I'm sure at some point in time, you must have found yourself on a conference call. It could be for work, with friends, with family, with anyone and for anything really.
Over the past few months I've had to schedule, and been invited to be a part of quite a few Conference calls, and sometimes it can be quite a nightmare ! I've found that if its a personal call between friends, using the 'conference' call feature on the mobile / land line is effective; however business calls are a whole different ball game !
A business associate of mine asked me whether I've ever been a part of an Audio conference before; my initial reaction was 'yes' but the more I thought about it, the more I became aware that very few companies (aside from the Fortune 500's) use a dedicated Audio conferencing system to place their calls.
A few international business associates of mine use specific audio conferencing systems to customize their meetings; and also enhance their overall conference experience. In fact, one of my affiliate partner event companies that I work with has raved about a specific audio conferencing facility wherein every participant in the call is greeted by a live operator and up to three pieces of personal information can be collected (great for building & updating your database).
A service like that would be great - especially for me as it would enable me to monitor and facilitate conference calls with clients who are spread out across the globe. Currently my company is dealing with a couple in LA, USA who are looking to get married in Pune, India; the brides parents are in Pune; the grooms parents are in Oregon, USA - and trying to get everyone on a simultaneous call is near impossible. The key benefit I suppose from using a dedicated audio conferencing service would be the ability to record the conversations and have a copy sent to everyone to listen in on.
What are your thoughts on this ? Have you used any specific audio conferencing software or systems that you have found useful in your business ? Do share your thoughts.