Conference calls have always been popular with business customers who want to 'meet' remote parties without leaving the office. This saves on time and money, particularly if your supplier is out in China. It also means that you can gather together everyone working on a project and get simultaneous feedback. The chances of miscommunication are restricted because the process of relaying information from one interested party to the next by word of mouth becomes unnecessary.
Email is suitable for certain types of communication, but if input is required then calls are far superior. They also allow for a more 'personal' angle - still an important facet in business where trust, as well as contractual obligations, links companies together. Written communication also favours people who can write well; some great businessmen and businesswomen are probably much better 'face to face' - or on the phone. The passion in their voice for a project may be the clinching factor when a contract is out to tender.
Client meetings, sales presentations, project discussions and general meetings are all conducted by conference call. In the U.S. it is also becoming common for public corporations to publish quarterly results by conference call, before inviting questions from analysts.
Typically, businesses have used a specialised service provider for conference calls, but today, new providers are muscling in on their lucrative territory. Although 'budget' conference calls do not attract all business customers, who may wish to pay more for a high-end service, they do appeal to smaller companies with tight budgets - and also to social customers. Podcasting and social network sites are already making the most of conference call technology.
The idea behind conference calls, namely including more than one other person in a phone conversation, has many possible applications. For example, organising a hen or stag night is a complicated business that used to fall squarely on the shoulders of a best man or maid-of-honour. If they arranged something other friends disliked or couldn't attend then it could be frustrating. However, cheap conference calls mean that provided you are able to get everyone on the line (or computer) at the same time, you can bounce around ideas and decide on something that suits everyone.
Equally, you can mix business and pleasure. An after-lunch business conference call at work can be followed a few hours later by a pre-evening conference call to friends or family, from the comfort of your own home. In many ways social conference calls are ideal because you can make all those 'must make' calls at once. The only danger is that you might not get a word in edgeways if you come from a vocal family.
So if you thought conference calls were only for big business, think again.
