Regretfully, small businesses’ budgetary restrictions make leading conferencing solutions seem out of reach and a better fit for larger enterprises. As a result, many small businesses turn to second-rate conferencing technologies without even taking the time to test their dependability and functionality. While these platforms remain operational most of the time, they still lack the necessary features and overall conferencing quality required for efficient collaboration.

The success and development of any business directly correlates with how well it can communicate and work as a team. A cheaper conferencing solution might seem like the best option when comparing prices tags, but after a few uses the poor quality and limited features will serve as a painful reminder to the system’s inadequacies.

Next time you decide to upgrade your small business’s conferencing solutions, consider these three tips:

1.       Don’t Settle
The majority of free conferencing and collaboration tools on the market only support the most basic capabilities and not much else. In today’s day and age, your business requires an advanced platform that provides much more than just the basic tools. You need a solution equipped with high-quality video and meeting features to ensure collaboration across all channels is accessible and reliable. You also need to ensure it allows for real-time document sharing. If you plan to walk clients through a new proposal virtually, for example, you must have a platform that allows content to be shared in real-time. If you’re unable to share screens and documents with your client, the presentation becomes nearly impossible to deliver. You’ll end up wasting time going back and forth with your client to make sure you’re both on the same page.

Ditch the basic tools and look for a solution that includes a wide range of features—like the ability to share screens, documents, presentations or applications. These features, plus others, help increase productivity among employees and communication with clients.

2.       Look for a user-friendly design
The ability to easily access information is a necessity when looking for web and video conferencing solutions. Because IT resources and manpower are often limited when working in a small business, employees are typically left to navigate new technologies themselves. This means for any conferencing and collaboration solution you decide to implement, every employee (millennials, baby boomers and everyone else in between) has to learn how to use it and fix any technical problems that pop up. So, it’s necessary you select a solution that is both easy to use and dependable. Your employees’ time is just as valuable as yours, so don’t make them waste it by forcing them to dig through a manual looking for answers.

Remember, just because a solution has more capabilities and a higher cost doesn’t necessarily mean it’s more user-friendly or reliable, so look at all of the details and choose wisely.

3.       Find a simple call management feature
Holding successful online conferences can sometimes feel challenging for small businesses. They frequently run into technical issues, especially when more people are on the call. They ultimately become more complicated than originally intended—thinking one click will work to get the meetings started. Who wants to deal with a conferencing solution that makes you input multiple passcodes or open multiple windows to access the call? Nobody. So purchase a solution that removes all the chaos from video meetings and makes calling simple.

Collaboration is vital for small businesses. However, in order to achieve successful collaboration, you need to have the right tools. Using consumer-grade video conferencing won’t get your business where it needs to be. Conferencing solution providers are constantly creating platforms that not only cater to small businesses, but also have a lower price tag and still include more advanced features. There are many options to choose from, but it’s all about finding the right fit. Look past the price tag and purchase a solution that gives you both a professional look and advanced features to ensure maximum collaboration.

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About The Author
Tonya Hottmann is the director of marketing at InterCall, responsible for small business, ecommerce and digital marketing. Before joining InterCall, Tonya ran a boutique marketing consulting firm for 10 years.