In the last post I talked about the importance of communication in business and how finding your own “groove” comes down to exploring the possibilities and ultimately choosing those methods that best suit your team and what you do on a daily basis. For us, it was all about establishing relationships between ourselves and clients the world over. We needed to be able to put trust in place and for those people that we served on a daily basis to know, without a doubt, that we were there for them regardless of the time and regardless of the distance that separated us. Audio conferencing, as we discussed earlier, was a key element in forming that trust and those relationships. It allowed us to pick up the phone and include anyone that we wanted or needed in the conversation. More than just a phone call however, audio conferencing is professionally run and seamless in its operations. More methods for communication that we have used include:
Web Conferencing - This has improved our business dramatically. When you meet in person with clients - and you are currently engaged in a project - you bring to the table (the physical table) the documentation associated with that project at which time all participants can add in their two cents, ask questions, reference particular items, etc. With web conferencing, this can all be done online. Through a phone and web connection, participants can access the same information in real time through a moderator who is in charge for uploading the documents. From there it’s possible to talk about the details of any project and to all be on the same page - literally.
Video Conference - Takes it one step further by allowing us to see each other. This is a virtual meeting room of sorts where participants can log on from their own location.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Taking on a new client is challenging enough but when that new client happens to be across the world, the challenges increase exponentially. We were trying our best to service someone who was literally a day ahead of us in terms of time; it made it difficult to say the least. Then there were the issues. The first thing that we did for them was a project of massive proportions and we were just working out how communications were going to go. We were struggling to stay in communication with everyone and that meant that some things were falling through the cracks. Language was also an issue and we weren’t sure how many things were simply being lost in translation. Web conferencing quickly became the answer for us in getting back on track and gaining momentum with this new and important client.
Web conference allows us to log on with several parties at once and get down to business in a detailed and personal way even across all those miles. Invitations are sent to the parties involved in this particular project after which everyone logs on at the appropriated time. From there, we can discuss the details of what we see on the screen as the moderator (someone from our team) goes through the project page by page. What this has given us is accountability on both ends - in terms of following up on project details, answering concerns and questions literally on the spot and determining what needs to happen next and in what time frame. Web conferencing has given us a leg up in our dealings with this client and will likely be used by our team for communications with all of our clients as it’s an easy, effective and certainly professional way to operate our business well into the future.
Popularity: 5% [?]
In the last post we talked about our position as a small to medium sized company that was actively servicing our client base in order to maintain long term relationships and reaching out to potential new business. We had our hands full juggling it all especially with a relatively modest team - certainly nothing like the staff that larger companies of our kind have available to them. We needed to be equal parts service and sales and the fact was that we couldn’t do either effectively without the use of modern day communication such as web conferencing and conference calls.
Sure, web conferencing and frequent conference calls allow us to better service our worldwide client base. We certainly can’t have in-person meetings with them on a regular basis - the world of our business moves too fast and it’s not cost-effective for that much travel. Through web conference, however, we are able to share project documents in real time, get instant feedback and remain on the same page with the client’s needs. Conference calls also allow us to stay in touch on a frequent basis; just having voice contact between our team and our clients gives those we work for peace of mind and an understanding that we answer to them even from this far away.
For all these reasons and more, our methods of communication also allow us to bring new clients on board. We are in one part of the world and many of the people that we are pitching are in other parts of the world. They need to be able to trust us; trust our ability to offer exceptional service regardless of our physical distance. Web conferencing allows us to stay in touch and share physical documents and conference calls are our standard weekly operating procedure - giving new clients a scheduled check-in with us. We even use video conference on a frequent basis so that we can physically see each other without having to be in the same room. This is the new face of business and we are using all the technology that we can to make a great impression.
Popularity: 18% [?]
Part of any business - the biggest part for obvious reasons - is bringing on new clients/customers so that the business continues to thrive. The other part, of course, is providing existing clients with appropriate service so that they remain with your business. Success, therefore, comes down to equal parts sales and service. We were like most other small to medium sized businesses in our position; working diligently to stay ahead of the competition in order to attract new business and diligently servicing our existing clients so that we could reduce turnover and maintain long term business relationships. Also like many other companies in our position, we often found ourselves stretched too thin. We needed to be able to service our clients but we also needed to concentrate on bringing in new clients in order to continue to grow the business. The additional challenge was that we were working with people all over the world - appealing to potential clients who were in other countries as well as in other states. This was terrific in terms of growth but it also meant very specific challenges for us in terms of effective communication and essentially trying to be in many different places at the same time. There’s no way that any of what we were trying so hard to accomplish could happen in a world without Internet. Being online allowed us the flexibility to not only talk to - but effectively service - people around the world and web conferencing was a huge part of that.
In fact, through web conferencing and frequent conference calls we have been able to, if not be in the same physical location as our clients at least, give them the next best thing - our undivided attention through one of the modern methods of communication. These services have also allowed us to continue to bring new business on board in addition to actively servicing existing clients. More in the next post…
Popularity: 11% [?]
In the last post we talked about how technology has grown and changed over time - completely replacing the traditional methods of communication with faster more efficient methods that speak to the rise of global business. No longer is physical distance an issue in business; we are able to communicate just as effectively through our advanced technology as we would if we were in the same room together. Those of us who began our careers before the Internet have seen remarkable change over the years and likely have been surprised at how easy and effective it is to communicate with vendors, clients and co-workers across the miles.
As we discussed earlier, conference calls are still the most relied upon method of communication in business. They are not, however, the calls of the past in which multiple people gathered around one speaker phone and the quality was average at best. Today, conference calls are scheduled just as if they were traditional boardroom meetings. Callers are able to patch into the conference call using a pre-assigned number and code; calls can host hundreds calling in from multiple locations and the quality is far beyond anything we could have previously imagined.
Web conferencing, however, has taken conference calls to the next level, allowing participants to share both voice and documents online. This has changed the way we do business - giving us the ability to manage projects and go over paperwork simultaneously no matter where we are in the world.
What has really set us apart technology wise, however, is video conference. Through the advent and continued growth of video conference, meeting in person has almost become obsolete. It’s great if it’s convenient but it’s certainly not a necessity. Through video conference we can see each other as well as hear each other and we can conduct business accordingly.
Popularity: 9% [?]
When most of us started in our careers, technology was a far cry from what it is today. Most of us had meetings with vendors and clients face-to-face in conference rooms or by phone - either person to person or through a crackling speaker where you were forced to hear yourself echo about a room and hope that you were still able to effectively deliver your message. Today, there are so many more options - so many different ways that we are able to communicate with each other without having to worry that the quality of that communication is sacrificed. Even when a face-to-face meeting is not possible, in many ways it has been rendered unnecessary in light of all the technology available to us; the many ways that we can reach out to each other, deliver and receive information, and essentially conduct business no matter what the physical distance between us. Consider the possibilities:
Conference Calls - The tried and true method of group communication, conference calls have replaced the amateur, often low quality calls of the past. Today, you can schedule conference calls through a reputable hosting company. Invited participants then call the conference call line at the scheduled time, input their code and they are connected to the call. Conference calls can host any number of participants and even offer the ability for participants to mute out of the call if needed.
Web Conference - Combining audio conferencing with the power of the Internet, web conference allows participants to speak in a group setting while accessing documents simultaneously. Web conference is one step up from audio conferencing and far more effective than email; all of the participation without the need to physically be in the same room. Web conferencing is especially helpful for those working on projects where there is information to be read and approved.
More in the next post…
Popularity: 9% [?]
Starting a business of any kind takes skill, dedication, and the willingness to think outside the box. You need to be flexible and have the ability to shift course if needed. Those who are not flexible in their thinking and are at least willing to make adjustments as they go will find the path ahead loaded with obstacles. Of course, one of the things that any new business owner must be willing to do is to embrace the technology that is available to them. Without doing so they are vulnerable to being left in the dust by companies that are more willing to put themselves out there. Utilizing conference calls, web conferencing, and video conference may seem like a small thing to some businesses but when you understand how much they can impact the business that you do, you quickly realize how important it is to absorb them into your operations.
The long and short of it is this…today’s successful companies are available to a wide range of customers on a national - and even international - level. They know that doing business only with those customers in their immediate vicinity is limiting them and they have embraced the technology that will allow them to effectively communicate with customers the world over without any delay or sacrifice in quality.
Conference calls, for instance, give you the ability to organize a multitude of parties on one phone call and schedule it just as you would any other business meeting. You can gather people together at a chosen date and time, through one phone line and one access code and immediately be in “front” of those with whom you want to share information.
If that’s not enough, web conferencing puts documents in front of a multitude of participants at the same time allowing us to see work and make changes in real time. Video conference gives us the ability to enter a “virtual boardroom” where we can see each other as well as hear each other; another option for the digital age of business.
Popularity: 12% [?]
When we were handed a project by one of our biggest clients it was not unlike many other projects that we had worked on previously except for one very big factor - this client and the team within their company that we would be working on the project with - were in another country. Yes, this is how business is conducted everyday and we are certainly one of those companies that is looking to expand our customer base and work seamlessly with people all over the world. Technology has certainly made it much easier to achieve many things and communicating efficiently with people the world over is one of them. However, due to the time sensitivity of the project and our need to pass time sensitive documents back and forth between our companies as we worked our way towards approval, we needed something more reliable than email. Web conferencing was our solution.
While we had been using audio conferencing to communicate most frequently with this particular client - and video conference several times when we wanted a face-to-face meeting - web conferencing offered us a more hands-on approach to communication. We could get online and talk amongst the team - hearing each other while also simultaneously accessing the same documents. This was enormously beneficial in allowing everyone on the team to weigh in on particular pieces of the document, make live changes, and gain approval on the spot. In fact, it’s the only way that we could imagine working with so much on the line and so little time to get it all done.
We made web conferencing a part of our ongoing project management - something that we did everyday between our two teams. It made the process much more efficient and certainly sped us on our way to completion and success.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Any business has its own unique offerings in terms of products and service. For us - a small advertising agency with big ideas - we have much to offer our clients around the world; most especially our unique creative branding. As we all know, however, we are often up against many other companies that offer the same thing - at least as they see it. So we have made it our business to tell companies upfront the ways in which we work differently and part of what we offer on that front is teleconferencing services.
Here’s how we look at it…we are all busy going in a million different directions during the course of a day. We are trying to make things work, put our best foot forward and deliver our customers with what they want. Those looking for advertising services know that it’s important but they can’t imagine taking the time out to manage such a project and they call upon people like us - the professionals - to get the job done. We like to say that we take the pain out of the experience by making everything as convenient as possible. We meet on a weekly basis using audio conferencing, share documents through web conferencing, and even meet “face-to-face” with clients using video conference - allowing us to see as well as hear each other but without the burden of travel or the heavy scheduling that often has to be done for traditional meetings.
Teleconferencing services has allowed us to stay viable in a world that has embraced technology so fully and has given us the leg up in conducting business with companies around the world. Our clients know that when they work with us they have the benefit of a team that appreciates their time and strives to make everything convenient and efficient.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Successful business is built on successful relationships - between vendor and client, co-workers, employees and management. These are all important spokes on the wheel and when something is out of balance, the whole thing can easily fall apart. In our company, effective communication is integral to absolutely everything that we do. We are always looking for new and better ways to communicate with not only our clients and the people outside of our business but with those within our company as well. If we are not a strong team on the inside then there’s no way that we can project confidence to the outside; enough so that people feel confident to put their trust - and ultimately their money - in our hands. Teleconferencing services - web conferencing services in particular - may seem like a small thing, but for us it has made all the difference in how we communicate. It has helped us build relationships with our clients and within our own team because there are no more excuses for not being able to sit down and handle whatever project or whatever situation arises.
We have everything from audio conferencing and web conferencing to video conference to help us do better business. Audio conferencing has given us the ability to stay in touch with clients that are many states away and exchange information through an informal but organized phone meeting. Web conferencing has taken that one step further by allowing us to share documents online so that we can all be on the same page together regarding a variety of projects.
Video conference has given us even more room to fly in terms of building relationships. There’s often nothing better than being able to meet face to face with someone; that’s how solid relationships are built. However, meeting in this capacity isn’t always possible. Video conference allows us to see each other as well as hear each other; giving us as intimate a gathering as possible.
Popularity: 15% [?]
