There have been some well documented attempts by airlines to encourage businesses to use the airlines to travel to clients for important meetings, backed up with claims that more business is concluded face to face rather than over the phone or by email. These claims are further backed by research which appears to be conducted by organisations with a vested interest in the travel industry, rather by any impartial third parties. These claims have been hotly refuted by the conference call industry and the research has been dismissed as being biased.
Cutting down on travel allows companies to trim their budgets in lean times, as well as allowing them to boast of their “green” credentials to their shareholders and employees.
The technology used by the conference call industry today is a far cry from the crackly lines and poor connections which troubled the industry in the early stages. The latest technologies are used to provide high quality lines and users have no difficulty in hearing or communicating with each other.
The costs have also dropped dramatically, no longer do you have to enter into a contract with the call providers, or pay exorbitant per minute fees. The only charge that you’ll receive when using free conference call providers is the cost of your own call which is typically 5 pence per minute. This is just added to your phone bill as per any other call.
Add to this the fact that you do not need to book conference calls in advance any more, it is the ultimate cost and time saving tool for the forward thinking business.
