Posts Tagged ‘Conference Call Services’

2012 is the Year for Conference Call Services

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a good 2011 and you have an even better 2012.  It looks like the economy could be on its way for better year which means we will all be that much busier.  If you are still on the side lines it is time to use conference call services to help you get the most out of your time in 2012.  Let’s face it, the past couple of years have meant downsizing and ultimately more work for those that still have a job.  And management expects everyone to do more with less.  So if you are looking for ways to save some money and increase productivity for yourself or those around you a quality conference call service is just the ticket for you in 2012.  Although there are many benefits to using conference calls for your business there are none more powerful than saving time and money.

Save Money – Conference call services have enjoyed extraordinary growth over the past 15 years partly due to all the money a conference call saves compared to an in person meeting.  Even if your meeting is fairly local it still costs money to get everyone together.  When you start traveling the cost really adds up.  If you are traveling by car there is the gas, tolls and mileage you are going to incur when you go to the meeting.  And if the meeting is across the country the costs are even greater with airline, rental car, hotels and restaurants all figured into the mix.  And I am sure you have noticed that none of these costs have gone down over the past few years.  But remarkably the costs of conference call services have declined over the past few years to all time lows.  For a combined cost of just a few dollars a group of people can get together and hold a meeting even if the participants are spread across the country.  And if you use a web conference along with the conference call you can have all the same tools at your disposal as if you were in a meeting room.

Save Time – If you are one of the many companies trying to do more with less resources you know how important your productivity is.  Wasting time in traffic or airports and airplanes can really cost you.  If you never had to travel to a customer again as a salesperson how many more customers could you sell?  I am certainly not advocating you never see a customer again but reducing the number of in person meetings increases the time you can spend acquiring new customers or dealing with the ones you already have.  A quality conference call service gives you everything you need to meet with people over great distances and be as productive as possible.

So I am sure when you look back on 2011 like me you will wonder where it went.  Time flies and there really is no time to waste.  So make 2012 the year you embrace conference call services and use our services to your advantage.  You will be glad you did.

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Looking for a Conference Call Bridge? Really?

Monday, December 12th, 2011

I remember when large companies that did a lot of conference calls would naturally think about getting a conference call bridge of their own because they could save a lot of money over time instead of using a service.  This made a lot of sense 15 years ago when the average rate for a conference call service was 50 cents per minute.  Companies that were spending literally millions of dollars a year on a conference call service could buy a conference call bridge for $100,000+ and make up the amount spent in capital dollars rather quickly.  But now that the rates have come down for a conference call service does it still make any sense to look for a conference call bridge?  Here are a few things to think about if you are shopping for a conference call bridge.

  • Cost of the Equipment – The cost of a conference call bridge has also come down just like the rates for conference calls.  But as I point out, the cost of the conference call bridge is just the first cost you will need to pay.  The cost of the equipment varies greatly as well depending on the type of equipment you get and whether you are going to connect it to an IP connection or regular phone circuits.  But even if someone gives you a conference call bridge you may want to think again before you accept it because the cost of the equipment is a one time cost but the other costs will be with you forever.
  • Telecommunications Cost- Once you have a conference call bridge you need to conenct it to the network so people can talk to each other.  No matter what type of connection you have for the equipment you will need to dedicate circuits to the bridge.  The cost of the circuits is a monthly constant and then you need to pay for the usage on the circuits because even with an IP type connection you still have to have telephone numbers come into the circuits and if you want a toll free connection that is another factor.
  • Maintenance Cost – The equipment, like any PC or similar piece of equipment will need to be maintained.  The company that sold you the equipment may discount the equipment itself but they will always get you with the maintenance.  You really can’t let maintenance lapse as you will want support if somethings goes wrong.
  • Personnel Cost – Even an automated type conference call bridge is going to eat up personnel resources in your company.  Someone needs to maintain the equipment, add users, troubleshoot, etc.  So you need to make sure you have someone in your company that is technically savvy enough to deal with all of the elements involved.

As you can see, buying and maintaining your own conference call bridge is not an easy proposition.  It is easy to see why the conference call services industry continues to grow.   You are generally much better concentrating on what you do best and leaving the conference calls to the experts like Zip Conferencing.

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Virtual Holiday Parties with a Conference Call Service

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

It is the time of year for holiday parties but today many businesses have remote employees scattered around the country so why not include all of your employees with a virtual holiday party using a conference call service? For most businesses it is just too costly to bring all of your employees in for a holiday party but there is no reason not to include them in the festivities. Using a conference call service you can connect all of your remote employees into the party and have them still participate and interact with the rest of your employees. Today you can host a virtual party easily using conference call services like audio conferencing and web conferencing. The technology today allows you to share the audio, any presentation materials you may use and even video of the event while it is taking place. And the cost of the event will not break your budget.

Audio Conferencing – The simplest way to connect your remote participants to your virtual holiday party using a conference call service is by using a conference call.  You certainly may not keep a conference call up for the full duration of the party but usually management likes to take a minute in the beginning or end of the vent to thank and recognize employees for the past year’s accomplishments.  So if you establish a conference call for the beginning of the party you can include the remote participants easily in the festivities.  After announcements you can end the conference call portion and continue with the party but at least your remote employees were included at the beginning.

Web Conferencing – With Web Conferencing you can provide a visual aspect to your virtual holiday party.  If you do any employee recognition you can provide a presentation that includes the names and their achievements and a picture of the recipient so all participants can be included.  Most conference call services that provide web conferencing have desktop video included as well.  So if you have a desktop video camera you can have the remote employees see the venue and be seen as well.  If you want to get real elaborate you can have your A/V source provide a large screen to enhance this interaction.  The remote participants can also interact using web conferencing tools so they feel like a part of the party. 

Zip Conferencing is a conference call service provider that has all the tools you need to do virtual meetings for any event including your virtual holiday party.  Speak to a representative today who can assist you in planning your next remote event.

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Web Conferencing Software was all the Rage

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Okay, I am going to date myself a little with this post but what the heck. I spoke to someone the other day and he mentioned how he used to work for MShow and it brought back lots of fond memories. MShow was one of the first web conferencing providers and like the others at the time the way it all worked was with web conferencing software. You see back then, sounds like a long time ago but it was only the late 1990s, the Internet was still in its infancy and everyone didn’t have a broadband connection. Many of the things we now take for granted just did not exist. And in this environment someone had the brilliant idea that it would be great if people could share their computer screens across a network or do presentations and so web conferencing software was invented. And MShow was one of the leaders.

The way web conferencing software worked back then was every computer that you wanted to do a web conference with had to have the software installed prior to the conference call. And at the time downloading software on the Internet was not commonplace either. So you literally had to have the CD ahead of time and install web conferencing software. Once you had the web conferencing software installed you still needed a little help doing a web conference with more than one other computer. The company I worked for at the time actually built one of the first web conferencing bridges we had ever heard about. We rigged up a computer with a network hub attached to it because you literally needed a network connection for each participant. Pretty laughable now but we were able to get 5 computers on a web conference at a time, amazing! MShow ended up being acquired by a large conferencing service provider and Webex came along and the rest as they say is history.

Today, conferencing service providers like Zip Conferencing provide web conferencing services that accomodate over 100 participants and there is not even a need to download any web conferencing software. Zip Conferencing uses Flash which is already installed in everyone’s PC to enable the web conference. Everyone has a broadband connection to the Internet and it is easier than ever to do a web conference where you can share your computer screen, do a presentation and even share video from your desktop. Amazing. Like I said I am going to date myself a little bit but it was only 14 years ago that we were trying to figure out how to get 5 computers on a web conference at the same time. I wonder what the next 14 years will hold.

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An Audio Conference Call Full of Features

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Most people use the basics audio conference call and never access any of the features available.  It could just be that people are busy and learning anything new is more of a chore than they would like to deal with when they are simply trying to do a conference call.  I certainly understand that.  Every time I get a new cell phone it takes until I am ready to turn it in for a new one to learn all of the things you can do with it.  But the audio conference call features that Zip Conferencing offers can make your life easier in the end.  So instead of making you go somewhere to learn the audio conference call features yourself I thought I would list a few here and explain how they work.  All of these features are accessible during the conference call by using commands on your telephone keypad.

  • Volume Control – How many times have you been on a conference call and had a hard time hearing a participant?  Our audio conference call features enable you to increase and decrease the volume of the conference call.  You can also control the volume of your line into the conference call.  That way if you are too loud or soft you can also adjust the volume of your line.
  • Mute Control – As leader of the audio conference call you can mute all participants.  This is especially helpful if you have a large number of participants and you need to make a presentation or announcement.  You can also un-mute all participants to allow them to provide feedback.  Also, you and your participants can mute and un-mute yourselves during the conference call.
  • Dial Out Capability – Did someone forget to dial in to the conference call?  Instead of calling them and reminding them to join the audio conference call you can simply dial out to them and add them to the call.
  • Sub-Conferences – Many times during the conference call you may want to have a side conversation with one or more participants.  You can quickly and easily establish a sub-conference and have a private conversation with one or more participants and then rejoin the conference call.  
  • Conference Call Recording – If you would like to retain a copy of your conference call or have a participant who missed the call be able to dial in later to listen to it you can easily record the call.  You can start and stop the recording during the conference call as well.

You may not use the audio conference call features all the time but it is good to know they are there if you need them.

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Audio Conference Calling Services are Not all the Same

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

If you have been shopping for an audio conference calling service you may think that the only difference is price.  But there are actually some big differences between audio conference calling service companies.  And if you are not careful you may not get what you thought you were getting.  Here are some of the things you should think about when you are looking for audio conference calling services.

  • Quality – The most important aspect of a audio conference calling service is the quality.  What good is a cheap conference call service if you have static on the line or can’t even get your parties on the call?  The best conference call service companies have direct connections to the telecommunications network and use the latest in conference call equipment.  It is difficult, however, to know what companies do this.  Thankfully, there is one way to tell if the call quality is good.  Do a test call.  Any conference call company out there should be willing to give a trial to see if the quality is good before you hire them.  Zip Conferencing uses direct digital connections and the latest equipment and also offers a free trial of its service to prove the quality of the conference calls.
  • Reliability- Some of the reliability of an audio conference calling service is the telecommunications connection and quality of the equipment used.  But one major area that matters is power availability.  Without back up power the network and equipment will not work.  So a conference call service company should have adequate back up power systems that can run indefinitely to support their systems.  Another thing that can be done is having back up conference call equipment available in case of a failure.  Many companies do not take this step because it is costly to have back up systems sitting around.  Zip Conferencing has taken every step possible including back up systems on standby to insure our audio conference calling services are available.
  • Features – If you look closely you will see that the features offered by conference call companies are not the same.  If you hire a full feature service you will never miss some of the features that enhance your conference call experience.  Zip Conferencing is a full feature provider that also offers some capabilities like customizable conference calls that other companies do not offer.
  • Support- Another area that some conference call companies will shortcut is in the area of support.  Some companies only offer support during certain times of the day or by email only.  Zip Conferencing offers support 24/7/365 and will even provide support on your conference call if you like to assist with features or issues.

So look closely and you will see  that all audio conference calling services are not the same.

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Discounted Conference Calling Services can be Reliable

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

If you are looking at getting a conference call service provider for your business and you have looked at some of the long distance carriers and other providers that still charge 10 cents or more a minute you may be a little skeptical of discounted conference calling services.  But just because the service is less expensive does not necessarily mean that the service is of a lower quality or less reliable.  You do still need to be careful as some of the conference call providers have not taken the same steps to ensure quality and reliability like Zip Conferencing has done.  Here are some of the areas that any discounted conference calling services company needs to pay attention to in order to maintain high quality and reliability.

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    • Back Up Power - All of the equipment for conference calling services should be connected to to battery and generator back up power. This makes sure that no matter what power outages are experienced at their place of business your conference calls will not be impacted.  Zip Conferencing uses back up power systems on all of its equipment and can maintain power to these systems for an indefinite amount of time. 
    • Back Up Systems – A key component for conference calling services is the conference call bridge. This is the equipment that creates the conference calls from independent callers into the system.  It is an expensive proposition to maintain back up equipment so many discounted conference calling services companies do not take this step.  But if something happens to this equipment your conference call will be affected.  Zip Conferencing has designed their conference calling services with back up conference call bridges so that if there is ever an issue the traffic can be redirected to the back up system.
    • Telecommunications Redundancy – What happens if the long distance carrier used by the discounted conference calling services company has an outage?  If they do not have another carrier as back up you will not be able to get to your conference call.  Zip Conferencing uses multiple telecommunications carriers that insures that if one of the carriers experiences a disastrous outage they can still perform your conference call. 
    • Support – One of the areas that discounted conference calling services will differ is with support.  You may not need support very often but when you do you need it to be there for you.  Zip Conferencing offers conference calling services with an award winning support team. Our operators are monitoring our conference calling services 24/7 and can even join on your conference call if you need assistance.  No mater what time of day you can access support and get the help you need.

So, discounted conference calling services can be reliable but you need to investigate and make sure that discounted doesn’t mean your conference call quality or reliability will suffer.

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With a Conference Call Provider Service makes all the Difference

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Conference call services all look very similar to one another these days.  They all provide a dial in number and a pass code and allow you to access the service without a reservation.  So how do you distinguish between different providers?  You will find, maybe the hard way, that with a Conference Call Provider Service makes all the difference.  With a conference call provider service means the quality and reliability of the conference call itself as well as the kind of support they offer their customers.  Here are some of the areas where conference call provider services are different.

  • Conference Call Quality – The quality of the conference call provider service is determined by a number of factors.  First the connection to the worldwide telephone network should be as direct as possible.  Where the conference call provider is located helps determine the kind of connection they can get to these networks.  And the telecommunication providers they utilize will also determine the quality of the conference call.  With Zip Conferencing we use only top tier telecommunications providers and use direct digital connections to their networks to ensure the highest quality connections possible.  The second factor is the type of conference call equipment being used by the conference call provider service.  If the equipment is older or of inferior quality it will impact the quality of the conference call.  Zip Conferencing uses the latest conference call equipment to help ensure the highest quality of the conference calls.  
  • Conference Call Reliability – The reliability of the conference call provider service is determined by the steps the provider has taken to provide back ups to its conference call network.  Has the provider gone to the expense necessary to back up all of their systems in the case of an outage or emergency?  Zip Conferencing has battery and generator power back ups on all of its systems to ensure consistent power availability.  We have also installed back up conference call equipment that can be immediately deployed in the case of an outage.  We also use more than one telecommunications provider so that our services will remain available even in the event that the telecommunications provider has an outage.  These steps add up to our ability to have our conference call systems available over 99.9% of the time.
  • Conference Call Support- If you need support from your conference call provider will they be able to deliver?  Zip Conferencing has support available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  We even provide support while you are on your conference call by pressing *0 on your telephone while in the call.  Conference call support is not something you may need all the time but when you need it you will want it to be available.

So if you are looking for a conference call provider service is what makes all the difference.

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Flexible Audio Conference Calling Services are Better

Friday, October 21st, 2011

There is a reason that everyone doesn’t drive the same car and audio conference calling services are no different.  Different people like different options, colors and equipment no matter what you are talking about.  So why do so many people put up with the same audio conference calling service options?  Even in the same company why would the President of the company want to have the same options for their audio conference calling services as everyone else in the company?  With Zip Conferencing we allow you to customize the options within your audio conference calling so it is just the way you like it.  Here are some of the audio conference calling options that you can control with Zip Conferencing.

  • Entry and Exit Tones – One of the main things people like to alter with our audio conference calling services are the entry and exit tones in the conference call.  With most conference call service providers you either get entry and exit tones, which are the tones that sound when participants enter and exit the conference call, or you do not.  With Zip Conferencing you decide if you want a tone to sound when a participant joins the conference call or when they exit.  You can also have their name announced when they enter the conference call.
  • Music on Hold – With our audio conference calling services you can allow participants to speak to each other before the Moderator or Host of the conference call joins or you can make it so the participants listen to music on hold until the Host joins the call. 
  • PIN number entry – For additional security with our audio conference calling services you can require participants to enter a PIN, Personal Identification Number, when they join the conference call.  This will also identify for you who has joined the call.
  • Record Name/Roll Call – As Host of the conference call you can require participants to record their name when they join the conference call.  As Host of the call you can then listen to a roll call of participants when you join the call or have their names announced when they enter and exit the conference call. 
  • End conference when Moderator exits – As a Host of our audio conference calling services you are also in control of when the conference call ends.  You can let the participants keep talking, enter a command on your phone to end the call or set the call up ahead of time to end when you exit the call.
  • Post Conference Report – As host of the conference call you can also get a post conference report that shows the detail of the call via email.  On the report you will see the participants, the number they dialed in from and the duration they were on the call as well as the total duration of the conference call.

In addition to the options listed here, as a Host, you also have commands you can access while on a conference call.  You can mute lines, control volume and even record the conference call by using touch tone commands on your telephone.  So why settle for whatever the conference call provider wants to give you when flexible conference calling services are so much better.

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Fewer Conference Call Interruptions

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Anyone who has been on a conference call has experienced interruptions during the call.  I am going to provide some recommendations to keeping these interruptions to a minimum so you can have the most productive meeting possible.  Here are some of the ways that conference calls suffer interruptions and the ways to avoid those interruptions.

  • Sounds when people enter/exit the call – There is a feature used by most conference call service providers that has a tone play when a participant enters or exits the conference call.  Some people like this feature because they are able to know when a new person has joined a conference call.  But if you are less concerned about keeping track of people joining then you are about the noise this introduces into the call with Zip Conferencing you can turn these tones off.  In fact with our customizable conference options you can have a tone play only when participants enter the call or when they exit the call or none at all.  You can even have their name play instead of just a tone.
  • Background noise from participants- Many times people will multi-task when they are on a conference call.  The sound of typing is a very common noise heard on conference calls as participants do work while they listen to a call.  And today many people work from home and introduce all the sounds of their home into the conference call as well.  Kids, dogs and doorbells are all noises you are likely to hear on a conference call.   And then there is the cell phone which can make it easy to participate in a conference call from anywhere but introduce the noises from anywhere onto the call.  The best way to combat  all of the exterior noises is to make sure all of the participants use the mute feature whenever they are not speaking.  With Zip Conferencing it is a simple *6 command on your telephone to mute and unmute yourself.  So as the Host simply make people aware at the start of the call to use mute whenever they are not adding anything to the discussion and you will save yourself a lot of noise interruptions.
  • Unidentified speakers- You may find yourself on a call with a number of people you are not completely familiar with so when someone speaks you may not recognize their voice.  It is good conference call etiquette to introduce yourself when you are speaking.  A simple introduction will avoid any mistaken identity issues and keep everyone on the same page.  With Zip Conferencing you can also log into the conference call using your PC and see who is speaking by observing the talk icon on the screen.
  • Participants joining late – As a host it is important to start conference calls on time so people get used to the fact that your meetings will start on time.  As a further enforcement you can lock the conference call after you start your call so that no one else can join.  The *94 command will lock the call and not allow additional participants.  This may be a bit harsh but people will remember to join on time the next time.

Zip Conferencing has a number of tools to assist you with keeping the noise on a conference call to a dull roar.

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Enjoy Summer While You Can

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

I was on a conference call the other day and the first topic of conversation was the fact that it is the middle of August and where did the summer go. It is hard to believe it is the last two weeks of unofficial summer! Amazing. I can still vividly remember being stuck in last winter and all the bad weather and long periods of cold. I could not wait until the spring and so looked forward to the summer. And don’t get me wrong I have really enjoyed this summer. I think we have had pretty good weather here in New Jersey and I have no complaints. But where does the time go?

The conference calls have kept going as people try to maintain their businesses during the summer but I can already sense the conference call traffic growing in anticipation of people gearing up for after labor day. Kids get back to school and people get back to business. The fall is a time to catch up from the vacations and gear up for the end of the year. I have mentioned before that conference calls are a good economic indicator and I think the economy is definitely doing better. I have seen existing customers doing more conference calls and many new customers signing up and getting positioned to move forward in this economy. Certainly nothing like it was in the fall of 2008 when there was a lot of contraction in the economy.

Anyway, the title of this blog was Enjoy Summer While you Can and that is what I would like to end this with. There are basically two weeks left to summer before we have to really get back to business. And before you know it we are in the throes of the holidays and the year is over. So sit back and enjoy these last two weeks. I hope you have nice weather where you are located and get a chance to enjoy it. Life is short and you need to take advantage of every chance you get to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.

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Conference Call Quality

Monday, July 18th, 2011

What are the factors that make up conference call quality?  After all, isn’t the ability to interact with the other participants like they are in the same room the most important factor in any conference call service?  At Zip Conferencing the quality and reliability of the conference call is the top priority.  Here are some of the steps we have taken to insure you have a quality conference call.

  • Network Quality – The most important factor in determining the quality of a conference call is the network it is connected through.  Just like any other long distance call if you have a bad connection it doesn’t matter how good the equipment is on the end of the call.  To insure our conference call quality is the best we have direct digital connections to our long distance provider’s networks.  Eliminating other switches eliminates additional trouble areas and pieces of equipment that can introduce noise as well.  We also only use top tier long distance providers for our conference call services.  We may be able to save a little money by using a smaller provider but since their networks are not as large as a top tier provider it introduces other networks to the equation further introduces trouble points.  We also use multiple carriers so that our network has a back up in place in the event of a major outage with one of the carriers.
  • New Equipment – Since our conference call company is fairly new, we have put the latest equipment in place to process the conference calls.  The newer equipment delivers a higher quality conference call and also is less prone to outages itself.  In addition, our conference call equipment has the latest features incorporated into it.  We also employ back ups of our conference call equipment so that we have full back ups in the case of an outage with the equipment.
  • Back Up Systems – Now that we have built out a network that delivers high quality conference calls we have also installed measures to insure the reliability of the network.  We have battery and generator back up systems in place to make sure that our network has power in the event of an outage.  As mentioned, we have back up long distance provider connections in the event of a major outage at the network level.  And we have back up equipment in the vent of an equipment outage.

When you do a conference call you just assume it will work, but as you can see, it is up to the conference call service provider to make sure there is conference call quality.

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An Audio Conference is Easy and Affordable

Monday, July 11th, 2011

I still get people who ask me about the basics of an audio conference so I thought I would spend today describing just how easy and affordable a conference call can be. 

  • Ease of Use- An audio conference was not always as easy to use as they are today.  It used to be that you had to get the names and numbers of the people you wanted on an audio conference to an operator who would schedule the conference call and when the time came call out to all the parties.  There was work up front for the moderator to assemble this information and then call a conference call service and relay that information to them so the audio conference could begin.  And then for the participants on the conference call you had to be at the phone number you supplied at the time of the call or you were not going to get on the audio conference.  Of course this was before cell phones were real prevalent and most people had to stay at their desks a little more than today anyway but still I can tell you that many calls were missing participants because people just were not always where they were supposed to be when the audio conference began.  As a conference call service provider we spent a lot of time chasing people down or putting them into the correct conference calls when they called back into our service center.  Now it is much easier for everyone.  Zip Conferencing provides you with a toll free dial in number that never changes and pass codes for you and your participants that never change.  There is no need to schedule your audio conference now.  You simply tell your participants when you want to meet and supply them with the toll free dial in number and pass code.  At the time of the conference call you and your participants simply dial the access number and put in the pass code and you are joined in the conference call.
  • Affordable- Over time just as the audio conference has gotten a lot easier to use it has also become more affordable.  The average rate per minute of a toll free conference call in 1995 was $.50 per minute.  Today Zip Conferencing has toll free conference call rates as low as $.024 per minute.  The combination of ease of use and price has resulted in explosive growth for conference calls.  You can meet with a large group of people for a small amount of money and it cost nothing for your participants to join. 

An audio conference is the easiest and most affordable way to meet with a group of people.

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Why doesn’t Zip Conferencing offer a Free Conference Call Service?

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

When I started Zip Conferencing I formed the company around a strong foundation of offering a high quality, reliable conference call service with outstanding customer service.  And the idea of offering a free conference call service just did not match up well with these principals.  So why doesn’t Zip Conferencing offer a free conference call service?

  • Quality – The first thing to suffer when a company offers a free conference call service is the quality of the conference call.  In order to be able to provide a free conference call service the conference call service provider needs to keep their costs way down.  That is because they only earn money from the local phone company where their equipment is and the rate they earn is very small.  That is because the conference call service provider makes money on a free conference call by getting paid to terminate long distance calls on the local provider’s network.  And you and all of your participants are required to dial long distance to get to the conference call bridge.  The local phone company is paid by the long distance carriers to terminate calls and they in turn pay the free conference call service company.  So, typically the conference call equipment is not the best available and many times it is VOIP based and believe me you will hear the difference.  Zip Conferencing uses the latest conference call service equipment directly connected to the long distance carrier networks to insure the highest quality conference calls possible.
  • Reliability- Quality and reliability go hand and hand and if you are not using the best equipment you tend to have more issues than if your equipment is top of the line.  In addition, to keep costs down the free conference call service companies usually do not have as extensive a back up network in place in case there is an issue.  It cost money to have back up equipment on standby and to have back up generators and other systems in place to insure the conference call service is in place when you need it.  Zip Conferencing has back up systems and power in place for the highest standard in reliability.
  • Cost- Lastly is the cost.  But it is Free right?  Actually no.  A free conference call service makes you call a long distance number to connect to it.  So you and all of your participants are going to pay a long distance charge to connect to the conference call.  Do you really want your participants to have to pay to get on your conference call?  This hidden cost is the main reason to avoid using a free conference call service.  With rates for toll free conference calls as low as Zip Conferencing’s why make your participants pay?

So why should Zip Conferencing offer a free confernece call service when it can provide the highest quality, most reliable conference calls at rates that beat even the free conference call service providers?

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Is an Online Conference Call a Good Thing?

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

The telephone conference call has been around for a long time, but now with the advent of the Internet and phone calls over the Internet what about the online conference call? There are services that promise to be able to give you cheap or even free conference call services online.  So, is an online conference call a good thing?  Here are some of the things you should consider if you are thinking about trying an online conference call.

  • Quality- The first thing you need to consider when thinking about an online conference call is the quality.  It used to be you would n0t even consider doing a phone call over the Internet let alone a conference call.  But the Internet network improved and then people started to get high speed access and the option started to make some sense to people.  VOIP (Voice Over IP) technology has come a long way but it is still not of the same quality as a regular telephone call.  There are traffic issues with the Internet and the connections to it that cause irregularities that you do not notice when surfing the Internet but will surely notice when you try to make a phone call over it.  And with an online conference call you don’t have just one call going on but you will have any number of participants on an online conference call and that uses even more bandwidth.
  • Reliability- Reliability of an online conference call is much the same as the quality in its issues.  Everyone has experienced hits on their Internet connection that cause loss of data and even outages altogether on their Internet connection.  It is bothersome if you are on your PC when this happens but if you are on an online conference call when this happens it can be disastrous.
  • Accessibility – Probably the biggest argument against an online conference call is the issue of accessibility.  When you do an online conference call all of the participants need to have access to a PC and an Internet connection.  This defeats the whole concept and convenience of a conference call.  With a regular conference call you can join the conference call from anywhere you have a telephone.  And with mobile phones that is virtually anywhere.  And even if everyone is sitting at their desk to attend your online conference call not everyone has the equipment on their PC to be able to participate because you also need a microphone or a headset.

    • I do believe that someday the network will be ubiquitous and we will be communicating through our PC or similar device but for now the best place for a conference call is on the plain old telephone network.

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    Summertime Conference Calls

    Friday, June 17th, 2011

    Here it comes!  Summertime.  And we all look forward to spending time doing the things we love and spending time away from the office.  So why would I want to talk about conference calls in the summertime?  Well, when you thin about it getting on a conference call to stay in touch with things is sometimes a much better option than having to go into the office to meet with people.  In fact, summertime conference calls can really save your summer vacation.  How can a conference call be a good thing?

    • Conference Calls can be attended from Anywhere- I have taken a conference call in some mighty strange places.  But that is because I have not let the need to attend a conference call get in the way of a vacation day.  But I will never complan if I have to leave my chair at the beach for a few minutes to go to the air conditioned car where it is not windy so I can get on a conference call.  The alternative is I can’t go to the beach at all because I have to go to the office for a meeting.  So take your conference call wherever you need to as they don’t care if you are at the beach, boat, camp or wherever.  If your phone works so will your conference call. 
    • A Conference Call can happen Anytime – I have also been on a conference call at all times of the day.  With people all around the world being able to join a conference call with Zip Conferencing I have been on calls all hours of the day.  But wherever I am when the call happens I simply need to get on the telephone and can do that from the comfort of my home and go back to bed if necessary.
    • A Web Conference is Just like being There- If you add a web conference to your conference call you can colloborate with others just like you are in the room with them.  So if you really need to get some work done all you need is a PC and in internet connection and you can literally do whatever you need to do from a meeting standpoint from anywhere in the world.

    So don’t think of a conference call as an interruption on your vacation but as simply a way you can do what needs to be done for work without the need to disrupt your summer.  Enjoy the summer!

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    Conference Call Services keep getting Easier

    Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

    I have been in the conference call service industry long enough to see most of the innovations introduced over the years.  Every time a new feature is introduced I wonder how much easier you can possibly make a conference call.  Ever since the invention of the reservationless conference call it has become pretty easy to hold a conference call.  Yet the conference call services industry continues to improve and make holding a conference call easier and easier.  The latest innovation, the integration of the invitation process with Microsoft Outlook is no exception.  Zip Conferencing now offers the ability to integrate its conference call service into your Outlook with an Outlook Toolbar that can get your conference call going in just a click of the mouse.

    The Microsft Outlook Meeting Toolbar from Zip Conferencing has a number of features that make assembling a conference call even easier.

    • Outlook Toolbar retains your conference call service information – Once you load the toolbar you never have to try to remember your conference call information again.
    • One click to start a meeting - The start a Meeting button means just that, one click and your audio or web and audio meeting begins.
    • Connect Me Service – Dial into the meeting as you always have or you can have the Zip Conferencing system dial out to your phone to connect you to the meeting.
    • PC Controls – Controls on your PC allow you to control the meeting including volume, muting and recording of the conference call.
    • Web Conferencing – From within an audio meeting you can easily switch to a web meeting or start a web meeting as easily as an audio meeting.
    • Invite Participants – Since the Toolbar is integrated with your Outlook you can easily invite participants using Outlooks’ scheduling tool.  That way you can easily send invitations to participants who are in your Outlook contact list.  You can do this for a meeting you want to start right now or one you want to schedule for later.
    • Online Account Access – The Toolbar also provides easy access to your online account where you can add Moderators, conference calls and control other options of your conference call service.

    Zip Conferencing continues to make improvements to its conference call service that truly make it easier to do conference calls than ever before.

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    Prepare for Disasters with Audio Conferencing Services

    Thursday, March 17th, 2011

    First of all, all of us at Zip Conferencing want to convey to all of our friends in Japan our sympathies over the recent disaster in your country and our thoughts and prayers are with you. It has made all of us think again about how prepared or in many cases unprepared for a similar disaster we are here in the United States. The key to surviving any disaster is preparedness and having audio conferencing services in your disaster kit will help you communicate quickly and effectively. And the fact is that many of us may never experience a disaster on the scale that the Japanese people are going through right now. But having audio conferencing services for even a small disaster will really help you in any situation.

    • Earthquakes – Audio Conferencing Services come in handy in the case of a large natural disaster like an earthquake because you can quickly assemble a team of people and communicate the same message all at once.  If you have a location in the disaster zone and you have prearranged audio conferencing services people would know to call in and you can quickly assess the situation.  Instructions can be given to multiple people at once and discussions can be made on the best course of action.
    • Flooding – Flooding can occur at any time in many places in the country and audio conferencing services allow people to communicate that are unable to get to your office for instance.  Here in New Jersey the recent flooding prevented a customer from getting to their office building.  Audio conferencing services allowed the company to communicate an effective approach to the situation and keep their business going.
    • Storm Damage – Whether it is a large snow storm or wind damage that affects power or worse yet a tornado having audio conferencing services will allow you to meet with a group of people even if your building is without power or you are somehow unable to get to that location.
    • Technical Outages – Even without external damage from weather or other natural disasters having audio conferencing services and a plan to meet with a team ahead of time can shorten a major technical issue affecting your business.  Your technical staff may be scattered across the country or around the globe and audio conferencing services will allow you to meet at a moments notice from anywhere to resolve the issue.

    A conference call is convenient because you can meet from any phone anywhere in the world.  Audio conferencing services are also inexpensive in that you do not need an equipment or even pay for anything.  You can simply have an account with Zip Conferencing and use the service whenever you need it.  No need to schedule ahead of time or pay for a service you are not using.  Setting up an account for audio conferencing services is free and you will not be charged for our Pay As You Go service unless you use it.  So get set up with audio conferencing services now just in case you ever need it.

    • Family Emergencies

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    Should you buy a Teleconferencing Bridge?

    Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

    As companies start to use a lot of conference call services the question will often come up as to whether they should buy a teleconferencing bridge.  And like many services that you can bring in house a large part of the argument is born from economics.  If you are spending thousands of dollars a month on a conference call service provider doesn’t it make sense to buy a teleconferencing bridge and you will save money?  Well, this argument used to hold a lot more weight when conference call services cost 50 cents per minute and you could buy the long distance connection for 5 cents or less.  But these days it is hard to build a compelling argument for a company to buy a teleconferencing bridge.  Here are some of the reasons you may want to stay with a teleconferencing services provider.

    • Capital Cost of the Teleconferencing Bridge – The first expense you will have to incur with a teleconferencing bridge is the expense of the equipment itself.  Today there are some low cost teleconferencing bridges available in the market but given the importance of the conference calls you probably won’t risk your business on a low priced teleconferencing bridge.  A high end teleconferencing bridge like the ones used by Zip Conferencing can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
    • Telecommunications Cost to connect to the Teleconferencing Bridge – The next thing you will need to do is connect the teleconferencing bridge to a telephone network so you can dial into it and conduct your conference calls.  You will need to spend a monthly fee to have a connection that can handle hundreds or thousands of callers whether you use it or not.  Depending on the type of connection it can cost thousands of dollars a month.  In addition, you will also pay the per minute charge for participants to connect to your teleconferencing bridge toll free or they will pay a long distance charge to connect to conference calls.  Zip Conferencing uses only the highest quality digital connections tied directly to the telecommunications network.
    • Maintenance Cost of the Teleconferencing Bridge – In order to keep your teleconferencing bridge up to date and within a warranty you will need to spend money on maintenence for the teleconferencing bridge and its software.  You also may want to have a back up teleconferencing bridge or at least components in case something happens to the equipment.  Zip Conferencing has hot stand by backup teleconferencing bridges and maintains all of its equipment regularly.
    • Personnel Cost to Manage your Teleconferencing Bridge - No matter how automated the teleconferencing bridge is you will still need someone in your company to be the administrator.  This person will need to access the teleconferencing bridge to configure the system and manage settings within the teleconferencing bridge regularly.

    As you can see, it is difficult these days to make the argument that a teleconferencing bridge will actually save you money.  With a company like Zip Conferencing available that provides full featured conference call services for as little as 2.4 cents per minute for toll free access why would you want to take on the headache of managing a teleconferencing bridge.  Like most service provider arguments it is probably best to concentrate on what you do for a living and let the experts worry about the rest.

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    Aren’t all Conference Call Providers the Same?

    Thursday, December 16th, 2010

    As prices have fallen for conference call services over the past 15 years, conference call providers offering a discount price were able to grab market share from price alone. Now that the prices for conference call services have reached the bottom there is a renewed need to look closer at conference call providers. Because conference call providers are not all the same. If you should line up 10 conference call providers and actually look at what is going on behind the scenes you will find some pretty big differences in the services they offer, the quality and reliability of those services and the level of support you can expect. Here are some of the things you should be looking at in conference call providers after you look at the price and before you decide.

    • Services – Not all conference call providers offer the same set of services.  Make sure that the conference call providers you are looking at have the services you are used to and also services you may need in the future.  You don’t want to select a conference call provider and then have to switch later down the road.  Capacity is an important area to consider.  Zip Conferencing enables you to have up to 300 participants on a conference call at one time.  Many conference call providers limit the number of attendees.  Do they offer web conferencing?  You may not use web conferencing today but more than likely you will want to use this services in the future.
    • Features – Did you know that not all conference call providers offer the same set of features?  Many discount conference call providers use inferior equipment that has a limited set of features.  You may not want to record your conference call every time you use the service but you may want to use this valuable feature at some point so you should make sure they offer it.  Zip Conferencing is a full feature provider and even provides you the ability to customize the features on your conference call through your online account interface.
    • Quality – Many discount conference call providers cut corners on the equipment and network they place the conference call equipment on to save money.  Zip Conferencing has used the latest equipment available and connected it directly to major telecommunications providers to ensure a high quality connection for our customers every time.
    • Reliability – Conference call providers will also cut corners on their back up systems in order to save money.  Zip Conferencing has back up conference call equipment connected to its network in order to provide seamless service in the event of an equipment failure.  In addition, we have generator and battery back ups for power insurance and redundant network connections to multiple providers for consistent network connectivity.
    • Support – Not all conference call providers have a full service and support process in place.  You will find limited support and in many cases no help from within your conference call.  Zip Conferencing has 24/7 service and will even join you on your conference call if you need assistance.  Whenever you reach out for assistance you will find us ready and eager to help with your conference call needs.

    So no, all conference call providers are not the same.  If you look closely you can see the differences and you will see Zip Conferencing looking better than ever.

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    Low Cost Conference Calls Provide Powerful Business Tool to All

    Thursday, December 9th, 2010

    It wasn’t too long ago that I was with a conference call services provider and we were offering low cost conference calls for 50 cents per minute. And at that rate we were saving customers of AT&T over 40%! Well, even at that rate conference calls were easily justified to large businesses because of the savings they recognized in travel and the increased productivity. But now, with toll free conference calls priced less than 10 cents per minute, this powerful business tool is available to businesses of all sizes.

    There was a time when the majority of my customers had over 50 employees. But low cost conference calls has really changed that dynamic. Now there is a much wider mix of companies utlizing low cost conference calls. I have many 1 – 3 employee companies who have realized that conference calls can help them be more productive and provide a very important communication link to their customers. Small home construction companies are using conference calls to keep their customers up to speed on their home building developments and coordinating with building supply vendors to make selections for their home. Small Accounting firms and CPAs are using low cost conference calls to keep their customers informed and to have meetings with investment firms and attorneys with their customers. Small law firms are using low cost conference calls to hold conference calls with opposing council and their customers.

    And not only have low cost conference calls now opened up the advantages of conference calling to businesses of all sizes but the service itself is richer than ever. Zip Conferencing allows its customers to customize their conference calls in such a way that they have full control over all of the facets of the conference call. With Zip Conferencing you can decide whether participants are announced into the conference call with a tone, their name or not at all. Customers can have their participants listen to music or provide them the ability to speak without the moderator present and engage a number of security measures to insure their privacy on the conference calls. And much more. So now companies of all sizes have the same high quality, feature rich conference call services available to them as large companies. And with small companies the ability to save money on travel and be more productive are no less important than to large companies.

    Low cost conference calls have truly leveled the playing field for companies of all sizes in many ways.

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    Conference Call Pricing Made Easy

    Monday, November 8th, 2010

    For something like conference calls you would not think that you could have so many way to price the service. Conference call pricing does not need to be so mysterious. There are just a few things to keep in mind when shopping for conference calls so you can be sure you are looking at an apples to apples comparison of conference call pricing.

    • Toll vs. Toll Free – The first thing to verify is whether the conference call pricing you are looking at is for toll or toll free access.  Toll access means that you and your participants have to dial a local number somewhere in the country to connect to the conference call.  You and your participants will be charged by your long distance phone company for calling that number the entire time you are on the conference call.  Depending on what kind of rate plan you may have this can be substantially more than getting a toll free plan.  These hidden charges can be costly and embarrassing.  Do you want your customer to get a bill to join your conference call?  All of the rates quoted for Zip Conferencing are for toll free access.  No hidden charges.
    • Number of Participants – One of the ways that some conference call service companies reduce their conference call pricing is by reducing the number of participants that can join a conference call at any one time.  And you may not need 300 participants at a time like Zip Conferencing offers.  But the reason that other companies limit the number of participants is that they have limited capacity and they are trying to get by with less equipment.  The real problem here is whether any capacity will be available when you need it.  Zip Conferencing maintains an abundance of capacity and is constantly adding to insure the capacity will be there when you need it.
    • Billing – Companies that offer discounts in conference call pricing will limit the choices you have for invoicing as well.  Many of these providers will require you to sign a long term contract or buy a prepaid amount of minutes.  Most will not offer corporate billing where you can pay by company check.  Zip Conferencing has no contracts and also has a pay by company check option for corporate accounts.
    • Features – One if the biggest places where conference call service providers will cut corners is with features.  Conference call pricing with these companies is low but you can’t record the conference call or access many of the features you may be used to.  With Zip Conferencing you can customize your conference call and access a myriad of features just like premium priced conference call services.
    • Customer Service – And of course, if you need customer service with many of the companies with low conference call pricing, you may be out of luck.  With Zip Conferencing we offer customer service 24/7 including operator assistance during the conference call itself.

    So if you are looking for good honest conference call pricing made easy try Zip Conferencing.  You will not be disappointed in the quality, reliability or service you receive.

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    Why a Regular Telephone Conference Call still makes Sense

    Friday, October 22nd, 2010

    When I tell people what I do for a living I am still amazed that people don’t know that companies like Zip Conferencing exist. Most people do a telephone conference call on a regular basis or have certainly been on one recently but don’t know where they come from. I guess many of these people are in a company where the buying decision for conference call services is made by someone else and they just know how easy it is to get on a telephone conference call. And that is why a regular telephone conference call still makes the most sense.

    Let’s face it, technology has come a long way in the past 15 years since I started my career in teleconferencing so why is the regular telephone conference call still growing in use? Well, in the past 15 years I have heard the prediction of the demise of the telephone conference call with the invention of every new group communication technology that has come along. But there are several reasons why the regular telephone conference call is still the easiest, most convenient and least expensive way for a group of people to get together.

    • Universal Connectivity- A telephone conference call uses a device that everyone is familiar with, the telephone.  You don’t have to teach people how to use a telephone and these days most people know how to connect to a conference call as well.  And with a telephone conference call all you need is a telephone.  And any telephone will do.  When I started in 1995 we still had to help people who had rotary phones onto conference calls that require you to enter a pass code but that is no longer the case.  And cell phones were not as reliable as they are today and would cause issues on conference calls as well.  But today any telephone can connect to a conference call with ease.
    • Easy to Use- With the invention of reservationless pass code entry telephone conference calls the usage in conference calls skyrocketed.  That’s because the industry made the service easy to use.  And over the years it has exposed just about everyone to a universal method of joining a telephone conference call.  Everyone pretty much knows that you have to dial an access number and then put in a pass code to connect to a conference call.  There is no need to get participants to learn a new technology or download something onto their computers.
    • Convenient- Today you can access a telephone conference call from anywhere in the world from any telephone.  You don’t have to worry if you can get an Internet connection or anything.  All you need to do is make a telephone call and you can connect to a telephone conference call.  So, you can be travelling, at home or in the office and connect to the conference call.  So it is convenient to the host and participants alike.

    So, despite all of the predictions about its early death, telephone conference calls still make the most sense if you want to hold a group meeting with people in disparate locations.  And until they replace the telephone it will continue to be the group meeting method of choice.

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    Conference Calls and Vacation

    Friday, August 27th, 2010

    Okay, I know its summertime and the last thing you want to do on vacation is work.  And conference calls are usually about work in some way or another.  So why would someone want to do a conference call while on vacation?  Well some people have a hard time relaxing on vacation because their mind is on their work the whole time.  Maybe you own your own business or you are in charge of a group or a large project that just happens to be in a critical phase while you are on vacation.  You certainly don’t want to cancel your vacation or go into the office do you?  A conference call is a way to stay in touch remotely and take a minimum amount of time out of your day.  

    Conference calls are easy to do and can be done from anywhere.  These days it is hard to find a spot where your cell phone doesn’t work.  To attend that critical meeting remotely you simply need to dial a toll free number and put in your pass code when prompted and you are on the conference call.  I had a friend visiting us and needed to stay close to the implementation of a large customer he was responsible for in his business.  Just being on vacation was not relaxing to him because this customer was very important to him.  Once I explained how easy it was to set up a conference call, however, he was able to relax knowing he could still attend the meeting without missing out on too much fun.  He did have to go to his car in the parking lot at the beach to dial into the conference call so he could participate in the conference call without any interruptinion, but it was much better than the alternative.  He only missed about 45 minutes on the beach with his family and was able to truly relax once he was able to participate in the meeting.  Without conference calls he would have been uncomfortable all vacation or had to stay home to attend the meeting.

    So, I know conference calls are an extension of work and work on vacation is something we all try to avoid.  But isn’t it better than having to attend the meeting in person?  And in a lot of cases it is worth attending that meeting remotely while on vacation so that you can relax.  So, relax.  Go on vacation.  And if you really need to, do a conference call.

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    Conference Calls for Earth Day

    Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

    Earth Day reminds us to do whatever we can to help save our environment because its resources are limited and fragile.  And one of the things we now understand is reducing our “carbon footprint”.  This means to reduce our emissions and use of resources and one of the easiest ways to do this is to reduce our travel whether it is by car, train or plane.  There is no easier way to reduce your business travel then to replace your in person meetings with a conference call or a web conference.

    In person meetings are great.  You get to shake hands, look people in the eye and connect with others the way you can’t when you are on a remote meeting.  But every meeting doesn’t need to be in person.  If you know the people you are meeting with and have met before you don’t really need to meet in person every time.  And by doing some of your meetings by way of conference calls and web conferencing you can hold just as effective a meeting as if you were in person without the travel expense and do your part to reduce your carbon footprint.  Holding a conference call or web conference has never been easier.  Services are widely available, affordable and very easy to use.  At this point just about everyone has been on a conference call that utilizes a toll free number and a pass code.  You simply dial the access number and put in your code and you are connected to the other people that did the same.  You can meet with hundreds of people at once if you like and you can meet any time you like.  A web conference is just as easy and allows you to share your desktop or do a presentation from your PC as easily as if the people were in the same room.  You can even use a camera and send participants your own video feed if you really want to add that in person feeling.   And while you are being a good steward of the Earth you also will be saving a good amount of money and time using conference call services as an alternative.

    If only a fraction of meetings today were replaced with conference calls and web conferencing we would save millions of tons of carbon emissions.  And lets face it, there are a lot of meetings that are not worth the gas to get there. 

    And using a conference call instead of driving to an appointment is many times just a matter of thinking to do it.  So on Earth Day it gives us one more reason to think to do a conference call benefiting everyone concerned, even the Earth.

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    Free Conference Call Services

    Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

    So, you think you want free conference call services?  Think again!  Like most things in life, nothing really comes for free.  And before you risk your reputation and business you will want to understand what free conference call services are all about. 

    When the first free conference call service was introduced everyone in the conference call industry kind of shrugged and figured everyone would understand the deficiencies with the service and steer clear of them.  Well, free conference call services have survived because everyone likes something “free” so its attraction can not be underestimated.  But, is it truly free?  And what is the difference between free conference call services and paid conference call services?  Here are the details behind free conference call services.

    • Free Doesn’t mean No Cost- True, after the conference call is over you may not owe the free conference call service provider anything, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t cost you anything.  That is because all free conference call service providers give you a local number to access your conference call.  That “local” number is usually not local for anyone on the conference call which means you and you participants have to make a long distance call to connect to your conference.  Do you want your customer or prospect to get long distance charges on their phone bill for attending your conference call?
    • Will it be available when you dial in – The way a free conference call service company makes money is by getting the termination fee for having you call into a location where long distance providers pay the local telephone company to terminate the call.  The amount they are paid is very small so they can’t afford the best conference call equipment and have a limitation on capacity.  There is no guarantee that when you call in for your conference call that the capacity will be there for you.  Do you want to chance having the conference call available?
    • Toll Free at a Price – You can usually get a toll free access number for your conference call, but you will pay for it.  And if you find that if you shopped around the competition you could find a better toll free conference call rate from a company with better features and more reliable conference call equipment.
    • Support is Not Free – And if you need any support, how much support do you expect if the service is free? 

    So, if you want to make sure your conference call is there when you need and not get hit with hidden charges you may want to examine what it means to be a free conference call service.

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    Audio Conferencing Services

    Monday, March 15th, 2010

    A term used in the teleconferencing industry to describe telephone conference calls is audio conferencing.  We adopted this term to distinguish the normal conference call from a web conference.  And truth be told the term “audio” is used to describe something you listen to so it makes sense.  It is just not a word that people use everyday so many times people are confused when I talk about audio conferencing. 

    Audio conferencing is just another way of saying conference call and specifically is describing a conference call on a telephone whose main communication method is using sound/speech over the telephone.  An audio conference today has become a fairly standard offering as far as the way it works and many of its features.  Generally, an audio conference is held by dialing an access number and then putting in a pass code when you are connected to the conference call service equipment.  The conference call service equipment then places you in the appropriate conference call based on the pass code you input.  Basically all of the participants that enter that code will be placed into the same conference call.  Most conference call services will provide a separate pass code for the Host of the call so they can access certain features within the conference call.

    The most common features available to the Host on a conference call are the ability to mute all participants, raise and lower the volume and disconnect some or all of the participants.  Some conference call service companies will offer additional features like the ability to conduct a roll call and even record the conference call.  Zip Conferencing offers these features and more.

    So, if you hear of someone referring to an Audio Conference you know it is just a plain old conference call.

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    Free Web Conferencing

    Monday, March 8th, 2010

    One of the surest ways to get traffic to your web site is to give something away for free.  But how is it that a service that a lot of people are willing to pay for can be offered by another company for free.  Well, I have gone through free conference calls before and explained how that can happen, but what about free web conferencing? 

    A conference call service company that provides web conferencing to its customers has to pay for a number of things in order to provide the service.  Some of those cost items include the following.

    • Software development – If the conference call service company has developed the service themselves then they had to pay to have the software developed in the first place.  And like any software you develop the development doesn’t end there.  There are on going improvements, bug fixes and so forth to fund.
    • Reseller fees- Some conference call services don’t develop their own software, they simply resell someone elses technology.  In this case there is always a cost to the company who is reselling the service.
    • Hosting environment – If you are supporting your own software you need to have a server or servers depending on the number of users to host the software and make it available to your customers. 
    • Internet Connectivity- If you are hosting your own web conferencing service you need to connect it to the internet and the connection needs to allow many users fast access so you will also need a very good and potentially expensive connection.
    • Support Costs – And like any other conference call service you will need to support your web conferencing service with sales and service personnel.

    So, if there are all these costs, how does anyone provide free web conferencing?  Well, some conference call service companies will offer a dumbed down version for free hoping you will upgrade because the free version doesn’t do much.  Or the web conferencing service they offer for free is an old version they no longer support and instead of retiring it they simply give it away so you will come to their site and but the other version.  Either way, if you investigate the free web conferencing versions out there you will see that they are not a full version, current representative of what web conferencing can do.  And it just may not have the reliability and capacity you would expect with a service you pay for.  After all it is free so how hard can you complain?

    If you really need a good web conferencing service don’t use a free one.  For a low monthly fee you can have access to a web conferencing service that save you time and money wihtout breaking the bank.

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    What is Teleconferencing?

    Thursday, March 4th, 2010

    Like anyone else who has been in a technology business for a while you tend to develop your own language.  I am no different.  I have been in the telecommunications industry since 1981 and if any industry has its own language telecommunications certainly does.  The glossary for all the telecommunications acronyms being used would probably be 4 inches thick.  It really is its own language.  Teleconferencing as an off shoot of telecommunications is certainly guilty of this too but certainly not so bad.  But for those novices to teleconferencing, otherwise known as conference calls, I thought it might be helpful to explain a few of the main terms used in the industry to help you better understand what you are dealing with.

    • Access Code (Also known as the Pass Code) -  
      The personal access code that allows you to join a conference call. There are both Host and Guest codes used to access a conference call.
    • Access Phone Number – The telephone number used to reach the teleconferencing equipment where you input your Access Code to enter your conference call.
    • Bridge - The piece of equipment that performs the act of connecting multiple callers on a singe conference call.
    • CSP- This is the acronym for Conference Service Provider.  It refer to the companies that provide conference call services.
    • Digital Record and Playback –  A service offered by conference call service companies that allows you to record your conference call and play it back at a later time.
    • Host – The leader or Moderator of the conference call.
    • Mute- The Mute function on a conference call allows the participants to turn off the ability to be heard during the conference call.  The Host also has the abilitiy to Mute all participants.
    • Reservationless - Reservationless means that no scheduling, reservation or advanced notification is required for this type of conference call.  Once you have the Access number and Pass Code you can hold a conference call whenever you want.
    • Teleconferencing - Otherwise known as conference calling or audio conferencing, it refers to a telephone call where 3 or more people are connected and able to talk to each other at the same time.

    This is by no means a complete list of terms used in the conference call service, or teleconferencing industry but this sampling should get you well on your way to being fluent in teleconferencing speak.

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    Conference Call Service or the Phone System?

    Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

    When I tell people what I do for a living they are surprised that there is an industry that exists to provide conference call services to businesses.  Many people think that the phone company is who provides the service.  Which has always been true.  But private companies have been providing a higher level of service for lower costs since the divestiture of AT&T in the early 1990s.  The other thing that people want to know is why people don’t just use their phone system which usually has the capacity to run a conference call.  Well, there are a number of reasons to use a conference call service instead of a phone system conference button to hold a conference call.

    • Phone systems have capacity issues – Most phone systems can only handle a limited number of participants on a conference call.  And you are also limited by the overall number of phone lines on the system.  If the people in the office are using a number of lines to make calls you may be limited with the number of people you can get on a conference call.
    • Phone systems require you to connect the participants – In order to connect people to a conference call using your phone system you will need to dial out to the participants through the phone system.  You have to get the people on the phone and sometimes they may be on the phone or out of their office and you can reach them by dialing out to them.
    • Call quality on a phone system degrades as you add participants – Phone systems are not made to hold conference calls and as you add participants the voice quality in the conference call degrades.  The more people you add the worse the overall quality of the conference call. 
    • Most people have difficulty operating the conference call function on a phone system – Since there is no standard on how the phone systems assemble a conference call you will need to learn how to assemble a conference call using the phone system.  Most people do not use this function often enough to be proficient at it and are not able to smoothly carry out the procedure.

    The bottom line is a phone system does not provide a high quality conference call experience compared to a conference call service.  A good conference call service company provides a service that is easy to use and gives you an experience that is equal in quality to meeting in person.  And at the rates that conference call services are currently available it is no wonder that most people opt to do a conference call using a conference call service instead of a phone system.

    www.zipconferencing.com

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    Don’t get burned by a Conference Call Service company

    Monday, February 22nd, 2010

    I speak to many customers who come to Zip Conferencing after being “burned” by another Conference Call Service company.  I guess it is a factor of the competitiveness of this business, but I can’t see how tricking your customers is going to help you in the long run.  Here are a few ways you can be misled by a conference call service company.

    • Access is not Toll Free – Many conference call companies including the Free Conference Call companies offer an attractive rate that may look good but actually have hidden charges.  Any conference call service company that pushes a local or toll connection is making you pay long distance charges to connect to your conference calls.  It doesn’t appear on your conference call bill but it will add to your bottom line cost for you and your participants.
    • Long Term Contracts – Some conference call companies will make you sign a long term contract in order to get a good rate for the conference calls.  If your business needs change or your conference call needs change you can find yourself paying a penalty to get out of a contract for services you no longer need.
    • Hidden Charges – Make sure that all of the charges you will get for the service are spelled out ahead of time.  Some conference call companies will fail to tell you about connection charges or set up charges that you did not expect when you signed up for the service.
    • Per Moderator Charges – Some companies will charge you to add users to your account who can hold conference calls.

    The bottom line is you need to ask lots of questions when you are investigating which conference call company to choose.  Make sure your are doing an apples to apples comparison so that you can sort through all of the offers to determine who will provide the best conference call service at the best rates for your needs.  Be sure to check out Zip Conferencing and you will find that the rates for the conference call services are straight forward.  There are no set up fees, no contracts and you can cancel at any time.

    www.zipconferencing.com

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    Web Conferencing for Remote Support

    Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

    Web conferencing has been adopted by sales organizations around the world as a way to do a presentation for a prospect from your desktop,  greatly reducing travel expenses and increasing productivity.  It is also widely recognized for its remote training abilities which allows participants to take a training class without the costly need to travel to a central location.  But another application for web conferencing that is being used, but maybe not as widely known is for the support of customers and employees remotely to troubleshoot software on their desktops.

    Since web conferencing allows participants to see each other’s computer screens regardless of the application that is running.  It allows a technical support person to view the PC of a customer or employee which assists them in more easily diagnosing an issue.  A remote participant does not need to try to describe the issue they are having because the technician will be able to see exactly what they are talking about on the web conference.  And if the participant allows it, the technician can even take control of the remote user’s PC and fix the problem while the participant sits back and watches them do the work.

    Needless to say, this application for web conferencing is a win-win for the company supporting the product and the customer, since the problem is fixed easily and quickly and any interpretation errors on exactly what the issue is are avoided because the technician is actually viewing the PC themselves.  Like all of the conference call services, the web conferencing in this application saves any travel costs that may have been associated with the service and makes the technician that much more productive since they can handle many of these types of service calls using web conferencing instead of travelling to customer locations.  In many cases, if you are selling your product across the country or around the world, travelling to customer locations to support your product is not even practical.  Especially for a small business that is trying to support their product, web conferencing offers a way to provide their customers an excellent level of service without spending a lot of money.  Supporting your customers using web conferencing just makes good business sense.

    www.zipconferencing.com

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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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    Conference Calls in Sports

    Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

    The ability to communicate with a widely dispersed audience quickly and easily using a conference call is helpful to many industries and the same principles of saving time and money benefit sports organizations both amateur and professionals alike.  I have had the privilege of providing conference call services to many of the major sports teams and organizations and many amateur organizations as well.  And although the content of their conference calls may be a little different the aim is the same, save time and money using conference calls.

    Professional sports organizations have many applications for conference calls within their organizations.  Internally they have staff scattered over the entire country and sometimes the world.  The staff is focused on doing scouting missions for the organizations looking at the competition or looking for new talent.  A conference call allows the entire staff to get together on a regular basis to share successes and insight and make sure they are on the same page.  The teams are regularly on the road during the season so they also use conference calls to stay in touch with the staff travelling with the team.  Staff meetings can continue using a conference call even while the team is on the road.  Professional sports teams also have an obligation to communicate regularly with the press in their sport.  Many times a face to face meeting is not possible with all of the interested press people so they will do a conference call to make sure they are getting their news out to all of the news outlets interested.  And beyond the team itself, a conference call is used in many other capacities to aid in press communications.  One example is when players were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame we would provide the conference call for the player to talk to the press which was done many times from their residence immediately following their notification of their election.

    Amateur sports have many of the same challenges as the professional organizations.  And many times the organizations are international in scope as they support their support in many countries.  Given the geography and certainly the budget of these organizations the only realistic solution for them to communicate is a conference call.  The leadership of the organization in the different countries will regular get together to discuss rule changes, tournaments and event planning for their sport.  These meetings can take place from anywhere at anytime using a conference call and saves the organization a lot of money compared to trying to hold an in-person meeting.

    www.zipconferencing.com

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    Conference Calls for Non-Profits

    Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

    Working in the conference call service business as long as I have has exposed me to many businesses and industries.  And all of the businesses I have encountered and used my conference call services have benefited by saving time and money.  One of the areas which really benefits using conference calls to save both is a non-profit company.

    Sure, there are non-profit organizations out there that have a lot of money and their CEOs make more money than most of us, but that is not the norm.  Most non-profit orgranizations have a very limited budget and need to squeeze every last penny from their budget in order to make ends meet.  But they also need to have meetings, solicit donations and so forth.  That is where the conference calls come in handy.  In fact, in some cases the non-profit organization doesn’t even have an office to hold an in person meeting if they wanted to.  A conference call is the only way to get their employees or volunteers together.  And it does so less expensively than any other method.

    The non-profit organizations need to solicit money from donors and sometime they will hold a seminar for a number of potential donors at the same time.  They find that holding a conference call with multiple donors actually helps their overall success.  Getting their entire team of employees and volunteers on the same page is done more efficiently with a conference call.  And if they are a national organization, the ability to hold regular meetings with a widely dispersed team is easy to do and very cost effective using a conference call. 

    The cost of the conference calls is very important to a non-profit organization as they can use the money for other means if they save money.  And being more productive by not travelling to a meeting and doing a conference call instead is also very helpful.  Just like any for profit company, a non-profit can take the money they save by doing conference calls and put it right on their bottom line.

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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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    From Russia with Conference Calls

    Monday, October 26th, 2009

    I guess the cold war has really officially ended.  Zip Conferencing now offers local number access for participants of your conference calls from Moscow and St. Petersburg.  That’s right, you can access our conference calls from Russia. 

    The world continues to shrink and businesses continue to expand so it is only normal to have enough demand for conference call services in places all over the world including Russia.  In fact there are participants on our conference calls from all corners of the globe.  That is why over time we have continues to expand the coverage of our network to include access from every major city in the world.  There are a couple of ways to access conference calls from outside the United States.

    Toll Number Access – The most common way to access a conference call from outside the United States has always been by using the toll or local number provided with a conference call.  That is because the toll free number is not accessible from outside the Untied States, but you can call a local number in the United States from anywhere.  The one drawback to this type of access is that the participants have to pay the long distance charges to access the call from outside the Untied States.  Which if it is an internal company call this may not be a bad thing, but you certainly don’t want a customer or prospect to have to pay to join your call.

    International Local Access – Zip Conferencing provides access through local numbers in a number of large cites internationally.  That way if a participant is in that city they simply have to call a local number in their city to get on a conference call in the United States.  Thay way they also don’t need to pay any long distacne charges to access the conference call.  It is just like any other local call to them.

    International Toll Free Access – For participants who are not located in a major city that has a local access number, they can dial into the conference call using an International Toll Free access number.  No matter where they are in that country they can dial the toll free access number in their country and not incur any charges to access the conference call.  The only drawback to this service is that it is the most expensive way to access an international conference call.

    The bottom line is that there are now many options on how to access a conference call from an international location.  And now with the addition of Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are very few locations that do not have an access number.

    www.zipconferencing.com

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    The Difference in Conference Call Services is Service

    Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

    Since I have been in the conference call service industry for over 14 years, I have tried to share some of my knowledge of what is behind the curtain at a conference call service company.  And there are a number of differences that you can and cannot see when you look at different conference call service companies.  But many times you will never feel the difference unless you have an issue with a conference call service company you may not notice if they have a back up system, etc.  What you can feel and should feel right from the start is service.

    With the declining rates for conference calls many conference call companies are looking for ways to cut costs just like any other industry.  And in the conference call industry the two biggest expenses are the telecommunication costs and the cost of personnel.  Since the telecommunications costs are near the bottom, the only place to really save any money is on personnel.  The problem is that customers want a low rate but they also want to be able to talk to a person if they have questions or problems.  So, when a conference call company takes away a customers ability to talk to a person there is a definite drop in the level of service the customer receives.  That is why at Zip Conferencing I have refused to reduce the number of personnel that interface with the customer.  In fact, I continue to grow that staff in relationship to the number of customers because I am a customer myself and I know how much I value the availability of a human being when I have a question or problem.

    Here at Zip Conferencing, there is a person available to speak to you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  And every account is assigned an Account Manager to help them with their conference calls.  That way each customer will have a positive experience and I believe the best way to build a business is through referrals.  How does the saying go?  Have a good customer experience and you will tell 3 people, but have a bad customer experience and you will tell 10 people.  So, the long term benefits of providing exceptional customer service in a conference call service company easily outweigh the short term economics of slashing personnel to attempt to improve profitability.

    www.zipconferencing.com

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    Conference Call Services with No Contracts

    Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

    I have been in this business for a long time and in a service business like this I feel it is important to build a conference call service that customers will appreciate so that they will continue to use the conference call service for a long time.  And this philosophy has paid off over the years as customers have referred other customers to my conference call service company and thus the business has grown.  What surprises me, in this day and age with all the competition available, that some conference call service companies can make you sign a long term contract in order to buy their service.

    Now don’t get me wrong, as a business person I certainly understand the value of a contract with a customer, but in the end a customer will get out of a contract if they want to.  So, what is the value of having someone sign a contract for your conference call service if they are simply going to leave you when the contract expires because they don’t like your service.  It seems to me that you really are only as good as your last conference call and as a conference call service provider you should be confident enough in the level of your service that you don’t need to strap people down in order to be confident that they are not going to leave you.

    Another reason I feel conference call service companies should be flexible with customers is sometimes customers don’t need to run a conference call every month or sometimes their business needs change and as a service provider I feel a conference call service provider should be aware of that.

    Anyway, as a customer I would certainly be wary of any service that I am going to subscribe to that makes me sign a contract right away.  With Zip Conferencing there are no contracts and no long term commitments for our conference call services and I think that is the way it should be.

    www.zipconferencing.com

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    The Joy of being a Conference Call Service Provider

    Monday, September 14th, 2009

    I have been in the telecommunications business over 25 years and been a conference call service provider business since 1995.  When I first started in this industry I had no idea of the complexity of the business, the amazing number of applications the service is used for and the importance of a quality conference call service to the customers that use it everyday.  Now after fourteen years of providing such a valuable business service I can not imagine doing anything else.

    Conference call services have evolved over the past fourteen years but their value to businesses has only grown and grown.  Especially in an economy like we are going through today, a quality conference call service provides businesses a way to cut costs without having their business processes suffer.  Meetings can still happen without the need to travel to far reaching locations, sales can meet with customers, employees can still be trained to provide a higher level of service to customers without having to attend a training class in some distant city and a conference call service provides an alternative to countless other costly travel plans. 

    In an effort to save money, companies are discovering the other benefits of conference calls such as shortening the sales cycle.  Without conference calls, sales would have to travel to the customer site to perform a presentation or sales demonstration.  With the aid of web conferencing and a conference call, sales can perform a full scale sales presentation right from their desktop.  Beyond the cost of the visit, the salesperson has more time to perform other demonstrations for more customers.  A conference call service is more convenient for the salesperson and their prospective customer.  The same goes for other departments as well.  With a conference call, people don’t have to spend time getting to a conference room, waiting for the meeting to start and then returning to their desk.  Conference call service meeting attendees simply hang up the phone and return to work.  This increase in productivity is very important when your business is trying to do more work with less personnel.

    And throughout your business, you will find that communication improves in general.  Making sure that everyone is on the same page is essential to running an effective business and staying in touch through a conference call service makes sure that even remote employees get the same message at the same time as the other employees. 

    Now that I have been providing this essential service to businesses for over fourteen years I understand the importance of it in their everyday lives.  Providing a high quality conference call service is not an option it is a necessity.  Businesses rely on conference calls like never before and being able to provide this essential service is a very rewarding experience.  I take my responsibility in being a conference call service provider very seriously and I hope you value the service enough to make sure you get the best service available.

    www.zipconferencing.com

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    Free Conference Calls

    Thursday, September 10th, 2009

    I am sure you have seen them if you have done a search for conference calls on the internet.  Free conference calls.  So what is the deal?  Are they really free?  How do they afford to do that?

    Well I am sure you have also heard the saying, “There is no such thing as a Free Lunch” and with free conference calls it is all too true.  First of all who had the idea in the first place and how do they make money?  A number of years ago someone had the idea to give away conference calls in order to generate traffic to a carriers’ network, because the carrier gets paid by the long distance carriers a small amount of money to terminate the call on the local network.  So, even though to you the conference call is “free” the conference call service provider is paid by the carrier for the traffic they are generating.  So, then it is a Free Conference Call, right?  Not exactly.

    The problem with the free conference call is that you have to pay a long distance charge to whoever your long distance provider is in order to get to the location where their conference call equipment is installed.  Let’s say that their equipment is in Kansas City for instance.  You and all of your participants have to pay the long distance charge, per minute to connect to Kansas City.  Now that rates for toll free conference calls have come down, why would you want to have hidden charges for you and your participants?

    There are other problems with many of these free conference call services.  Some are using VOIP to connect the call resulting in poor quality.  Many will have capacity issues because they really can’t afford to have lots of equipment sitting idle because their financial model is so thin.  Many of the conference call features you will get with a toll free conference call service provider are not available with a free conference call service provider.  In order to compensate for some of these shortfalls some of the free providers started offering toll free conference calls as well.  But the pricing for these services is higher than some of the conference call service providers that are built to provide a high quality service like Zip Conferencing.  So, you end up paying a higher price for a lower grade of service. 

    So, why would anyone use a free conference call service?  Because its “free”.  In the end, like so many other things in life, with conference calls you get what you pay for.

    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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    Conference Call Quality

    Friday, August 28th, 2009

    There are a  fair number of conference call service providers in the market today offering conference call services at some pretty low rates.  Among these conference call service providers are a host of different features available for conference call users to choose from.  I have touched on some of these features in previous posts, but what is really important about a conference call?  The most important aspect of any conference call is that is work flawlessly.  And even though this is taken for granted, if the conference call service provider does not design their network correctly you can have lots of problems.

    The first thing that you need to have is availability.  To make sure that your conference call is available when you go to use it, the conference call service provider needs to build redundancy and capacity into their network.  Conference call equipment is very complicated and like any piece of high tech equipment can have issues from time to time.  If you use a conference call service provider that does not have provisions for redundant equipment and the conference call equipment hosting your conference call has a problem you will have a problem.  The capacity of the conference call service provider network can also be a problem if they get unexpected traffic on their network.

    The telecommunications network that your conference call service provider connects to is an important factor as well.  If the conference call service provider chooses a telecommunications provider solely on price, they may be playing with fire if their provider does not have a network with sufficient back up and networking options.  If a back hoe cuts a fiber link do they have a way to route around it and continue service without interruption?  If the telecommunications provider that connects to your conference call service provider has an issue and can’t get your call around the issue your conference call can’t happen.

    The conference call is like the light in the conference room.  You just assume it will work, but if it doesn’t you cannot hold your meeting.  The network and equipment used by Zip Conferencing has been designed with one priority in mind, the quality of the service.  Because no matter what the price is for the service, if the service is not available and of high quality then customers will not be satisfied.   After 15 years of providing conference call services I understand that the quality of the service is the foundation of success in being a conference call service provider.  www.zipconferencing.com

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    Conference Call Service Support

    Monday, August 24th, 2009

    No matter how self service our world becomes, everybody needs a little help now and then.  And Zip Conferencing’s conference call service is no different.  In fact, even though our conference call service has more ways to assist you than most conference call services, we also offer good old fashioned personal assistance too.  That’s right, you can actually talk to a human being if you need help with our conference call services.

    Zip Conferencing’s conference call service offers a variety of ways to support your needs and answer your questions. 

    • Self service Knowledgebase full of FAQs, How Tos and User Guides
    • 24/7 customer service and conference call technical support
    • Dedicated Account Manager
    • Online Chat
    • Support Contact Form 

     Knowledgebase – The online Knowledgebase is stuffed with useful information.  There are three main sections that make up the conference call service Knowledgebase.  The FAQ section keeps track of the most frequently asked questions.  The How To section explains step by step how to perform all of the functions necessary to maintain your conference call service account and the Meeting Guides section offers helpful hints on using a conference call service.  You can visit the ZIp Conferencing Knowledgebase here http://www.zipconferencing.com/kb/

    24/7 customer service and conference call technical support – In case you need assistance with any call or question and you prefer to speak to a representative you can call our toll free number any day, anytime.

    Dedicated Account Manager – An Account Manager is assigned to your account and becomes familiar with the details of your account to ensure your satisfaction.

    Online Chat – If you prefer Chat over the phone you can also chat with a representative 24/7

    Support Contact Form – If you prefer to contact us via email there is an online Support Contact Form available.

    We have provided so many ways to contact us because we understand that your conference call service provider should be there when you need them and be able to be contacted the way you want to contact them.  Conference call service support is one of the many things that many customers do not think about when choosing a conference call service providers, but it is certainly noticed when you need it.  Be sure to compare the conference call service support options when choosing a provider.  www.zipconferencing.com

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    Conference Call Applications – Training/HR

    Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

    Training sessions and and communication of HR policies are essential to any business.  New employees especially are in need of training and HR policy education and you can deliver effective training and communication from a distance with conference call services and web conference services.

    Training Programs

    Combining Audio and Web Conferencing services provides an effective way to deliver Training and Communication from a distance without the need to incur travel costs or spend the time necessary to go to remote locations. The features included in our conference calls and web conferences make your presentations powerful and yet easy to use.

    • Increase productivity – deliver more training in less time without the need to travel
    • Reduce Costs – eliminate travel costs 
    • Deliver Training and Communication more frequently –  conduct more training sessions more frequently and reach a wider audience

     

     

    Conference Call Services to Help You Deliver Effective Training

    • Audio Conference Calls – A conference call allows you to deliver a consistent message to a large audience.  Host controls allow you to be in charge of the meeting and deliver your training in an effective way without audience interruption.  
    • Web Conferencing - Web Conferencing allows you to deliver your message in pictures as well as words improving audience interaction and retention of the information.  Our easy to use Web Conferencing tool enables anyone to be an effective presenter in minutes. 

     

     

    Key Features

    • Host Audio Controls
      Control your audio conference using Host Controls through your telephone that allow you to mute all participants, take a roll call, conduct sub-conferences and more.
    • Distribute Information
      Allow participants to download files of your presentation at the end of your presentation.
    • Audience Participation
      Engage your participants throughout the presentation with the use of Q&A and Polling questions to keep them engaged in your presentation.
    • Branded Interface
      You can brand your online interface and the Web Conferencing tool itself with your logo to personalize your interface and put onn a more professional appearance to your online meetings.
    • Multimedia Content
      Your presentationscan include visual elements to egage your audience.
    • Polls and Surveys
      Conduct Q&A, Polling and surveys using Web Conferencing’s tools.
    • Invite Participants 
      You can invite your participants through the web conferencing interface or simply invite your participants to your online conferencing Hub where they can join web conferences.
    • Record and Playback
      You can record the audio and visual portion of your conference call and allow participants to view or listen to your presentation after the completion of the conference call.

     www.zipconferencing.com

     

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    Hello conference call world!

    Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

    I am Jim Miller, the President of Zip Conferencing, and I invite users of conference call services to share their thoughts on conferencing services, conference call technology and the ways they use conference calls to help their business.  I also welcome any comments or questions on Zip Conferencing and the web site.  I intend to make Zip Conferencing the easiest to use, most affordable conference call technology available and only through real customer input can I achieve that.  So, bring it on!

    www.zipconferencing.com

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