Googling a “conference call” makes your head spin. Google launches a barrage of offers. How do you determine the service that best suits your needs? Under the adage “knowledge is power,” this article examines some of the myths and truths of conference calling. Try searching for “web 2.0 audio conferencing”
Myth No. # 1: Some conference call services are free!
Truth: Someone is paying. Make sure the plug is not disconnected on your call.
How to hold a “free” provider responsible? You can not. If you are not charged for the service, then the provider receives the revenue to run the service in some other way. Audio conferencing platforms have real and ongoing overhead costs that someone is paying for. Before deciding to rely on the services of a “free” provider, determine your revenue model. Otherwise, you may have to cancel an important meeting because your “free” provider decided to go on vacation. Audio conferencing providers may offer “free” services for a number of reasons, including:
- Sell your name to third parties. Ask: What if the name-selling business revenue model fails? Is reliability important?
- Advertising sale. Ask: What if advertising revenue declines? Will the lights go out in the toilet?
- Get a sponsor to pay it because the sponsor receives some other benefit from the provider. Ask: What if sponsorship drops, where does that leave me?
- Waiting for you to upgrade to your value-added services. Ask: Do these services improve my productivity or slow me down? Are cheap and free services actually costing me more in the end anyway?
For business-critical communications, where dropped and poor quality calls mean delayed or canceled meetings, the cost of lost time is far more costly to your bottom line than the cost of calls.
Myth No. # 2: Your conference call provider bundles all of your services into one price.
Truth: read the fine print. The devil is in the details.
While this is true with some providers, this is generally not true. Some prominent providers advertise a low per minute rate and then require the customer to pay an operator for calls of more than 15 people. This type of “bait and switch” tactic means that the average rate paid per minute is actually much higher than the low “carrot and stick” rate that customers thought they were paying. Some providers choose not to play tricks on their customers. Unless you enjoy the bait and switch game, you should consider honest providers who really have a unique price rating for their services.
Myth No. # 3 – All conference call providers are the same.
Truth: this used to be true, but not anymore.
In the old days, audio conferencing used to be about connecting cables. Most of the audio conferencing technology that is still widely used today uses this ancient technology “under the covers.” This is why the features are limited to just one flavor: plain vanilla. That is, you get a call PIN and a dialing number and call at the agreed time. With the advent of the web, new technologies are emerging that combine the best of traditional audio conferencing with new web-based productivity features. These services can make your conference calls much more efficient and effective. These are the providers to look for. This means searching the maze to find them. Try searching for “Web 2.0 audio conferencing”.
© Copyright 2011. Leader Phone® and Michael McKibben. All rights reserved.