In today’s technologically advanced business environment, it is critical to stay current on tools and practices that can simplify life and increase your productivity. Over the past four to six years, video conferencing tools have become readily available online, all that is needed is a web cam, microphone and internet connection. Video conferencing sites allow companies and freelancers to not only communicate with potential clients & customers via web meetings, but to converse with off-site employees and now even share presentations and collaborate online in real-time. Video conferencing sites can decrease overhead by eliminating expensive travel expenses, but until now many of the top video conferencing sites have come at the expense of a premium monthly price.

We wanted to save you time by breaking down the top three free video conferencing tools.  It  is rumored that Google will be releasing a muti-user video conferencing app in the next six to twelve months, which will certainly be an industry changer – so keep an eye out in Google Labs for the beta version. Lastly, it is important to note that we left off the two “industry leaders” of video conferencing – ooVoo and Skype because they only offer Free Trials of their business versions. ooVoo does allow unlimited and free 2-way audio & video conferences (with other ooVoo users), but requires an upgrade (starting at $39.95/month), for 6-way video conferencing, desktop sharing, recording options, as well as the ability to send files.  Skype is also free for 2-way audio & video conferences (with other Skype users), however there is per minute or per month plans for conference calling and connections with non-Skype users.

Free Video Conferencing Apps

Dimdim

Dimdim Free, provides a simple and clean user interface which allows you to host a basic video conference meeting or webinar with up to 20 participants! In the free video conferencing version, there are four main features – Computer Screen, Whiteboard, Documents and Web Pages. Computer Screen allows you to share what your are doing on your computer screen with the other video conferencing members, but it does require you to install the Screen Caster plug-in. Whiteboard allows the members of the web conference to take notes and collaborate in real-time during the video conference. Use the Documents feature and you can instantly make a presentation, in the following supported file types; .PPT, .PPTX, and .PDF. Finally the Web Pages feature gives video conference members the ability to co-browse an embedded browser, which is shared across the video conference.

The members of the Dimdim’s free video conference can; view the presentation in full screen mode or web meeting mode, record and save the presentation (excluding the whiteboard & co-browsing features), and provides a chat board to quickly ask a question or communicate without interrupting the moderator.  Paid versions of Dimdim allow you to host meetings with up to 1,000 people, as well as provide advanced collaborative and webinar tools. Try it now by visiting Dimdim.com.

Vyew

The Vyew Free package gives businesses the opportunity to host unlimited meetings with up to 10 participants in a SSL secured setting. In order to use Vyew Free, you will first need to download their free software. Vyew Free’s video conferencing also allows members to share presentations & documents (office documents, .PDF, image files, flash movies, audio files are all compatible), easily import desktop screen shots and collaborate on whiteboards in real-time with the use of Vyew Books. The free version allows a user to create up to 20 Vyew Books which can be saved for different presentations, for example a video conference with a client versus one with a tele-commuting employee.  Vyew Free provides many of the popular video conferencing features such as; a simple Invite People button so that you can easily add members via e-mail invitations, live text chat, advanced video conference control settings (restrict who can do what during the meeting), and finally drawing & commenting tools which provide the ability to quickly mark-up documents or take notes.

The one draw back is that Vyew Free is supported by advertisers, so you do need to tolerate third party banner ads in order to take advantage of this free video conferencing app. Paid accounts start for as little as $6.95/month which provide numerous expanded features and upgrades. Try it now by visiting Vyew.com.

TokBox

After you sign-up (which takes less than a minute), you are re-directed to your user dashboard. TokBox.com has the feel of  a web 2.0, social networking user interface, and provides clear calls-to-action which explains how to get the most from the site. It is easy to add contacts by inviting them to join you on TokBox.com through e-mail and popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Easily integrate instant messaging and chat services such as; AIM, GTalk, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger.

Easily host video conferences with up to 20 participants, however to use TokBox as an effective free video conferencing tool or webinar in a business setting, requires  you need to be a little creative. To share and collaborate on presentations or documents, you need to first upload them to other popular social networking sites;  SlideShare for presentations, and EtherPad for real-time document collaborating. A similar feature allows video conferencing members to share videos from YouTube, pictures from Flickr and gives you the ability to invite others to the video conference from social networking sites, via email or by directly sharing the link with them. Unlike Dimdim Free, you cannot record and save TokBox video conference sessions.

TokBox.com also allows you to create video messages (up to ten minutes), which can easily be shared with their integrated e-mail clients (Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and MSN), as well as share it through Facebook or Twitter.  One non-business feature provides user the ability to create video greeting cards which can again be shared through e-mail or popular social networking sites. Try it now by visiting TokBox.com.

Do anything but this!

We’re all customers at one point. When we have a bad experience, we tell everyone how horrible this company is and how rude that company is. Same thing goes for when we have a great experience with a business.

Would you prefer your customers be the ones that talk your business up or those that rip you apart? The answer is undeniable.

To give your customers the best experience possible is common sense – you have to improve customer service. Acquiring this is quite easy…it just takes some time. To do so, better customer service needs to be a major focus of your company. Don’t worry – we’ve got some customer service tips for you.

Upon hiring representatives,  provide them with proper training. They should know the ins and outs of the software your company uses. Customer service reps should also be extensively prepared for any situation that can occur. Compile a list of common questions and concerns as part of training. Although most learning takes place through experience, it’s helpful to prepare your staff for the road ahead.

Another aspect you should provide your customer service staff with is knowledge of the industry and your company. They should know about products, prices, and special offers, anything that might be questioned by customers. To keep them informed, hold regular meetings and send them informative emails. Familiarity with products and knowledge within the specific industry will create confidence in your customer service staff.

In addition to having representatives that are comfortable in their conversations, it’s important to enforce courtesy and respect towards all customers. Every so often you’ll get a customer that is so unhappy, they can’t hold in their anger. In the customer service field, it is sometimes forgotten that we cannot react with the same attitude the customer is presenting us with. Remind your staff again and again the importance of remaining calm and pleasant at all times.

When an angry customer is in speaking with a patient service rep, the customer will eventually begin to feel more at ease. Usually, they realize that you are on the way to solving their problem and will respond positively to your cool composure. In any situation when someone is treating a person rudely, it is only natural for the other person to want to yell back. Remind your customer service staff that it’s not only their job to satisfy the customer, but also that it’s nothing personal!

To ensure that your customer service staff handles all situations properly, like the upset customer, include such aspects in initial training. Customer service reps should know that they can’t make promises they can’t keep just to quiet the customers.

The customer needs to know what you’re really going to do for them. This is why communication is key, so the customer senses your commitment to providing them unbeatable service. The reps should always have a solution to provide, even if it doesn’t actually solve the problem. Suggest that your customer service staff gives out their personal extension in situations where the customer might need to reach them. Not only does this make it convenient for the customer, but it also gives them a sense of comfort that the problem is in good hands.

By training a representative as to what your customer service goals are and how you expect them to perform, they join in your business’s dedication to providing better customer service. With everyone on board to keep customers happy, you’ll be eager to stay on top of your customer service game. Satisfied customers won’t want to look elsewhere, and its quite likely they’ll bring friends and family with them.

Those are my tips on how to improve customer service. What kind of customer service strategy do you use for your company?

From now until December 31, 2009, Xerox is offering up to a $1200 rebate off of a new Xerox printer purchase if you trade in your old printer. The eligible “new” printer list is below along with the “potential” rebate amount. To find the rebate value of your old printer, visit the Xerox Trade In site by clicking here. On top of the rebate, they will also pay the shipping charge for you to send them your old printer!

If you are not sure if it is time for you to upgrade to a new Xerox printer, check out our recent post which compares the newest Xerox Phaser Ink Printers.