A List Of Voip Companies For Video Conferencing - Part 1/2

Nextiva

Nextiva is a VoIP company considered to be one of the best in the cloud based VoIP service industry. Many of our clients who are presenters, coaches and mentors give business presentations on Nextiva Desktop Software. The result is amazing. Their web based software has multiple features such as 

• Extensive Call Controls - For example DND, call forwarding and  simultaneous ring.
• Chat Rooms - Create private or public chat rooms. And invite the co-workers to participate in them.
• Cloud Sync - Get your voice mails, contacts, call history, setting synced on the cloud. These can then be accessed on any mobile device, a tablet or laptop from anywhere in the world.
• Call Pulling - Transfer voice and video calls to your office phone or your mobile phone with the help of the Nextiva App.

Nextiva differentiates itself by providing excellent customer service. So if you are looking for a flawless customer support then Nexitva is probably that would be the best for you. One thing about their customer support is that it is not outsourced to a country such as Philippines or India. Their customer support team is present in USA.

Vonage

Vonage is a VoIP which is the most heard of. And very very popular. Vonage competes directly with Nextiva VoIP service. Vonage services are very competitively priced. For example VoIP companies charge extra for addon services, while Vonage prices are inclusive of these addon services. Some of these services are call parking, call screening, call transfer, call waiting etc. Vonage services are well suited for SMB and Education. Recently the company's new CMO announced that they will be pushing hard to access the B2B market. Here is the link to the news item.

Vonage is most popular for residential requirements and for small businesses. Though one of the disadvantage of using Vonage is that where Nextiva excels in customer service Vonage lacks in this department. But take our word for it their customer service is still pretty good!

About Vonage: The company was founded in 2001. It is a publicly held company with its headquarters in Holmdel, New Jersey. It was founded by Jeff Pulver and Jeffrey Citron.

 

Ring Central

Ringcentral was rated #1 by Toptenreviews.com. We are agree with to certain extent but not 100 percent. It doesn't mean that RingCentral does anything badly but there are definitely some good vendors out there.  One key feature that Ringcentral does best is that it allows you to set rules for the incoming calls. For instance you can setup the system in such a way so as to receive the call on your office deskphone and on your mobile phone at the same time. Awesome, isn't it? 

The company also has a Softphone App which allows users to receive on their desktop or laptops.

The downsides are not that many. The ones that we could figure out was that you get their best pricing plan when you sign a 2 year contract with them. 2 years is a long time and who knows what technology could supersede VoIP by them. 

Some of RingCenral's best features include:

• Unlimited calling and web faxing to US & Canada (Business Plans)
• Automated call distribution cues  for large volume of inbound calls
• 99.99 percent uptime as per SLA (Service Level Agreement)
• Business VoIP comes with a money-back guarantee of 30 days. 

 

8x8 Inc

Founded in 1987 the company offer VoIP based web/audio-video conferencing services to more than 40,000 customers in 40 countries. Their customers include both private, residential and government. 8X8 services are more oriented towards small and bigger businesses. Some of the features are more tuned towards interoperability. For example their software can be integrated with CRM and other business tools. 

There are a couple of downsides. First, we found quite a number of negative reviews on 8X8 suggesting that their customer service is not at par with other biggies such as Nextiva. And no pricing is mentioned on their website. So you'll have to contact their customer service to receive a quote.  

Ringio

There is no activation fee. Plus like RingCentral, ringio comes with a 30 day period money guarantee. How is Ringio different from RingCentral? Well here are a few points which we think make it a good bet- 

• Better CRM Integration:  Ringio will automatically start associating with the contacts in the CRM address book.
• Personalized greetings for individual customers. They also offer personalized call backs.
• Built in Notes: Add notes on the fly about the individual customers. When the customer calls then notes will pop up immediately.
• Here is a list of other features that differentiates Ringio from RingCentral.

We have come to the end of Part 1 of VoIP companies to choose from. We'll be covering some more companies such as Cisco, Verizon and Grasshopper in the Part 2 of the this post. 

About the Author

Etranscriber.net is a one stop solution for all video transcription needs for small businesses and SMBs. In addition to video transcription the company offers a variety of general typing services such as podcast transcriber services, interview typing service into text and document to typing. To receive a transcription quote contact us at via our website. We are also available on Etranscriber Twitter.

Go Paperless With Digital Transcripts

In the second quarter of 2014 people watched approximately 38 billion free videos online. This is a huge jump of 43 percent over the same quarter in the previous year of 2013. The year 2015 is different for videos.  This report on The Independent suggests that Facebook is planning to become a competitor to Youtube. Facebook received nearly 1 billion video views in a day. That was a growth of whooping 74 percent globally over last year.

So big companies have realized the potential of video.As there is a surge in the number of videos being viewed digital marketers are optimizing videos for better viewership. Having a digital transcript on videos being watched is one such way of optimizing videos for a better viewing experience. 

When Are Printed Transcript needed?

1. Conference Calls: Multiple participants taking part in a conference call may be given a printed transcript at the end of the conference session. This saves the participants saves the efforts to take lengthy notes. Remember if the number of participants in a meeting are too many then that many pages have to be printed. 

2. Business Meetings: Business meetings such as minutes of a meeting, press meetings, annual general meetings are usually taped and then transcribed professionally. The transcripts are given to all the stakeholders and important persons such as the C-Suites executives, Directors and managers. 

3. Academic Research: PhD students need to present dissertation for completing the requirements of obtaining a PhD certificate. In the dissertation paper the PhD students need to collect quantitative and qualitative research data. Qualitative data the student usually conducts one on on research interviews with the participants belonging to their field of research. All these interviews are to be converted into text. This process also known as dissertation transcription. After the dissertation transcription is over the research transcripts are printed out and attached to the final research paper. 

4. Video Seminars and Telepresence: Video seminars and telepresence (a type of video conferencing) are usually transcribed into text as well. For example conference done over the  web based platforms such as Nextiva, Digium, 8X8 etc. maybe be recorded and transcribed be professionals such as trainers, coaches, mentors etc. The transcripts are then cataloged for later use. 

5. Medical Reports: Healthcare conferences, important research findings etc. are transcribed and converted to text.

Going Green

As we discussed above there are a lot of cases where transcripts are required to be printed on paper. Imagine when we aggregate the total number of transcripts printed worldwide the number will run into millions of pages. Imagine how many trees will have to be cut down in order to produce the paper for those transcripts. Let's take an simple example. A large tree roughly produces 10,000 A4 size sheets. Again this figure is an approximation but good enough for this example. 

So in order to print out 1 million video transcripts can you guess how many large sized tress will have be brought down? When we divide 10,000 by 1 million we obtain a figure of 100. So that is 100 trees. Though it does not sound bad but remember that the figure is for printing 1 million pages. As per this article which was published a few ago,  estimated the number of pages printed every day is an earth shattering 3 billion. The billion pages printed every day! So imagine if you are printing several millions of transcripts we are losing thousand of trees to it.

Saving paper by using Digital Transcripts

Instead of using printed transcripts one should shift to a better alternative of using digital audio-video transcripts. Digital transcripts are similar to printed except in the fact that they are not typed manually using a typewriter or printed using desktop laser printers. 

Most people use some sort of smart device such as a smart phone, tablet or a laptop. Digital transcripts can be easily shared among these smart devices. So that eliminates the need to print the transcript. Also there is no need to carry the transcript as it can be stored digitally on a harddrive or on the cloud. 

At Etranscriber.net we have been encouraging businesses to make the habit of using more and more transcripts in the electronic form such as a PDF and Word, and use less of printed materials. Avoid wherever possible and print only when necessary. Becoming a greener business is good for your business and good for planet Earth.

About the Author

Etranscriber.net is an online typing service company which provides audio-video transcribing service. The company's mission is to provide cheap transcription services to everyone while providing highly accurate transcripts in return. Etranscriber.net can be contacted online at Etranscribers Blog site. 

Links and Resources

1. Paper printing facts
2. Community naturalization projects across Canada
3. 7 Ways to put Youtube transcripts to use

Happy Mother's Day #2015 by Etranscriber.net

Today is Mothers Day. On behalf of the Etranscriber.net Team we wish all the beautiful moms of the world a wonderful Mothers Day. 

Mothers Day is a wonderful opportunity to reflect and be thankful to mothers and parents. It's a day of sharing feelings and opening your heart even more to the warmth love and affection of mothers. What does Mothers Day to us? Some of our team members pen down their candid feelings on what this special day means to them.

Megan, a priceless member of our transcription team shares her feeling with us. "Today is Mothers Day. And I have been planning this day in cohoots with my elder brother. Yes, in cohoots, because it will be a surprise for my mom! Me and my brother are doing several things today. So we made this colorful collage which is a size of a medium size painting. This collage contains lots of photographs of our family and including our dog 'Pluto'. The collage will be framed and put up our drawing room. And it will stay there forever.  Then we have got her favorite chocolate chiffon cake. And we have planned to take my mom out for a dinner to a Mexican restaurant. Yes she loves Mexican food, beans, tacos and nachos. So we'll be treating her to that. 

So what does Mothers Day mean to me? It's a day of the year when I can make her smile and make her feel truly special. It's an opportunity for me to do something for her. "

Kenny H, another star member of our transcribing team shares his views and plans for the day. "Well my mother lives in her hometown of Alberta, Canada. So being here in the US I missed not being in her presence. But guess what? My mother knows how to Skype. So we connected on Skype and I wished her the loudest possible Mothers Day that a son could give. I literally shouted to the top of my voice when the video of her streamed on my screen. Technology is really a blessing for me.  I celebrate Mothers Day every year. And this year was a little more special than the other. That's because my mother turned 60 this week. It was her birthday a few days back, 7th of May to be precise. 

 

To make her day feel special I gifted her a Winery Orchard Tour and Wine Tasting for Two or Four at Archibald Orchards & Estate Winery voucher purchased from Groupon Canada. Ontario and Alberta are quite a distance apart but she will be going to visit her cousin sisters who stays near to Ontario. They are having a get together and her cousins are coming in from Manitoba and Toronto. So I thought as a wine lover this would be a great opportunity for her to visit this nice orchard."

  

We do hope that everybody has planned something special for their mothers with. At Etranscriber.net we are giving a day off to our hardworking team. So Monday will be a special holiday for us. Then we are also offering a special discount to our clientele from universities. So as a Mothers Day special we are offering a 10 percent discount for university students in need of cheap transcription services. The offer is valid till 17 May 2015. So to avail our online transcriber service get in touch with us now. On the behalf of everyone here at Etranscriber.net Team have a wonderful Mother Day 2015.

Tell Customers What It's Like To Work With Your Team

Just recently we discussed how one can set customer expectations at the very beginning stage of customer acquisition funneling phase. There are many techniques and methods to this. There is one particular method that really stands out and that is the sharing with your prospects what your team is like, what it is like to with you personally, how they will be interacting with your sales team etc. 

Sales person interaction on Skype

So this is getting the customer to acquaint themselves with your business before they partner with you.Statistics show that most customers search online for product reviews and research company information before hiring a company. A customer might contact you and ask you for a quotation. Even after providing the best quotation or the lowest prices it does not necessarily mean they will hire you.

Why acquaint your customers with your team?

This is where your brand can differentiate itself from other dozens of competing vendors. Customers select a service vendor based on 'trust'. If they trust you they will come to you. Or if they 'perceive' that you are trustworthy then they are likely to choose your services over another.

Getting your customers to know your team from very early on in the game can be a key differentiating factor.

How to go about it?

Example 1:

At Etranscriber.net we have a team of highly skilled, qualified and competitive transcriptionist. So when a customer contacts us we ask them if they would like to interact with our team. The invite for interaction is given via Skype Video. If they agree then it creates a fantastic opportunity for them to meet your team face to face, get to know them. And for our team it’s a fantastic opportunity for your to convert secure the sale. Just remember at any time during the video conference to not to oversell and over promote your service. 

Be precise, be gentle, give our tid bits of information every now and then. If the customer insists then it may be alright to share more details subject to a company's policy. And if you want to create that wow factor contact the customer with a follow-up email mentioning that the video conference that you had was helpful to them, and if they have any queries for you they are free to ask clear their doubts. And why not attach a video transcript of the conversation that you had over Skype. This showcases your strength as a video transcription service company.

Example 2

Offer a Free trial to your leads: Notice when you go to the shopping mall, especially in the bakery or in the farmers market they offer you a piece of cheese or a cookie or fruits to taste. It's because shopkeepers and sellers know the power of a free trial. It's a fact that you are more likely to purchase their product if you have tried their product. 

There are two kinds of trails. One is paid trail and the other is a free trial. Free trials are always better since customers are more likely to opt to free trial as there is no risk for them. It creates an opportunity for your customers who take a free trial of your service to get to know you. Online businesses can create an excellent trial landing page. Here are some excellent examples of landing pages.  Here is another example by Marketingexperiement.com on the effect of offering free trial offers.

About The Author

Etranscriber.net is an typing services. One of the many services that we specialize in is interview transcriber service which we offer to journalists, university students and researchers, motivational speaker and coaches etc. looking to transcribe mp3 interview into text. We offer discounted services who have several hours worth of digital materials to transcribe. For more information visit our website. We can also be reached on Twitter @Etranscriber.

Setting Customer Expectations

Customer expectation is defined as what the customer 'perceives' they hope to receive from a paid service. For example if a customer buys a motor vehicle which advertises on its advertising boards that the car will give a mileage of 50mpg, then the customer perceives that the motor vehicle will perform as promised in its advertisement. 

 

At Etranscriber.net we feel that setting customer expectations correctly from very early on can be beneficial for our customers. And consequently our business. 

So here is how we set customer expectations at Etranscriber.net

No Overpromises & No Overselling

If you look at our website, everything that a customer needs to know about us and our services is written there. The list of services we offer is mentioned clearly. Most importantly we clearly mention our rates and prices. There are no hidden costs attached to these. 

In transcription outsourcing industry, accurate transcripts is the number one priority for a customer. A couple of weeks back Alan Woods from Milwaukee University hired Etranscriber.net for transcribing several academic research interviews into a text. Initially he hired the services of Castingwords.com but was unsatisfied with their services.   

This is what he had to say in the Skype customer call that we had a while back, "…So transcription is not new to me. Infact I had a company called Casting Words. I don’t know if you have heard about them. They promised to send me accurate transcripts. But the quality of the work that I received was definitely not near to what I had paid for. So I cancelled the contract with Castingwords for transcribing the academic research interviews immediately after receiving the first two transcripts. And instead I searched online for an alternative to Castingwords and that is how I found you guys.

Alan and our team of transcribers down to business immediately. We did the legal paperwork, signed the non-disclosure agreement. And before setting off we told him that we expect to achieve these levels of accuracy with the type and quality of mp3 recordings that you are giving us for transcription. We agreed on all the points and submitted the work as per his expectations. 

Important learning from the above case study:

• Be truthful to the client about what you can provide.
• Do not give false promises.

Tell Your Customers What Exactly They Will Get Out If It

First thing is first. Our company, at the very beginning tells our customers what they are very likely to get out of our services. We tell each and every one of our customer what our service is about and what it isn't. And the customers praise us for this. Why? Because we meet their expectations.

We asked one of our customers what did you like most about Etranscriber.net.  This is what she had to say about us, "Well the thing that you reply to the emails so promptly and efficiently is simply amazing. And you cleared all my doubts about transcription … Thanks!!" 

A customer comes to you because they are looking for something that they don’t have. So as a vendor you are out there in the blue ocean who can complete the need. However, there are probably several hundred other competitors who can offer services similar to yours. Remember the blue ocean strategy and the red ocean strategy? If you don’t set your customer expectations right in the beginning then it can push your company into a the red ocean of difficult times. 

Good Samaritan customer service:  Did you know that CVS Pharmacy runs 'Good Samaritan Vans' to help people on the highway who are in some sort of trouble. Recently a lady travelling on the busy Washington DC highway got a flat tire at 5:30 evening time. She didn't how to change the tire by herself so she called her husband for help. 

Though she did have roadside motor assistance as per of her insurance coverage  her husband decided to come to her rescue as the roadside assistance would have taken a long time to get to her. To her surprise just 5 minutes later a CVS good Samaritan van pulled next to her. The driver got down from the van, introduced himself and offered to help. This story made it to the news and it went viral.

About The Author:

Etranscriber.net is an online transcriber. Etranscriber.net continually strives to provide accurate typing services to its customers as promised. The mission of the company is to keep the services affordable while meeting customer expectations. Like, share and visit Etranscriber's blog or connect with us on Twitter.

Recommended links to visit

• CVS Samaritan Van program celebrates 30 years of helping.
• Recommend read on Customer service - Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hseih.