Communication – online or offline – is important in any business, especially when interacting with potential clients. It’s the foundation for gaining consumer trust and forming lasting relationships. After all, successful collaboration stems from clear and effective communication.
These days, entrepreneurs can now address problems concerning time, distance, and communication, bridging the online gap thanks to video and other live collaboration platforms.
How does this new approach impact most businesses’ marketing efforts?
Defining Real-Time Collaboration
Online interaction has become a great alternative for professionals who prefer to limit trips for business, meetings, and conferences. In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, “Online collaboration is not a second-best substitute for face-to-face work: It’s a complement with its own perks and benefits.”
Real-time communication, also known as “synchronous” collaboration, allows you to communicate with clients through one-way agent video, cobrowsing, screen sharing, video conferencing, social media group chats, forums, application sharing, or multiple users running the same software simultaneously.
Read: What is Cobrowse and How is it Different From Screen Share?
Modern corporations use this “visual engagement” as a more efficient method of acquiring potential customers because it’s a faster way of dealing with your target market without spending too much time and money on traveling. In fact, the benefits of real-time communication extend even beyond that.
1. Video Reinforces Clear Communication
A recent study by Redshift Research says that video communication will surpass emails and voice calls as the collaboration method of choice by 2016.
More than 90% of how humans communicate is through nonverbal cues like gestures and facial expressions. Connecting via video lets participants observe people’s verbal and nonverbal responses, including their facial reactions and other body movements. This makes your conversations more effective because you’ll be able to read their expressions clearly and give better responses.
For example, if you need to show a product you’re promoting, demonstrating it to your customers on-camera is more effective than verbally describing it through emails or phone calls. Also, if you’re talking with a client, one-way video allows them to connect more closely with you as a person rather than simply a voice over the phone – yet they don’t have to worry about their own appearance or privacy.
2. Real-time Collaboration Reduces Costs
Another study by Redshift Research shows that 96% of business leaders attest to video conferencing’s effectiveness in helping organizations expand their cultural reach and overcome barriers in distance.
Instead of using your budget for a flight and spending hours at the airport, you can focus on accomplishing your tasks without meeting your clients in person. When used in combination with tools such as cobrowsing and screen sharing technologies, you can easily demo your solutions, train customers, provide instant guidance, and more.
Read: Chat + Cobrowse: In-Person Experiences For Mobile Customers
Expenses for airfare, hotel accommodations, and other business-related activities can then be used for more important matters, such as executing marketing plans to increase sales.
3. Online Collaboration Raises Productivity
According to research from Avanade, “77% of business and IT leaders say their companies are currently using social collaboration technologies.”
Since collaborative activities can be performed online, marketers can handle meetings in real time.
Google Drive, Trello, and Basecamp are only a few of the collaboration tools professionals use to work on, manage, and finish projects simultaneously. If you use those solutions together with visual engagement solutions like those Glance offers, projects can be finished faster and conversations can take place regularly, increasing workers’ overall productivity.
It’s Time to Be Dynamic
In this age where users are spending time online, real-time communication has come a long way in transforming how companies market and sell their brands to their customers.
This technology-based strategy is a cost-effective approach, resulting in a greater return on investment (ROI). It also lets you work anywhere you want. Whether you’re working from home or travelling, all you need is a stable Internet connection to participate in online activities and reach out to your target audience.
Once you’ve built the foundation, adapt to this trend and expand your opportunities in reaching diverse communities. Not only will you reinforce clear communication, reduce costs, and boost productivity, but you will also pave the way for building connections and creating lasting relationships.
Ready to learn about how you can use one-way agent video and other visual engagement tools to improve customer collaboration?
Sign up for your personalized Glance demo today!
About Glance Networks
Glance helps enterprise organizations create the ultimate customer experience with smart, omni-channel visual engagement solutions based around integrated cobrowse, screen share, and one-way agent video. We are one of the world’s simplest, most reliable and secure platforms that enable companies to see, show and share anything online, creating a frictionless path to great experiences in sales, support and customer service. The result is improved customer satisfaction and loyalty, increased revenue growth and operational savings. From financial services and healthcare to retail and travel and leisure, even the most advanced technology and SaaS organizations – we transform the customer experience for today’s business. Learn More »
About Rick Enrico
Rick Enrico is the CEO and Founder of SlideGenius, Inc., a presentation design agency with clients all over the world. He is also a blog enthusiast with a particular interest in Internet Marketing, writing full-time about how to become a more effective presenter on the SlideGenius blog. He currently oversees an experienced team of talented designers, software developers and marketing professionals that specialize in creating custom corporate presentations and cloud publishing applications. You can connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.
