calls are not simply a commodity.

www.zipconferencing.com

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Is a Conference Call Service a Commodity?

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

In the past 15 years I have watched the average cost of a conference call service go from over 20 cents per minute to less than 10 cents per minute.  In that time one of the fundamental costs of the conference call service business, the cost of telecommunications, has dropped a lot so conference call service companies have been able to get more aggressive in their pursuit of new business by dropping rates as well.  As prices continue to fall and conference call service companies continue to think up new ways to package pricing to make the rates more attractive I thought it would be good to examine if a conference call service is a commodity.

In the eyes of the consumer on the surface it is difficult to see any difference certainly in a conference call service, especially if you are not too familiar with conference call features and so forth.  But, behind the curtain there are many things that distinguish differences in conference call services.  Some are plain to see, like the type of access the conference call service company offers.  A local access number is less cost to the conference call service company so they can charge less, but you will incur hidden cost by having to call a long distance number to connect to the conference call.  Another obvious difference can be the number of participants allowed on a conference call.  The more participants you can get on a call raises the cost of available equipment to the conference call service company.  And support is another cost that cannot be hidden.  If the conference call service company offers 24/7 support, which you would want, they will need to pass that cost on as well.

Some of the costs that you may not see, but you should look for in a conference call service company are the quality of its network, a redundant network to avoid catastrophic failure and the personal support you need to help you when you need it.  Zip Conferencing has taken all of the possible precautions to make sure that your conference calls are available when you need them and the support you need to make sure you get the most out of the service.  And all of the things that make for a high quality experience with a conference call service company have a cost to them.  So, even though they may all look the same on the outside, conference call service companies are not all the same.  And because of all the differences you can and cannot see, a conference call service is not a commodity.

www.zipconferencing.com

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