You have likely heard the saying, “You get what you pay for.” In many cases, this opinion is true. Sometimes, businesses and business owners must be prepared to pay for excellent service.

Not for conference calls, though.

Sure, there are plenty of conferencing services out there that bill themselves as premium, but we are here to tell you that it is easy to find a free conference call service that can surpass even those expensive paid services.

You simply need to know how to find a service that is going to fit the needs of everyone who will be on the call. There are free audio conferencing services out there, including Conference Town, that come with many advanced features, making them perfect for any business or organization or any size.

How many people use conference calls

No matter what industry your business is in or interest area your organization operates within, chances are at some point you will need to find a conferencing solution that lets you meet without having to be in the same physical meeting space.

Research has shown that you are not alone in having this need. One recent study cited research that found businesses in the United States alone spent 96.6 billion minutes on conference calls in a single year. That’s not even counting the many additional billions of minutes spent on calls by people across the globe.

That same study looked at conferencing habits of a select number of users in the United States and United Kingdom and found that 68% of respondents in a survey used in the study indicated that they spent time on anywhere from one to six conference calls each week.

The good and bad of conference calls

Now, all these conference calls come with very real perks, such as allowing teams to better communicate. Better communication leads to business teams staying on the same page, helping each other to achieve goals and problem solve. Conferencing also allows teams who may not be near each other every day stay connected, fostering a better workplace environment.

However, the downside of conference calls can often be a loss of productivity. Any person in charge of payroll knows that lost productivity means money lost in the company or organization’s bottom line.

This is why it is so important to understand not only how to operate efficient conference calls, but also how to know what to look for in a free conference call service to decrease the negative impact of lost productivity.

Features you need in a free conference call service

When it comes to determining which free conferencing option is best for your business or organization’s needs, the first step is to determine whether the service actually offers its best features for free.

Now, you may be wondering why a service that advertises itself as free wouldn’t actually be free. Well, unfortunately, many tech and business services – and not just those used for conferencing – operate under what is referred to as a “freemium” model.

Under a freemium model, a conferencing service may offer a free version and a paid version to users. These services hold back the best feature from their free users, though, in an effort to convince them to pay for the premium level.

But don’t worry, there are still completely free conferencing solutions available that don’t operate under the freemium model. Just make sure they have the following key features and you will be on your way to enjoying a better (and free!) conference call experience.

HD audio quality on calls

Better audio quality translates to better conference calls. Conferencing services that struggle with audio quality should be the first to cross off your list.

With better sound quality, everyone on the call will be able to hear each other more clearly and be able to communicate much more effectively. Make sure any free solution you find can guarantee HD audio quality on all of its calls.

No time limits

Some free services that don’t measure up to others will place a time limit on all of its calls. But this can really put business groups in a bind when conferences are about to run over the limit. Calls either need to hang up and rejoin or come to an end completely, possibly leaving discussions unfinished.

The best free conference call solutions are those that don’t hold users to a limited time.

Call recording ability

The ability to record calls for free is perhaps one of the most useful features of any conferencing solution. This allows call hosts to record calls and then send that audio out to anyone who may have missed or is interested in hearing the discussion replayed.

Free call recording is also helpful for keeping better notes, meeting minutes and simply having documentation that backs up what was said over the phone.

Easy-to-use web interface

When you are managing a conference call, it’s good to have a dashboard of sorts that displays information about and tools that can be used during a conference call. An easy-to-use web interface gives call hosts this dashboard.

A good interface allows the host to activate other features, such as chats, presentation modes or question and answer sessions.

Mobile friendly

In today’s mobile business environment, you must find a conferencing service that is accessible by smartphones and tablet devices, not just traditional headsets and landline phones. That simply does not cut it any more.

Ensure that the service you opt to use is mobile friendly, easy to manage on these devices and simple for those calling in to use, as well.

How to start a free conference call right now

You don’t have to wait to start a free conference call that’s better than the rest. With Conference Town, you can either sign up now for a free account or simply get started by hosting an instant conference call.

As always with Conference Town, both options are completely free and offer the same level of quality and number of features.

Enjoy a better conferencing experience today.