The workplace is more virtual than ever before in history. With so many businesses submitting services through the cloud as well as conducting meetings virtually, the computer has become one of the most important tools in the modern business. Those businesses not yet using virtual meetings are missing out on one of the biggest opportunities to keep their business running by saving money, increasing efficiency and spreading knowledge faster. With so many benefits to businesses of every size, it’s amazing that there are still businesses that have yet to catch the wave.
Saving Money with Virtual Meetings
There are a number of different ways your company can save money thanks to virtual meetings through companies like the Blue Jeans Network. Among the ways in which you can save money is the fact that you will not have to spend money on travel expenses. Since your employees can speak with clients through a virtual meeting rather than traveling to them, you don’t have to spend money on plane tickets or hotel rooms, according to Small Business Chronicle.
Your business can also save money thanks to the fact you can save space in your office. You don’t have to have a massive meeting room. Instead, you can meet with al your employees from where they work. Additionally, employees can work from home thanks to telecommuting. The office space can be better utilized and you can even inhabit a smaller office space. Think about keeping a few offices open for mixed use. As your employees need to meet with clients in the office, or they just want a change of scenery, they can come in and use one of the offices.
Increase Efficiency with Your Employees
According to Small Business, the use of the virtual meeting means your employees can get more done in a shorter period of time. Think about the time wasted in transit between your office and a client’s office and imagine eliminating that time. When you use virtual meetings through platforms like the Blue Jeans Network, employees remain in the office and at their desks. A simple meeting in another office can chew up half of the day, if not all of the day. A simple morning meeting lasting only one hour will eat up everything before lunch. Employees go out to the meeting and then go directly to lunch afterwards. In most cases, the lunch is paid for by the business, because if it wasn’t for the meeting the employees would have never have left the office.
Get rid of all the travel and a one-hour meeting is a one-hour meeting again. Your employees can speak with the clients, finish conversations about the meeting and be back at work within two hours. Since it’s your key employees going to all of the meetings, you will increase the efficiency of these employees and get more done in the process.
Get More Face Time with Clients
Clients all the time complain about not getting enough face time with the people they work with in your office. Face time equates to a feeling of being special in the minds of many clients. Even if they don’t realize this is why they like it, it’s the reason why they ask for more face time all the time. According to Business Week, a virtual meeting is the second best thing to actually being in their office. You can take more meetings with clients just to give status reports as well as to talk about the future of what they’re looking to accomplish with your company. You’re going to notice a sharp increase in profits as a result of spending more time with clients. Not only do they feel special, but you also get more of a chance to talk about how great your company is for their company in a straightforward conversational kind of way.
Humanizing Your Business Brings in More Attention
Everyone likes to feel close to the people they do business with. When you have a few meetings here and there, it is hard to feel any kind of connection with the people your talking to. Thanks to virtual meetings, you can appear more human to your clients. Remember that because you’re using technology, there will be problems on both ends. You can make jokes about it and get beyond the problems. Every time you meet, you’re going to become less of a business partner and more of a friend, according to The Arizona Republic. The humanizing effect of being able to see your face all the time disassociates your image with the company and makes you a person. You’re not the sales person for your company, but rather you’re yourself. This allows you to connect, sell and be more profitable for your business so you can stay in business.
Image credit: CC by Jacob Bøtter
