Audio teleconferencing used to be the ugly stepsister when it came to corporate communications. But today it's become a starlet and a cost-effective way for companies to host global meetings, announce mergers and acquisitions, conduct media tours and launch new PR campaigns.
In today's business climate, audio teleconferencing no longer means simply patching several people into the same call and letting technology (and luck) lead the way. Now, teleconferencing services include coaching clients and following an event from start to finish, including making sure the right people are invited and that everyone understands how the event will unfold.
In 1996, there were 5.1 million voice-only conference calls that were conducted - notably up from 3.4 million the year prior - according to Henry Grove, president of the International Teleconferencing Association, Philadelphia. Part of what's made audio teleconferencing such a popular communications vehicle is that its visual counterpart - video conferencing - can easily triple what audio teleconferencing costs due to higher equipment and bandwidth-of-transmission costs.
According to Overland Park, Kan.-based American Teleconferencing Services Ltd., audio teleconferencing is a service that companies are increasingly relying on for these chief external and internal reasons: to hold regular meetings and updates with remote sales groups; to host staff meetings for companies with sites and employees all over the globe; to direct IR endeavors, including announcing quarterly earning reports; and to manage press events during which interviews with reporters are conducted simultaneously.
For PR professionals trying to find ways to lead their companies into the millennium, teleconferencing should be a priority. You should be:
- Looking for case studies on how corporations and firms are using teleconferencing and passing them on to highers-up;
- Finding out what your company's long-range plans are and how teleconferencing could help reach those goals;
- Mentoring senior-level managers and guiding company heads on the benefits and the potential pitfalls. (The most common mistakes are that people underestimate the value and importance of teleconferencing because the audience can't be seen, and take too much of a laissez-faire approach.)
Teleconferencing Then and Now
"In the past, if you couldn't get to people, teleconferencing was almost a default mechanism," says Bob Stewart, VP of sales for ATP. In the 1990s, however, teleconferencing is beginning to surpass other previously preferred channels of communication - for instance, face-to-face sales meetings and managerial round tables.
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How Companies Are Using Teleconferencing North America Network, a full-service radio group, regularly uses teleconferencing to conduct radio media tours. When actor Howie Long was promoting his movie, "Broken Arrow," he agreed to back-to-back interviews with 20 radio stations from across the U.S. - and never left his hotel room. When IBM was selected as the first single Olympic sponsor of information technology, it used teleconferencing to announce its sponsorship and market its technology capabilities. It hosted a special conference-call event for customers and prospects prior to the games. Glaxo-Welcome, a global pharmaceutical company, uses audio teleconferencing "Learning Sessions" to offer continuing education programs for physicians, nurses and pharmacists. Source: ATS |
But Stewart, who has worked in the teleconferencing field for the past 15 years, says that although teleconferencing is becoming more commonplace, it's still a market that's relatively untapped.
There are a number of Fortune 500s and smaller companies relying on teleconferencing to reach employees, the media and the financial community (analysts, investors) as part of their business strategies and operations, according to Stewart. Annually, ATS serves about 50,000 users (individuals who call ATS to arrange a conference call) and it has about 25 long-term clients, including IBM [IBM], the National Institutes of Health, Paine Webber [PWJ], Merck [MRK], Procter & Gamble [PG] and Glaxo-Wellcome.
Why the Increasing Reliance on Teleconferencing?
According to Stewart, the reason that teleconferencing is being used more in the business sector is tied to these technology factors:
- The move from copper lines to fiber optics;
- The switches being used at central offices are digital;
- Conference bridges, the equipment used to merge calls, are more high-tech; and
- Speaker phones are more advanced.
But in addition to those technological strides, Stewart says that what has truly defined teleconferencing as a savvy and progressive way to do business is the mobilization of the workforce (people are working from their homes and via virtual offices) and the growing global market.
"Prior to 1982, businesses used to be regional in nature," Stewart adds. "You would have a regional manager, with people in the surrounding area, who would set up a conference call via a local central office and the people who were closer would hear a louder version of the call" so distance tainted the quality of the calls.
Making the Call on What it Costs
A one-time ATS teleconferencing event, with about 100 people, can run companies about $37 per participant. That includes pre-conference consulting; fax notification to participants; taping the call; having an ATS announcer on line during the duration of the call; the set-up/port fees; and long-distance costs, according to Stewart.
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Guidelines for your audio teleconferencing session
Source: Jeff Dixon |
Costs drop significantly if it's an automated call (computer driven) that's managed by the client and doesn't require an announcer But for businesses that turn to teleconferencing on a regular basis - using it as a means to host press conferences, convene focus groups, connect business unit heads for strategic meetings and to announce PR campaigns - corporations can spend as much as $1 million a year if they depend on teleconferencing on a daily basis or several times a week.
Getting the Most from Teleconferencing
According to ATS's Jeff Dixon, you don't want the teleconferencing call to come across as too orchestrated and structured. "What you're doing is making eye contact with silent listeners," Dixon says.
To ensure that, Dixon advises that you speak in the you mode; attempt off-the-cuff responses (what he says makes the program shine) during the question-and-answer period; and address listeners by their first names when speaking directly to them. (ATS, Bob Stewart & Jeff Dixon, 800/234-2546; ITCA, Henry Grove, 610/941-2020)