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Choosing the Right Teleconferencing Service

If your company has hubs in different countries, regions, or cities, teleconferencing can be an invaluable tool. You can save substantial amounts of money, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of inter-branch communication, keep remote employees connected to “home base,” and reach large groups of clients when and where it’s convenient for them. However, not all teleconferencing services will fit your specific needs. Small businesses that hold five-person conference calls once a month do not require the same solution as a multi-national corporation that must regularly connect across time zones and latitudes. Let’s take another look at your options and focus on which services are best suited for your specific situation.

Reservationless (On-Demand) Teleconferencing Services

If security isn’t a major issue and the pace and tone of the conference can be somewhat casual, reservationless teleconferencing services will provide you with reliability, flexibility, and low costs. Once you’ve settled on the service, it’s time to choose the right pricing plan.

Per Minute Teleconferencing Service Plans: Per minute (pay per use) plans are perfect for companies that don’t rely heavily on teleconferencing or those that experience broad changes in the amount of teleconferencing they do from month to month. Most plans allow for a large number of participants (often well over 100), so they can be effective if you hold a quarterly strategy meeting, semi-annual training sessions, or the occasional emergency conference call. They can also work for companies that experience a heavy need for teleconferencing on a seasonal basis.

Flat Rate Teleconferencing Service Plans: When you sign up for a flat rate plan your charges will be based on the number of lines you’ll be using for teleconferencing instead of the number of minutes you use. If you engage in frequent teleconferences that involve a small number of participants, flat rate plans can be the perfect solution.

Prepaid Minutes Teleconferencing Service Plans: Prepaid minute plans are designed for companies that have a general sense of how much teleconferencing they’re going to be doing. These plans usually have very lenient participant restrictions, meaning you can get the same rate for 12 people as you would for 200. However, if your teleconferencing needs fluctuate regularly, you can end up paying for unused minutes or paying overage charges, so pre paid plans are probably not your best choice.

Operator-assisted Teleconferencing Services

If you need to closely monitor who is involved in a teleconference, if you have high-profile clients or partners, or if you simply need to leave the coordination of the conference up to someone else, operator-assisted teleconferencing services are most likely the way to go. As with reservationless teleconferencing services, once you’ve settled on an operator-assisted service, you’ll need to choose a pricing plan.

Per Minute Teleconferencing Service Plans: Per minute (pay per use) operator-assisted plans can be efficient for companies that host press conferences or other regular meetings that vary greatly in length from week to week. These plans are also effective for companies that hold multi-client conferences occasionally throughout the year or that experience different teleconferencing needs from one month to the next.

Flat Rate Teleconferencing Service Plans: A flat rate operator-assisted plan might not be the best bet for large corporations that deal with a number of employees, customers, and partners on each conference call. However, small companies that host teleconferences with a select group of clients or investors can benefit from these plans, because they receive the security and organization they need, and they are free to interact for as long as necessary without fear of running up an astronomical teleconferencing bill.

Prepaid Minutes Teleconferencing Service Plans: If you have set teleconferences each week or even each month, prepaid operator-assisted plans can work for you. They don’t necessarily give you the freedom of a pay per use plan, but they do usually offer lower rates on a per-minute basis. As with a cell phone plan, though, you want to ensure that you find the right balance between rate and minutes, because overestimating or underestimating the amount of teleconferencing time you need can quickly lead to unnecessary costs.

The easiest way to find teleconferencing providers that offer the services and pricing models that you need is to receive quotes from companies that are already familiar with your criteria. A service such as the one provided by 360Telecommunications allows you to do just that. You can receive up to five free quotes from providers that already know what you’re looking for, so you can quickly narrow down your search. Click here to receive free teleconferencing quotes.

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