There are times when exchanges between businessmen can be conducted as efficiently and effectively by telephone as by a conferencing system, but for an exchange of any duration, a live video conference is almost always a better way for two or more people to meet. While brief interactions may not really warrant live videoconferencing, when discussions of any depth are involved, nothing beats a visual exchange between parties. Here are a few of the ways that videoconferencing can be a real boon to your business, and result in greater success.
Better team productivity
Many businesses have several locations and organizations within the overall company, and staying connected can be a real challenge, at least in terms of synchronizing project work and maintaining a team understanding of progress. Groups which are geographically separated can stay well-informed about each other’s efforts through live videoconferencing so work isn’t overlapped, and all group effort can be applied to moving the project forward.
Lower cost of travel
When your business can have face-to-face exchanges with business partners, associates, and even customers, a huge savings can be earned by connecting with all of them through live videoconferencing, as opposed to physically traveling to see each of them. Every trip made by a business person includes the cost of travel, lodging, food, and whatever other miscellaneous expenses are incurred during the visit. Compared to all that, live videoconferencing has a minimal cost which, if added up over the course of a year, can amount to a tremendous cost savings.
Better communication and relationships
It’s very easy to misinterpret someone’s tone and intent in an exchange which is entirely audio in nature, as with a telephone conversation. When you can actually see the other party and observe facial expressions and body language, a much better understanding of their perspective can be obtained. It’s also true that live videoconferencing can be a very effective tool for higher management to use for the purpose of establishing and maintaining better communication with company employees, and it’s far more personal than a memorandum issued to all company workers. This is even truer when company officials are geographically distant from the employees being reached.
Competitive advantage
Live videoconferencing allows project teams to share information, and to help develop products faster than they would without that very beneficial exchange. For instance, when it becomes necessary to demo a new product to a group of your peers before taking it to market, there’s simply no more effective vehicle for that than conducting a live video conference. When new products or services can be brought to market faster, that gives your company an advantage over all those businesses which are less technologically savvy. Time is money in the business world, and anything your company can use to gain time over competitors, is sure to result in greater profitability and market share.
