Posts Tagged ‘Economy’

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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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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A Business Conference Call can make all the Difference

Friday, January 14th, 2011

A business conference call can make all the difference in the success of your business.  Yet, today it is estimated that the market for conference calls has only been penetrated 58% which means that 42% of the businesses that should be doing business conference calls are not.  That is a pretty amazing statistic when you think of it.  And I bet many of you are thinking that there is no way people don’t know about using a business conference call to get people together on issues for their business.  But I can tell you from experience that a lot of businesses still are not using a business conference call yet.  I can tell through the conversation I have with potential customers that there are still a lot of people out there who are not using a business conference call for their business.  And it is hard to believe.  Especially in this economy and the number of new businesses being started up.  A business conference call offers so many benefits to your business without a large expenditure.  Large businesses are big users of business conference calls because they have long understood the benefits they get from conducting regular conference calls with their staff and customers.  Here are some of the benefits you can expect from incorporating a business conference call into your regular business processes.

  • A Business Conference Call Saves Time- When you are a small or medium business or better yet, a brand new business, the one thing you will never have enough of is time.  By utilizing a business conference call when you can you will find yourself saving valuable time that otherwise would have been spent travelling to an in person meeting.  Travel time is very unproductive even with all of today’s gadgets that help keep you informed and allow you to do work away from the office.  You can hardly be working on a document when you are walking through an airport or driving your car.  The more time you can find yourself at your desk the better you will be in the long run.  A business conference call can be used for the initial contact with the customer especially if you need to pull multiple people from your company into the discussion or if the customer has several contacts that need to hear your pitch.  And during the implementation process a business conference call can keep your project on time and make sure that everyone gets the same message all the time. 
  • A Business Conference Call Saves Money – The other thing you can’t get enough of is money.  Especially if you are starting out your capital is a precious commodity.  A business conference call is much less expensive than any in person meeting you can have with your staff or customers.  Many small businesses have staff scattered throughout the country or the world and the expense to travel to visit these people on a consistent basis is just too much.  A business conference call allows you to stay in touch with everyone for a fraction of the cost of travelling to them in person.  And the cost of the travel is one thing.  What about the cost of the hotel, meals, rental car and everything else that goes along with it?  A business conference call can save you thousands of dollars on one trip.
  • A Business Conference Call Increases Productivity – And usually if you own a small business or are just starting a new on you will never have as many people on the job as you would like.  So you need every person as productive as they can be in order to get the job done.  A business conference call allows you to stay at your desk for the meeting and return to work immediately following the conference call.  Aside from the time saving productivity you gain with a business conference call you also benefit by working together to accomplish the task and keep all informed along the way.  A business conference call can prevent a lot of back and forth communication between you and the other parties.

The bottom line is a business conference call can make all the difference in the world for your business.

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International Conference Calls are More Popular

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Ever since we introduced easier ways to do international conference calls their usage has increased.  But it seems like lately more and more people are doing international conference calls.  When you look at the factors influencing the usage of international conference calls it is no wonder they are more popular.

  • Businesses are more Global in Nature – Over the past twenty years businesses have been expanding and looking for new markets.  So, naturally businesses have looked globally to expand their businesses.  In order to stay in touch with these remote office international conference calls have become essential to managing their global footprint.
  • Travel is more Expensive – Conference calls have always offered a way to save money on travel.  If you have offices internationally and international conference call provides a great opportunity to save even more money since travel overseas can be very expensive.
  • Time is more Valuable – Visiting your office in Europe or AsiaPac can be great but when you think about the time it takes to make the trip it can be a bit daunting.  International conference calls provide a way to stay in touch with your international business right from your desk.  No time wasted in airports and hotels.
  • Budgets are Tight – In today’s economy more than ever we are all looking for ways to save money.  International conference calls put money instantly on your bottom line that otherwise would go towards the travel expense of going to your international locations in person.  And Zip Conferencing offers ways for the international participants to connect to the conference call inexpensively as well.

So it really is no wonder that international conference calls are becoming more popular with businesses today.  And with Zip Conferencing you can provide your international participants a local number to dial into which is more convenient for them, less costly and will also save you  money on your conference call bill.  International conference calls with Zip Conferencing can be accessed through international toll free numbers as well for participants that are not located near a major city.  Whatever your application Zip Conferencing has a solution that will fit for your international conference calls.

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A good Conference Call Rate is just the Beginning

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

I know.  The way the economy has been the last couple of years the price is very important.  And I agree.  Even with something as important as a conference call the rate is an important factor in deciding who to choose for a conference call service provider.  With Zip Conferencing the conference call rate is just the beginning.

At Zip Conferencing we believe that you should be able to get a quality conference call service and a good conference call rate.  In fact, our company was designed from the ground up to do just that.  First, we installed nothing but the latest equipment and connected it to the best phone networks available.  The quality of the conference call itself is the single most important factor in providing our customers a quality experience.  We also made sure that the equipment and network were fully backed up with hot stand by equipment and power back up to make sure the service is available 100% of the time.  Next, we designed our systems around the customer experience to provide a better way for our customers to maintain their accounts.  For this, we installed an online account interface that allows our customers to access their accounts themselves.  In addition, we gave our customers the ability to customize their own experience by giving them access to many of the popular conference options and letting them decide how their conference call should run.  For all of these features a conference call rate was not considered because we believe you need to have a quality experience above all else.

To mkae sure you get a conference call rate we did, however, design our company differently than other conference call service providers.  The main difference you will find is that we have automated all of the back office processes to keep costs down.  We also do not have expensive offices or field sales people.  Do you really need to see a salesperson in order to get your conference call service?  I think not.  We do not print paper bills which is not just environmentally friendly but saves money as well.  But none of the changes we have made to give you a good conference call rate diminish your experience.  We still provide 24/7 customer service and the highest quality conference calls and web conferences available in the market today.  But with our lower overhead we can also give you the best conference call rate available today.

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Conference Calls and the Entrepreneur

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

The US Government is doing everything it can to help small businesses as they realize that this is the best way to grow the economy and create jobs.  And even though the funding has loosened up a little, the biggest issue still is getting money from investors to the entrepreneurs so that they can get the businesses off the ground.  But luckily, things have come back to where private investors are getting back into the market and businesses are finding funding sources.  But one of the things I have heard is that the investors are still a little gun shy and want to get involved in their investments and get as much information as they can get.  Conference calls are once again the best way to provide this much needed communication line for the investors and the most cost effective way for the entrepreneur to keep them informed.

Conference calls allow the small business owner to keep their investors informed without the need to hold a costly in person meeting.  Everyone wins in this situation.  The investors are able to stay informed regarding the business matters, the entrepreneur is able to communicate effectively and important to both, the business is able to conserve much needed capital.  Without conference calls, the amount of information flow would be reduced and expenses would go up not helping anyone.

In addition, conference calls are an excellent way for the employees of the business to communicate regularly at a low cost.  Many times a small business is spread out with few resources and simply can’t afford face to face meetings every time they need to communicate the many changes that their business inevitably goes through when it is young.

So, if you are thinking about starting a business these days and wondering what you may need to get started, you should definitely consider getting a conference call service account.  Because conference calls and the entrepreneur are a perfect match.

www.zipconferencing.com

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Conference Calls in a Tough Economy

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

I get asked all the time, “How is the conference call business doing?” and I always answer “Great!  Because in the 14+ years I have been in the industry there has always been a good reason why more and more businesses are adopting conference calls.  And in a tough economy there is all the more reason for businesses to be doing conference calls.

Let’s look at the recent events and see why the conference call service business continues to grow while other businesses are shrinking.  The first thing that has hit many businesses is the reduction in force that they have taken to combat the reduction in business.  In many cases the reduction in the numbers of personnel to run their business was not in direct relation to the reduction in business they felt.  So, one of the things these businesses are facing is trying to do more business with fewer employees.  This artificial need to increase productivity is a reality that the employees that are left to run the business have to face whether they like it or not.  Conference calls are an easy way to help improve the productivity of your employees.  When someone does a conference call it is usually in lieu of an in person meeting.  And whether you would normally be meeting across town or across the country, the conference call eliminates the time you would spend to get to the meeting and return to work.  In fact you don’t even have to leave your desk to attend a conference call so you have more time to do work thus increasing your productivity.

The next priority for businesses is reducing expenses so that they can remain profitable during times when sales may be lower than normal.  And one of the big areas targeted for reducing expenses is the travel budget.  So businesses are looking for ways to continue to meet with other employees, customers and prospects without having to travel to their location.  A conference call provides an easy way to eliminate the travel expense without eliminating the meeting itself.  Because let’s face it, you still have to have these meetings or the business can not continue to operate and grow.  A web conference and a conference call combination gives you everything you need to meet with a prospect or customer and have the same fulfilling, engaging meeting you would have if they were in person.  Don’t get me wrong, a conference call does not eliminate the need to get together with remote employees, customers and prospects,but the use of conference calls can eliminate some of the travel you may otherwise have taken.  And with the expense of travelling these days, every trip you can eliminate can really add up to your bottom line.

Conference calls and web conferences provide businesses the ability to remain effective while reducing expenses and increasing productivity.  So in a tough economy, the conference call service business continues to thrive and grow as more and more businesses realize the benefits that conference calls can offer.

www.zipconferencing.com

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