3 Reasons You Should Adopt Video Conferencing for Your Business
Running a business can seem like juggling 20 different things at once. I know this from personal experience because I own two businesses myself.
You have to deal with payroll, bills, inventory, customer service, employee satisfaction, marketing, and innumerable other things. Because there are so many issues to keep track of, finding ways to reduce spending and increase efficiency are incredibly important.
While it won’t solve all your problems, video conferencing can help you run your business by reducing costs and stress. In the past, video conferencing technology was much more cumbersome and expensive than it is now.
A small business might not have had the means to use video conferencing at all. But thanks to technology’s inexorable advance, there are plenty of video conferencing programs within easy reach for any business.
Thanks to smartphones, the mobile market has become incredibly versatile and convenient. Cell phones were nothing more than mobile phones in the past; now they are miniaturized computers capable of providing you and your business innumerable services including video conferencing.
With video conferencing software like Blue Jeans available on both smartphones and computers, there is no reason not to use video conferencing to improve your business. If anything it should make things simpler for you in the long run.
Penny Pinching
The most important part of any business is money; even non-profit organizations need some form of monetary support. As such, saving money is a top priority for business owners everywhere.
Whether you are a small business owner or an executive for a fortune 500 company, using video conferencing technology can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars every fiscal quarter.
The need for travel depends on what sort of business you run. If you operate a small business that only provides local services then you might never have to travel beyond your city. But, if you or your employees have any need to travel, whether for meetings, field assignments, or anything else, using video conferencing can significantly cut down on travel expenses.
According to Biz Tech Magazine, video conferencing provides companies an easy route to meet with clients or field personal instantly without the need to physically meet somewhere. This increases efficiency and productivity while cutting back on unnecessary costs accrued through frequent travel.
Practicality and Productivity
The best benefit of video conferencing is how many problems it can help alleviate at once. Not only does it help save on time and money through reducing travel, it also provides a practical platform to increase your businesses overall efficiency.
If your business has multiple branches or employees working away from the home office, communication is probably conducted through a combination of emails, text messages, and phone calls.
According to Polycom, around 80 percent of communication conducted amongst humans is through non-verbal means such as facial tics, posture, and other physical cues. None of the communication methods most often used to connect disparate groups of employees allows those non-verbal cues to transfer.
That’s where video conferencing comes into play. Using a video conferencing solution can increase the effectiveness of communication by a large margin.
It can also increase efficiency and productivity through reducing miscommunication related errors and increasing the speed with which directives are distributed to a wide ranging workforce. Video conferencing also helps promote collaboration while reducing time spent walking to meetings.
Instant Communication
One of the greatest benefits of the Internet and todays communication technology is the capability to provide instant communication from almost any location.
Prior to cellphones, calling someone required both parties to be within reach of a landline. But with the widespread use of cellphones, it has become incredibly easy to contact anyone regardless of location.
Instant telecommunication through video conferencing allows for different departments to come together to easily collaborate without the need to waste time gathering in a conference room.
According to Tech Target, there are people who consider video conferencing to be more effective in promoting focus and reducing idle banter through clearly defined meeting time frames. The ability to instantly have a meeting start right after calling it allows for a concentrated focus that a physical meeting might not provide.
The flexibility provided through video conferencing can provide huge benefits to your businesses productivity while reducing costs. Conventional meetings need to be planned out with enough time for all participants to gather together, while a video meeting can be set up right on the spot regardless of where the participants are.
According to The Guardian, video conferencing technology has allowed businesses to completely restructure their working practices by introducing flexibility in workflow previously unseen. Employees can work from home, a café, or anywhere else and still stay in constant contact with their employers.
Smartphones and video conferencing programs allow unprecedented levels of collaboration and communication while providing for more flexible work hours and schedules. Instant audio and video communication is a boon no matter what business you run.
Final Thoughts…
Wrapping up, video conferencing is a cheaper more viable solution versus having to meet with people in person. I am a small business owner and I completely understand the value in this, because in the end it’s saving more on your bottom line.
Do you use video conferencing? Share your thoughts and comments below.
