The company that I have worked for over the last 20 years is known within our industry to employ a lot of “lifers” - people who come on board and spend their entire career with this company until they retire. It’s not difficult to see why from an insider’s perspective. This a great company to work for across the board - from salary and insurance to the attitude of management and ownership. It feels like working for family and that’s a great thing. One of the benefits of working for this company - other than having stability - is the fact that we have several different generations working under the same roof. The younger employees are able to introduce the company to newer technology and business methodology - having come right from college or having worked in a different environment. We don’t fall prey to getting sucked into a time warp around here; the younger members of our team see to that. Just like they introduced us to web conferencing.

I knew the term web conference - which is more than I can say for a lot of people here - but I wasn’t all that sure what it was or what it allowed us to do. Web conferencing first became a topic of conversation when we were preparing to pitch a company that was several states away. Travel was not an option for either side so we initially talked about pitching them via audio conferencing. Instead, several of our younger team members came to us and suggested web conference or even video conference. We were open to suggestions and wanted to learn more about this technology - especially if it could give us an edge in earning this piece of business.

We learned that web conferencing and video conference could both connect us in ways that we had never explored previously. We were excited to see what this could do for our company. More in the next post…

Popularity: 30% [?]

In the last post I talked about companies of all kinds - including ours - needed to determine if, when change approached them, they would take the steps necessary to move to the next level or suffer the consequences of staying put. Change was hard by any account but you needed to be able to tackle it and make it work for you if you were going to be successful. We were ready to move to the next level and were using teleconferencing services along the way. We had reached a point where we were growing and our customer base was expanding tremendously. We did what we had to do to get ourselves in a position to be able to serve these clients most effectively. Teleconferencing services were a part of the technology that was available to us and we were going to use it to the best of our ability to really move along and achieve the success of which were capable.

As we discussed in the last post, web conferencing allowed us to access documents in real time so that we could effectively manage projects regardless of distance. This gave us the ability to immediately get everyone on the same page and service our clients efficiently. Additional teleconferencing services that we were using included:

Audio conferencing. When a quick phone call was in order, audio conferencing allowed us to do it efficiently and professionally. We could quickly tackle the matters at hand and get everyone informed on client issues.

Video conference. When it was necessary to meet in person but distance prevented it from happening, there was nothing better than video conference. Being able to see as well as hear your audience and speakers allowed us to get up close and personal with our clients and vendors even if distance was a problem.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Growth is a part of any company’s objective. A business wants to be able to provide its products and services in such a way that their reputation flourishes, their customer base expands, and their company grows and moves to the next level. No matter what industry a company is in, no matter what products or services they offer, this is always the objective. In our company, we were in a growth spurt which inevitably happens to most businesses. How companies handle that growth spurt normally dictates which way they go - to the next level or sunk under the pressure of change. We were going to the next level but there was much to do in order to make it happen effectively. We had to keep pace with the changing needs of our clients and stay on track with the development of technology and how that could help us with our overall objectives as a company. To that end, web conferencing would be a big part of everything that we did going forward.

Web conferencing certainly keeps pace with modern technology and has allowed many businesses - across all industries - to service their clients and customers most effectively. This was the technology that would allow us to reach the next level and attend to our clients’ needs fast and efficiently.

We have already begun to use a variety of teleconferencing services including web conference and even video conference and they have all helped us to take them next step in the right direction.

Web Conferencing - Like most businesses, we manage a variety of projects for our clients and that requires many people being on the same page. Web conferencing gives us the opportunity to logon from all locations and instantly access documents in real time. We can share information, answer questions, and make changes in this easy-to-access format that transcends distance.

More in the next post…

Popularity: 43% [?]

Staying on top of all the details that go into managing a project is no small task. There is much to do and without warning anything can slip through the cracks and bring the whole thing crashing down. That’s why anyone who is managing a project must do so with an eye on the prize and absolute control over all the components. This is a challenge under normal circumstances but if those who are participating in the project are all over the map there are even greater challenges. Web conferencing can make all the difference.

I began to use web conference on a consistent basis when I first expanded my business. Suddenly I was serving customers that were all over the country and some of my team was in one of our satellite offices. I had to be able to effectively communicate with the team as well as manage each client project with key players. Web conferencing made that possible.

Through web conferencing you can access information instantly online and gather around it so to speak; in much the same way that you would if you were in a conference room together. Web conferencing allows you to look at information - documents - simultaneously and in real time so that you can exchange information, ask and answer questions, and essentially drive the project successfully.

Web conferencing - as well as audio conferencing and most definitely video conference - has completely transformed the way that we are able to do business. It has made communication more effective and project management much more fluid even if those involved are far away from each other. I know that web conference has allowed us to keep pace with the changing landscape of business and will continue to let us lead the way - and find success - well into the future.

Popularity: 33% [?]

In the last post I talked about the challenges of opening a business and the added challenges that we faced because we are opening two offices simultaneously. We had one office in one state and a second office in another state; pulling this off required some patience and definitely an organized strategy. Web conferencing services has allowed us to pull off a lot more than we would otherwise be able to handle. With trying to coordinate communication between employees, vendors, and potential new business prospects, web conferencing, audio conferencing, and video conference has been enormously powerful.

The ways in which teleconferencing services have helped us today and will likely continue to help us as our business grows includes:

Giving us the ability to immediately respond to client needs. This is obviously an important element in any business but when you are a company that is doing business far away from your clients it’s especially important to show them that you can easily respond to them. Web conference, audio conferencing, and video conference allow us to jump online or on the phone and get things handled quickly.

Being able to manage projects professionally and seamlessly. It’s so important to be able to manage projects with some authority. It’s not the easiest thing to do when you are managing people that are far from each other physically. Web conferencing allows us to reach across the miles and get things done; to manage things appropriately even when things are chaotic.

Allowing us to expand our horizons. There’s so much that technology has afforded us and we are able to take full advantage of it through web conferencing services which allows us to jump online and coordinate projects, share information, and move things along effectively. Video conference, web conference, and audio conferencing gives us the tools to do business at the next level.

Popularity: 29% [?]

When you are in charge of a company, you are challenged with a thousand things on a daily basis. There’s so much to consider - from budget and staffing to, of course, the daily operations that allow you to best present and sell your products and services. For me, as a company owner, I am always looking for those things that will take us to the next level and separate us from our competition. Time is money and anything that allows us to do our job more effectively saves us time, and money as a result. This is the reason that web conferencing has become such a fixture in our company to date and will likely continue to grow with us in the years to come.

We began to use web conferencing services to meet the daily needs of our company when we first opened. Our reality is that we opened not one, but two offices simultaneously - one in one state in one in another state. This made for a chaotic time as there was far more coordination needed than would typically be necessary. We needed a way to communicate with our employees, our vendors, and even business prospects with limited trouble. A variety of web conferencing services could allow us to manage it all most effectively.

I know that businesses fail all the time - when there’s only one office being opened, let alone two. We needed to make sure that we were able to communicate with everyone on a moment’s notice and address what needed to be addressed immediately. This would be what would allow us to instill confidence in those with whom we work day in and day out.

So far, we have found great benefit in web conferencing services and we’re happy to see how it plays out in the future in affecting the growth of our company. More in the next post…

Popularity: 20% [?]

When you’re accustomed to doing business all over the world, you’re also accustomed to making adjustments on the fly. You are typically working within several different time zones - attempting to coordinate a number of different people and projects at any given time. When you have been in this game for as long as I have, you begin to learn how best to manage your time and the resources that are available to you. I have found, over the years, that it has become easier to manage everything, as technology has grown to keep pace with modern business needs. Web conferencing services and video conference has become enormously important to us; helping us to better communicate with our clients, vendors, and employees across the distance.

Most recently, I used video conference to help me introduce some new employees to my existing staff. I was across the country opening another of our offices. With six offices around the country, it was important for us to work in the most organized and efficient manner possible. We are very invested in our employees and making sure that they know that they are a big part of a larger family. Sometimes that can be difficult based on the logistics, but web conferencing capabilities has allowed us to better communicate with our employees.

On this occasion, I used video conference to introduce the new team - in our new office - to some of our other staff. It wasn’t technically in person but it was definitely the closest we could get without being in the same room. Talking via email and even audio conferencing is great and they certainly have their place but sometimes people can really benefit from seeing, as well as hearing, each other. Video conference allows us to have personal conversations across the miles and continue to be connected to our employees; it will continue to be a big part of our business.

Popularity: 28% [?]

In the last post I talked about my business being launched and about my wanting to put the appropriate resources into place to ensure that the company had every opportunity for success. For my purposes, as I was going to be serving clients all over the world, teleconferencing services were going to be a big deal indeed. I needed to know that I could rely on these services as they were literally going to be the bread and butter of my company. This was my way of ensuring my clients, and certainly perspective clients, that I was up to the job at hand; that I could attend to their needs no matter where I was in the world. As I said in the last post, web conferencing and audio conferencing were going to be big components of my business. Web conferencing would allow us to share documents with our clients in real time in order to gather feedback and discuss current events. As we were very much a project-based company this was especially important. Audio conferencing was always going to be a cornerstone of teleconferencing services and something that we needed to be able to rely on with continued frequency. But I had one more trick up my sleeve.

* Video Conferencing - I just knew without a doubt that video conferencing would very much determine how successful that I could be in the first year of business. The reality was that I had to reach clients around the world and - just as important - I had to reach prospective clients around the world. Video conference would give me the ability to get “in front” of these people so that I could best represent myself and my business regardless of distance. It was important that they see me as well as hear me; in the business world this is where trust is built.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Opening my business was one of the most exciting things that I have ever done - and also the hardest. I have worked night and day to ensure that this gets off the ground and has every opportunity for success - and in one of the toughest economies in recent history to boot. I want to make sure that everything goes smoothly and that we are able to hit the ground running in being able to service our clients appropriately. Web conferencing is going to be a significant piece of my business because I am in a physically small location in one corner of the world and my clients - and potential clients - are around the world. They need to be able to trust me with communication; to know that I am always available to them at all times and teleconferencing services will give me the tools to given them that peace of mind.

So now that I have launched, this spring season will be dedicated to getting all communication tools up and running effectively including:

Web conferencing. Like I said, this will be a huge part of what I do. I need to be able to share documents in real time with people who may be physically far from us. My team needs to learn how to share information and, in turn, gather the information that they need to move forward. Web conferencing gives us all the ability to react on the spot and offer professional, proactive communication to our clients regardless of location.

Audio conferencing. Meeting by phone will always be a standard method of communication and one that we will continue to use often. We need, however, to make sure that the audio conferencing that we use is high quality and completely reliable at all times.

More in the next post…

Popularity: 41% [?]