The revolution in telecommunication has helped making the world a global village in the real sense of the word. So in order to reach the fore corners of the world, one no longer has to travel thousands of miles. The globalization of trade, manufacturing, and distribution of goods and services has made instant communication all the more essential. The conference calling companies are offering a variety of ways to reach a firm’s customers, suppliers, and its own global satellites. It is, therefore, worth your time to be careful in selecting a provider from companies offering a variety of services for conference calls.
Some common features offered by companies are:
Billing Reference Tracking, Entry/Exit Tones, Listen-Only, Music-on-Hold, Permanent Passcode
Assignments, One-Time-Use Passcodes, Operator Assistance, Operator Monitoring, Participant List, Participant Name Announcement, Recurring Reservation, Reservation Confirmations, Online Reservations, Roll Call, Security Lock, Sub-Conferencing, Polling, Q&A Session, etc.
The major types of conference calling services offered by companies are:
1. Audio Conference services such as: Reservation-less conference calls, pre-scheduled conference calls, international conference calling.
2. Enhanced Conferencing calling such as: Digital recording, transcription, encore reply, interpretation services.
3. Managing one’s audio account: Schedule a call, join a call, start a call, make a reservation, and change a reservation.
4. Web Conferencing services such as: Live conference demonstrations, web visual flash overview, requesting a personal consultation, and explaining system requirements.
5. Managing one’s web account and hosting a presentation.
Before you sign-in for a conference call company, check to see if they require:
A contract and for how long, any minimum charges, sign-up fees, monthly fees, and per conference call fee. reservations for service, any time limits on calls or a given period, and special software installation.
Also if they offer:
Free automated round the clock service and technical assistance, services that are simple to operate, a built-in security system, and a toll-free number with a pass-code, network monitoring center, live operator on the conference bridge 24/7, publishing Microsoft Power Point, Word and Excel document, polling, annotation, file transfer, chat, and a record of web and audio conferencing.
In case of operator assisted conference calling and personalized call requirement or structured conferences, some companies offer features such as:
Participant greeting , private host Room , pre conference roll call , operator introduction, recording initiated by operator, playback of previously recorded audio files, lecture mode, communication line to operator , polling, operator introduced Q & A session, and attendee list after call completion.
Another factor to take into account while choosing a conference call company is, of course the cost. The cost varies from company to company due the service features one opts for. Many companies charge 3.9 cents per minute but also have minimum monthly fees. Moreover the fees may vary where on the globe you are calling. how often you call, at what time you call, and for how many minutes you call.
Fortunately there are several conference call companies offering a variety of options to choose from. You should compare their fees and features before selecting one. Ask for references and be ware of any hidden fees.
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