It seems that in this day and age, the abundance of information on the worldwide web should make finding and selecting products, services and vendors easier than ever before. In reality though, I am often finding myself in information overload!
Let’s take an example. You want to begin web conferencing and you are looking for a vendor. Should be easy right? Well, it is easy to find web conferencing vendors, easy to find information about them, but not so easy to filter through all the information to make a selection. Here’s are some things to consider:
1. Pricing and Affordability
How is the service priced and what works best for you? Is an annual contract required? Do the terms and conditions indicate in the fine print, that your price may be increased at any time with no notice? Can you cancel the contract with no penalties? Do you use infrequently and if so would a “pay only for what you use” model be better for you?
At TelSpan we don’t require contracts, don’t have hidden price increases, and have a selection of payment options including an “all you can use” monthly plan, a “pay only for what you use” plan, and special plans for large conferencing events.
2. Features
What features are important to you? Which do you think you’ll actually use? More importantly, is the platform customizable to only display the features you want? Web conferencing platforms are constantly becoming more feature-rich. Common features today include webcams, ability to play video and mp3 files into the meeting, whiteboard, annotation, chat, polling, built-in registration, and more. Take a little time to consider what is most useful for you.
Our TelSpanVenue web conferencing platform offers all the latest features, but gives you the flexibility to customize your use of the tool.
3. Ease-of-Use
This is the big one isn’t it? If it’s not easy for you and your participants to use, then what good is it to you? Test drive platforms to evaluate this for yourself. I can almost guarantee you that all of them will advertise themselves as easy-to-use. Are they? Along the same lines, does the vendor offer demonstrations and trainings? Are they only available on their website in recorded form or will a live person assist you and train you to use the platform in the way that fits your needs?
At TelSpan, we offer both recorded and live demos and trainings. We have a full team of web support specialists available to assist you in any way. Many vendors don’t.
4. Variety of Offerings
Lastly, I would consider the offerings of your vendor. Many web conferencing vendors only offer web conferencing. If you want to actually have audio with your web conference, they may tell you to set that up yourself or will ask you to use a partner vendor. Why would you want to use two or more vendors for the same meeting? If you need additional services such as audio conferencing, recording and archiving, registration or event planning, select a vendor who can offer you all this with “one stop shopping”.
At TelSpan, we pride ourselves in offering a full selection of conferencing and communications solutions. We specialize in customizing solutions to meet each client’s unique needs.
Happy hunting!
