One of the bigger worries for small businesses is that, at the earliest stages, everything is a balancing act. Empty investments aren’t just unwise, they’re disastrous – and can potentially signal the fall for a young start-up. So, when faced with a technology like video conferencing, which was in the past notorious for being expensive and time-consuming to set up, how is a small company supposed to finance – or even use that tech?
Keep in mind that there’s a difference between professional video conferencing, and video calls done through free VOIP software. It’s a matter of video quality, functionality, and integration. And these things cost money. Right? So how does a small business finance video tech?
They Don’t Have To
Whether it’s for advertising purposes, client relations or intercompany communication, most dedicated video conferencing software like Blue Jeans start off by offering a free trial and live demo for companies to test – completely without video conferencing equipment – before deciding whether or not they even want to continue utilizing the software.
Even then, video conferencing software is just that – software. And that’s all you need. Any modern Internet-capable startup has everything else in abundance – moderately powerful computers, laptops, a couple webcams, and smartphones. Any video-capable smart device can host and attend premiere video calls, without a loss in functionality. That’s the beauty of today’s video tech versus what it was a mere five years ago.
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Video Conferencing Saves Even Start-Ups Money
There are a number of ways how the investment of a decent – or better even, a great and reputable video calling service can save start-ups money. For one, utilizing video conferencing tech has markedly shown to impact the way companies communicate within, especially when spread out, or when utilizing outsourced team members.
As Howie Gold, IT director of the Agency Group noted on TechTarget: “There’s a certain amount of body language and facial expressions that come through on video, and you can’t get that from an audio call. It adds a whole other layer to the communication. It took some time for video to catch on here, but now it’s so popular, everybody wants to use it all the time.”
It’s not just the convenience that makes video conferencing attractive – it’s efficient. By timing and taping meetings, video call members are encouraged to cut the chit chat and focus on relevant information to contribute to the conversation. Since everyone receives the same amount of screen time, it also discourages wasting time during meetings through multitasking or, as reported by Atlassian, sleeping.
It Works Across All Business Sizes and Devices
As mentioned, this isn’t the video conferencing tech of 2006 – it’s 2016, and that means device interoperability, optimized video speeds, encrypted file sharing, seamless screen sharing, and best of all, all functionality is powered through the cloud giving the small business owner the same power and capability as a larger company with its own dedicated server space for video communication and file transfers – at a fraction of the fraction of the cost, if you get yourself the right deal.
Mobile apps, browser-based calls through email links, dedicated desktop software, and even functionality with some big name devices and intercom systems like Polycom and Cisco, video conferencing technology today is much more than what free VOIP offers. That makes it attractive to start-ups looking to boost efficiency and cut costs, as well as the larger corporate rooms looking to input a virtual human touch into their operation.
The Biggest Reasons for Video Calling
When you’re running a small company, putting things into perspective helps expedite the decision-making process. So let’s take a look at why video calling works, and how you’ll make it work for you.
- You’re slashing meeting times. By timing and starting meetings virtually, you can help stick to your agenda and easily introduce individual video members into the conversation. Since everyone gets the same amount of screen time and mic power, intercommunication between dozens of people is made much, much easier – not to mention that some software offers even allow up to a hundred people to participate in a single call.
- You’re saving time and money by meeting virtually. Whether it’s with the company or with clients, meeting face-to-face virtually can help you build client relations with clients no matter where they are – an amazing asset for smaller businesses who wouldn’t have the travel budget to meet international clients anyways.
- You’re cutting chitchat and promoting alertness. Within meetings, video allows you to take charge of your team and get your point across – and with everyone strictly in view with a camera pointed at their face, there’s a higher chance of engaging with the meeting.
Video conferences don’t have to be complicated, expensive, or out-of-reach – in fact, you can implement them in your business today, on no budget, and see how things pan out.
