• The ability to collaborate with any number of participants in multiple time zones in real-time
• Cost and time-savings by eliminating the expenses and time involved with business travel
• The ability to meet with your participants on short notice
• Improved work/life balance for your employees
• Reduced corporate carbon footprint
• Increased in-house productivity

Thanks to the productivity and business continuity it provides, Unified Communications (UC) is becoming more and more vital to today’s businesses. With that said, as UC services, such as web conferencing, continue to grow, businesses will find other value in the technology as well.

Recently, while speaking to industry analysts and reporters in San Francisco, Polycom’s CEO, Any Miller, spoke on the value of UC, saying that it “will move from ROI to business continuity and productivity. It’s no longer about the ROI of [conferencing] versus travel.”

Unfortunately, a number businesses have given conferencing services the brush off – partly because they are not aware of the advancements and features that are now available on modern conferencing services, and partly because they believe in-person meetings are the best/only way to get business done. To be sure, in-person meetings are a crucial part to forming a strong relationship with your dispersed customers and employees, however as Miller also pointed out, conferencing services ensure your business is not interrupted by natural disasters (anyone remember that Icelandic volcanic ash cloud in 2010 or last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan?), infectious diseases (H1N1, etc.), and post-9-11 airport security.

The fact is conferencing services (web conferencing in particular) provide a way for people to maintain a close relationship with their customers and colleagues, and has time and again proven to be an incredibly valuable asset to all types and sizes of businesses. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) – the leading worldwide provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the IT, telecom and consumer technology markets – the forecasted revenue from UC and collaboration technology is expected to grow at to $44 billion by 2015 for a compound annual growth rate of over 18 percent.

Additional Information

To find out more about audio and web conferencing services and how they can enhance your business, give us a call today!

Web Conferencing Services

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When used effectively, conferencing services are a valuable tool that allows users to interact with all participants, permitting stronger involvement and communication. With that being said, however, virtual conferences also pose a few unique challenges. For instance, with a large number of participants it can be difficult determining who is speaking, let alone managing the meeting. Moreover, the growing number of devices as well as the combination of video and audio can render conference communication inconsistent across attendees. Thankfully, advancements in modern conferencing technologies help to combat many of these issues, such as PGi’s iMeet solution, which provides each participant with an individual cube that, when somebody talks, glows green.

Research has shown that 55% of communication is expressed via nonverbal clues, while 38% comes from the tone of our voice and only 7% from our words. So if you are relying on an audio-only conference, the collaboration and interpersonal dynamics that you would find in an in-person meeting are likely lost. What’s more is that creating a team structure and building trust is much more of a challenge when participants cannot see each other, and a lack of nonverbal clues leaves much room for misinterpretation.

To help eliminate these potential problems, we’ve compiled a list of best practices for your future audio and web conferences:

Prior to your conference

• Limit your total number of participants for easier meeting management
• Create and distribute a conference agenda to all participants that identifies your meeting goals
• Email copies of your presentation documents as a backup in the event of a technical problem

During your conference video

• Introduce all participants
• Establish rules for proper meeting etiquette, such as identifying yourself before speaking, using the mute button to eliminate distracting background noise, etc.
• Limit the length of your conference; the longer it is, the more likely your participants will lose focus and begin to multitask
• Realize that all of your participants might not have the advantage of seeing your nonverbal clues, so to avoid a misunderstanding, your content and tone of voice should be carefully chosen

Audio and Web Conferencing Services

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But with the surplus of webinars that are in the market today, what can you do to make your webinar stand out among the rest? With the help of PGi, we’ve compiled a list of ways you can get the best return on your webinar investment:

•  Find the right time/date for your target audience – various statistics have shown that sending out marketing emails is most effective when done on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday; however, if you’re target audience is a sales team, this is likely the time they will be out in the field meeting with customers and researching new prospects. Because your audience’s web habits are as varied as the individuals themselves, try hosting a series of short webinars at different times and comparing audience participation results. You can also conduct a survey of your target group to see when they would be most likely to attend your webinar.
• Select your speakers/presenters carefully – don’t automatically assume any speaker/presenter will do. You can schedule and secure the brightest of minds to speak at your webinar, but all that will be lost if they cannot present their material in an engaging, audience-friendly manner. When selecting a speaker, opt for one with a strong reputation for providing powerful presentations. Once you have made your decision, practice – a dry run-through of your conference will help iron out any possible issues. And if you’re concerned about missing any relevant information, you can also provide your speakers with an outline or script.
•  Reach out – Don’t limit yourself to only email. Social media sites are an ideal platform to advertise your webinars, as they can be shared, liked, and reposted by your friends and followers – allowing you to branch out and reach an audience in a way that a simple email invite could not. Another great suggestion from PGi is to give your staff an incentive to encourage them to reach out and lock-in prospective customers the old-fashioned way.

Want to learn more? Stay tuned for our next post, or give one of our professional account managers a call today!

One of the easiest ways this can be accomplished is by integrating an audio or web conferencing service. Beyond all the bells and whistles, truly savvy start-up and SMB owners have learned that the best return on their money can be found by investing resources in audio and web conferencing technology. Audio and web conferencing technologies allow even the smallest company to expand their customer base to areas they otherwise would not be able to afford by making themselves available both vocally and visually to current and potential customers across the globe.

What’s more is that not only are audio and web conferencing services easy-to-use, but they are no longer limited to the office boardroom or desktop computer. Today’s leading providers of conferencing solutions offer applications that make meetings available on laptops, tablets, smartphones, and other favored devices. This freedom allows you to arrange a meeting wherever and whenever you see it fit.

There might be times when you require a more effective form of communication than an audio-only conference can require. For example, if you are working on making a sales pitch, creating a new logo, launching a product, a simple audio-only conference might not cover all the bases. Enter: web conferencing. Web conferencing allows you to share your ideas, documents, presentations – even your own desktop – with your audience in real-time.

When it comes to web conferencing, most software is already compatible with your current computers or devices, provided they have (or you can purchase) a microphone and webcam – providing a benefit that exponentially outweighs its cost. By eliminating the need for expensive phone plans or pricey specialized equipment, more of your capital is freed up for other expenses or investments.

To find out more, give one of our professional account managers a call today!

• Checking email – Radicati Group research shows that the average business person sends approximately 34 emails and receives 99 emails every day. While there’s no doubt that the majority of those are coming in during the work day, chances are at least a few are being sent and received throughout the duration of your audio or web conference.
• Browsing the Internet – this includes researching work-related material, shopping, reading news articles or books, and going to social media websites (such as LinkedIn and FaceBook) which account for over 20% of American’s time spent online.
• Texting – according to Pew Internet, the typical person sends around 40 text messages daily. Assuming those texts come in during a 15 hour day, that equates to three texts being sent by each of your participants during your conference.
• Private chats – no, we aren’t talking about the handy chat and sub-chat features that come with most web conferencing services. We’re talking about those participants that put their line on mute and then answer their cell phone during your meeting or converse with co-workers that stop by their desk.
• Eating – a late breakfast, snack, lunch, or even an early dinner.
• Exercising – while this is a good idea for your participant’s health, there’s an even better chance it’ll keep them from focusing on your materials.
• Personal grooming – this includes participants brushing their hair or teeth (perhaps after grabbing a bite to eat), clipping/filing/painting their nails, shaving, putting on make-up, etc.
• Housework – this counts mainly for mobile workers and those who work from home, and includes cooking, cleaning, organizing, playing with/talking to/cleaning up after pets and children.

In accordance with a study that was conducted by Stanford University, people who multi-task would accomplish more if they did each task individually as opposed to simultaneously. So, while your participants might think they can multi-task successfully, research shows they would probably do even better by slowing down and directing more focus toward each task.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done during an audio or web conference?

Possibly; without the visuals and non-verbal queues that are easy to pick up in face-to-face conferences, it’s likely that your participants will find it easy to divert their attention elsewhere and multi-task while attending your audio conference. The challenge that many conferencing hosts face is trying to get their participants fully engaged and listening to the topic at hand.

This can be extremely difficult – mainly because an audio conference typically requires participants to sit at their desk and simply listen over the phone, creating an ideal environment for multi-tasking. Often participants will end up using that time to focus on whatever it is that is grabbing their attention at the moment.

In addition, with the large quantity of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other portable devices, many of us have become accustomed to having multiple senses stimulated simultaneously, so participating in an audio-only conference call is much less engaging than many people’s day-to-day interactions with technology. In order to combat this, a large number of conferencing hosts are moving toward products that maximize their participant interactions in different ways, thereby allowing participants to multi-task on topic as opposed to having their attention drive away from the conversation they are having or the message being relayed.

One of the products and features that hosts employ to assuage these issues include an online registration page. This lets the host know who will be joining the conference before it starts, which allows them to tailor their message to their specific audience. Furthermore, by coupling an online registration page with a passcode/pin access number feature, you can decrease the wait time when starting a conference. Each participant can join the call using a unique passcode or pin number, eliminating the need for operator assistance. What’s more is that you actually save money because your participants are on the line for a shorter period of time since there is less waiting required at the start of the conference.

Another great way to engage your participants is by using tools that involve a visual or require interaction – the more interactive the better. Thankfully, today’s conferencing providers offer a comprehensive range of features and tools that allow you to share applications, desktops, stream Power Point presentations, chat with the host and/or participants, conduct polls, and hold Q&A sessions to increase your meeting’s productivity.

In short, the key to ending multi-tasking, and distractions is to provide a variety avenues for on-topic interaction. Engaging participants in a conference is not only smart, but vital, and by offering engaging tools and features like online voting/polling, online Q&A, etc. you provide a very tangible proof of engagement.

Thankfully, there is a reliable, easy-to-use and cost-efficient solution: conferencing!

Conferencing services – be it audio conferencing or web conferencing – allow you to reach out, communicate, and interact with your partners, customers and employees anywhere in the world, for significantly less than standard business travel. Like it or not, there are certain times when conducting a traditional face-to-face meeting just isn’t possible; whether it is due to time zone or scheduling issues, sick or injured employees or any other number of reasons. Luckily, with the advancements that have been made in modern conferencing technology, you can now have the ability to conduct a conference without the inconvenience of requiring everyone to be at the same table.

By bringing your team together for an audio conference or a web conference, you not only eliminate the costs and time associated with business travel, but you also help your company become more “eco-conscious” by shrinking your business’s carbon footprint.

Audio conferencing provides a quick and easy way to connect with any number of people using either a telephone or smartphone. No matter what size your business is, there are a number of top conferencing providers – such as InterCall, the largest conferencing provider in the world – who offer a robust, comprehensive collection of services with valuable and effective features. For example, some audio conferencing services provide one or more toll-free numbers and passcodes for your participants to call and join your meetings. But what if one of your participants is unable to make the conference? Well, some audio conferencing solutions allow you to record your conference and store it for future playback.

From simple, two or three person meetings to large, operator-assisted audio conferences, there is a solution available to meet your business’s unique requirements. And here at ConferenceShopper, our wealth of expertise and established industry relationships with the leading audio and web conferencing providers allow us to off you unbiased, carrier neutral advice on services from the finest providers of audio and web conferencing.

A method frequently used by veteran meeting hosts is to begin by asking participants a question or conducting a poll in order to transfer their focus attention away from other activities and devices, such as smartphones. It’s not uncommon for conference participants to multi-task, i.e. chatting with other employees via Instant Messaging, answering emails, etc. (and to be brutally honest, I’ve don’t it myself), so your best bet is to get them engaged early and often. Remember that it’s important to keep your questions and polls relevant to the material you’re presenting because they will eventually become part of the discussion when you reveal the results later on in the meeting.

If you haven’t already chosen a web conferencing provider, we highly suggest one such as InterCall – the largest conferencing provider in the world – that offers real-time Q&A sessions and polling.

So, now that your web conference got off to a great start and you’ve seen that the polls you’ve conducted and questions that you’ve asked kept everyone engaged, you’ve gone through your materials – now what? Finish strong! Consider an exit Q&A, poll, or survey at the conclusion of your meeting to collect feedback instantly. While follow up emails are a great idea to cover the major points you discussed throughout the meeting, most questions or surveys included in them often go unanswered. Furthermore, by announcing that you will be conducting a poll, Q&A or survey at the end of the meeting, you’re giving participants one more reason to stay engaged.

Additional Information

See anything we might have missed? Let us know! Interested in learning more about how audio and/or web conferencing services can improve your business or finding the right solution for you? Give one of our professional account managers a call today!

PGi’s GlobalMeet conferencing service offers a comprehensive selection of desktop audio controls, so you can say ‘sayonara’ to conferences gone wrong and turn your virtual meetings from required nuisances to essential communication tools. PGi GlobalMeet is so simple that all it takes to begin and join a GlobalMeet conference call from your desktop is four simple clicks. And forget about memorizing any long, challenging passcodes; just hit the “Connect Me” button on the pop-up screen and the meeting will call you!

What’s more is that PGi GlobalMeet gives you full command over your audio conferencing controls with its innovative audio console. Are any of your attendee’s working outside of the office as mobile workers or working from home? No problem. With GlobalMeet you can mute those noisy city streets, crying babies, barking dogs and any other disruptive noise in the background that disturb your meetings and run them off track.

Not only that, but PGi GlobalMeet lets you record your audio conference calls with a single click, and offers a host of wonderful playback features that allow you download previous meetings. From there you can choose to upload the recordings to your intranet group, share with other attendees who were not able to attend the conference, or even even take notes; listening to past recordings also aids in employee information retention.

Uh oh. Have you planned a GlobalMeet conference call but for whatever reason you’re called out of the office? If you have a tablet or smartphone then there’s no need to stress. Whether you’re a host or guest, simply download the free PGi mobile application – which offers the same audio conference console – and you’re all set to take control of your next conference call.

Additional Information

Are you interested in learning more about PGi GlobalMeet or other audio conferencing and web conferencing solutions? If so, give us a call today! Our professional account managers can help you find the ideal conferencing solution that matches your unique business needs.

• Prepare – create an outline or agenda for your meeting and send to all of your attendees along with a few specific review items or tasks you would like them to go over. In addition, gather any additional hosts or presenters and perform a few trial runs to get everyone acquainted with the available conferencing features. This will prevent any confusion on the day of your meeting and help iron out any unforeseen issues.
• K.I.S.S. – stands for Keep It Simple (Stupid/Smarty/any other ‘S’ word you see fit). The last thing anyone wants to do is be stuck in a meeting that should have ended 5, 10, 30, 60 minutes ago. If all you require is a brief conversation, don’t feel as though you need to entertain everyone on the line as long as possible. As a general rule of thumb, larger web and audio conferences should be kept around the one hour mark, while smaller more intimate conferences typically last around 30 minutes.
• Watch – if you’re holding an audio conferencing call and are concerned that one or more of your participants are on the call but not engaged, consider integrating web conferencing into your meeting. With real-time video feeds you’ll be able to see each participant throughout your meeting, which leads to less sneaking off or multi-tasking on the job.
• Inform – prior to starting your meeting, send out an email to all participants that covers the topics that will be discussed and provide a clear list of objectives and expected outcomes that you are looking for. As a side note, it wouldn’t hurt to add in a few reasons why your meeting will help make their day/week/etc. easier and enhance performance.
• Ask – unexpected questions will keep participants on their toes and focused, making them less likely to multi-task. It’s not unusual for one or more attendees to hold off on making comments or suggesting ideas because they are unsure of when to jump in and add their input. If you feel you are not getting enough participation from certain attendees feel free to direct questions specifically at them.
• Audio conference hosts, might want to try asking all participants to leave their mute buttons off so they are less likely to be tempted by distractions (although if mobile workers are located in an area with a lot of background noise this might not be an option).
• Provide – web and audio conferences require just as much planning and forethought as face-to-face meetings, so be sure to offer your participants an informative, memorable experience.

More Information

Have any other tips you’d like to share? Send us a comment or contact one of our professional account managers today!