Posts Tagged ‘Service Business’

Conference Call Basics

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Since I have been in the conference call business for over 15 years I regularly forget that most people don't understand the conference call service business.  Conference calls have become such an integral part of businesses these days it is difficult to find someone who has not been on a conference call.  But the fact is that there are a lot of people who have not been on a conference call and an even larger number who have never hosted one.  So, for these people I would like to offer some basics about how  a conference call works.

  • Automated Dial In - The type of conference call that most people are familiar with these days is the automated dial in call.  With this type of call you connect to the call by dialing an access number and then entering a passcode on your telephone to enter the conference.  Basically anyone who dials the access number and passcode at the same time will be put into the same conference call.
  • Reservationless - Another popular feature of conference calls today is called a reservationless conference call because once the conference call company provides you with the information for the call you can use it at any time without having to make a reservation.  This feature made conference calls much easier to use and is in big part the reason for the growth of conference calls over the past 15 years.
  • Hosting a Conference Call - So, maybe you have been on a reservationless automated dial in conference call but you have never hosted a call.  To host a conference call is not much more difficult than joining one as a participant.  As Host of the call you simply need to inform your participants when the conference call is going to take place and distribute the information.  Usually the Host will simply email their participants with the date, time and dial in information.  As Host you also simply need to dial in at the same time and enter a passcode to join the conference call.  That's it.
  • Host Controls - With Zip Conferencing, the Host is supplied with a different passcode than the participants.  The Host passcode enables the Host to access special features that the participants cannot access.  Host controls include the ability to mute/unmute all participants, control volume and record the conference call.  The Host is also able to control a number of aspects of the conference call through their online account management system.  Those options will be discussed in other posts here.

If you have never hosted a conference call have no fear as it is just as easy as joining one hosted by someone else.

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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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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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Conference Call Service Reviews

Monday, September 28th, 2009

So, what makes for a good conference call service?  Is there a difference in conference call service providers?  What are the main things that you should make sure you get in a conference call service.

I have been in the conference call service business for over 14 years, so I know a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in a conference call service company.  But, for the average user, has no idea and so many of the conference call service providers look the same from the outside how would anyone know the difference?  Maybe I can shed some light on some of the main things to look for in a conference call service company so you know what to look for and what to watch out for when selecting a provider.

  • Services
  • Quality
  • Reliability
  • Support

Services

First, you should make sure that the conference call service provider you are looking at has the service to match your needs.  You will need to know how many conference calls per month your company does.  This is easily calculated by finding out what the average number of people on a conference call is and how long, in minutes that they are typically on the conference call.  If most calls have 4 – 5 people for about an hour you simply take the number of participants (4) times the number of minutes (60 for an hour) and you will see that you generate 240 minutes per conference call.  Then by taking the number of conference calls per week that you do you can determine the number of minutes per month.  If you do about 3 conference calls per week then 3 times 240 times 4 weeks in a month gives you 2,880 conference call minutes per month.

Now that you know how much conferencing you do you should confirm the features that the conference call service provider offers to make sure it is what you expect.  Most conference calls that you have probably used in the past are the type that is called reservationless.  You are assigned a toll free access number and a passcode to get into the conference call.  Unless you want your participants to have to pay long distance charges while they access your conference calls you should make sure that the access is toll free.

There are a number of other features that you may or may not need so you should make a list of the things you need in a conference call service and confirm that the provider you are looking at does offer them because not all conference call service providers offer the same services.  A few features to consider are recording of conference calls, transcription, host controls, online account access and volume control on the conference call.

Quality

Quality really comes down to one simple thing.  Does the conference call sound good?  The sound on a conference call is really based on two factors, the conference call equipment itself and the network that connects the conference call equipment to the telephone network itself.  Since there are many options for a conference call service provider to choose from here, your best indication of quality is the conference call itself.  Can you clearly hear the participants, etc.  Most conference call service companies will offer a free trial of some sort to hear the quality of the conference call.

Reliability

Reliability is a tough thing to measure when looking at a conference call service company.  But you can find out a little about their infrastructure to give you an idea of how reliable their network may prove to be.  Does the company have more than one piece of conference call equipment?  If there is a problem on the conference call equipment your conference call is on can they move your conference call to another piece of equipment?  What long distance network are they using?  A major provider like AT&T or Sprint will have a network that provides some redundancy in the event of a problem where a smaller provider may not. 

Support

And finally, support.  You may never need to lean on a conference call service provider’s support team, but if you do will they be there when you need them?  Does the conference call service company offer 24/7 support?  Do they assign a representative to your account to provide a contact in case you have questions or issues that need to be addressed?  What about online support?  Does the conference call service company offer online self help in the form of a searchable database, user guides and account access tools so that you can make changes to your conference calls yourself?

So, when you are reviewing conference call service companies, remember that price alone should not be the only thing you look at to determine which company is right for you.

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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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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Web Conferencing Features Make Remote Meetings Easy

Friday, July 24th, 2009

When Web Conferencing was first introduced it included a number of features that still exist in the web conference service business today.  But over time, conference call service providers and web conferencing companies have enhanced web conferencing to allow anyone to quickly and easily conduct a web conference without the need for a lot of training or experience.

The features that have always existed with web conferencing include:

  • Whiteboarding
  • Share Powerpoint presentations
  • Share Applications

The ability to whiteboard on a web conference allows participants on the conference call to participate on a virtual whiteboard by using their mouse and tools to annotate and collaborate with other participants.  The ability to share a Powerpoint presentation gives you the ability to broadcast your Powerpoint to the entire audience and the ability to share applications allows you to share virutally anything that is on your desktop with the other participants.

Over time additional functionality has been added to web conferencing including:

  • A Chat feature
  • Video conferencing
  • A Recording function
  • Q&A
  • Polling
  • Participant Registration Info
  • Exit Surveys

A chat feature was added to allow participants to chat with each other or the Moderator on a web conference.  The ability to share a video of yourself as the Moderator on the web conference gives the participants a face with the name on the conference call.  A recording function has existed for a while, but only recently has the full integration of voice and visual presentation recorded without the need for extra equipment become available.   A Q&A and Polling element on a web conference has also been available for a while but the tools provided to build the questions and tally the results have become much easier to implement and use.  And one fo the favorite tools of the Sales and Marketing users is the ability to create a registration process to capture participant informaiton on the front end of the web conference and a exit survey process to give the participants the ability to provide feedback after the web conference has been completed.

Even though the features available on a web conference have grown and enhanced, the inuitiveness of the interface has also improved to where anyone can conduct a web conference and look like a pro in a very short time.  Zip Conferencing like some other conference call service providers gives a 30 day free trial of the service to allow users to become familiar with the web confernecing service at no cost before they do a live presentation.

www.zipconferencing.com

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