Eight-seven percent of businesses who rely on conference calls admit that they prefer it over face-to-face communications.
The numbers have spoken — conference calls are great for businesses. But, with so many conference call services available how do you choose the right one for your business?
What qualities should the best conference call service have? Read on to discover the five big ones!
1. Unlimited Time Limits
When you’re on an important conference call, you don’t want to run out of time and drop the call. You also don’t want to get your bill at the end of the month and see expensive overage charges.
This is why you should only consider conference call providers with unlimited time limits.
Many organizations offer unlimited conference call times. If you plan on doing a lot of business on conference calls, you need an unlimited time limit.
2. Call Controls
Conference calls providers have different types of call controls. It’s very important to look at how each one allows you to create a call, add callers, and drop callers.
Some companies only allow you to control the conference call through your phone’s dial phone. More advanced companies allow you to control calls online or even through an app.
Also, make sure that your controls include the mute option!
3. International Access
Teleconference services are especially handy if you have a lot of international clients or employees.
Unless your business comes with a private jet and an endless wallet, odds are you’ll be doing a lot of business over conference calls. But not all providers allow international calling for free, so you want to check the fine print if you work internationally.
While we are on the subject of international conference calls, educate yourself on these situations to avoid.
4. Large Number of Participants
Conferencing services put limits on the number of people who can participate in calls.
The first thing you want to do is evaluate your business’ needs. If you are a small business with 20 employees, you probably don’t need a service that allows a few hundred participants.
But, if you are a large business, you want to make sure your conference call can handle a large number of participants. Some companies boast that they allow up to 5,000 on calls — now that’s a lot of business!
5. Call Recording
When searching for a conference bridging service, you may not think about looking for call recording services.
But picture an important business conference call with several large clients. Odds are, there are going to be a lot of different points and information exchanged during this one call. What happens when your note-taking can’t keep up with all the important information?
Enter call recording. This feature allows you to play back every conference call to ensure that you never miss an important piece of information. Some companies even offer transcription services for the recorded calls!
Beyond The Best Conference Call Service
Now that you know the qualities that make up the best conference call service, it’s time to find the right service for your business.
Find a company that offers unlimited time limits and allows for international access. Make sure to choose a company that allows a large number of people on one call, call recording and easy-to-use call controls.
Once you narrow down your search, then you can concentrate on the price and customer service aspects of each company.
Interested in adding more technology solutions to your business? Check out this article on ways using technology in business can improve your bottom line.
