These days, you'd be hard-pressed to find a business not trying to keep up with the latest competitive strategies and technology trends. Currently, more and more professionals are shifting their attention toward video conferencing, collaboration rooms and huddle spaces for their plethora of individual and company benefits. Although email, web chat and phone calls still act as an important mode of B2B, B2C and employee to employee communication, the importance of a well-designed collaborative space is undeniable in its potential to boost sales and create a more personalized connection. For those still mulling over whether to invest in a collaborative set-up or huddle space, keep in mind these five benefits.

1.  Stronger Customer Relationships

A phone call or in-person meeting has been known to increase sales and boost brand image by presenting customers with a personal connection through direct contact. A merger between these two modes of communication is video conferencing. It allows face-to-face interaction with a potential customer or an established dealer and prevents miscommunications or even gaps in communication altogether. It keeps all parties on the same page, engaged and in-the-moment. Plus, rather than emailing back and forth, participation in a video chat allows everyone to see non-verbal cues that would have been all but nonexistent through email or a phone conference. 

2. Time and Money Savings

By utilizing video conferencing, you ease the stress of scheduling in-person interactions. Access to a video camera or webcam is now so universal that most individuals have easy access to chat through their phone, tablet or home computer. Rather than invest money into multiple site visits or force a remotely working employee to come in to the office, video conferencing accommodates all users no matter where they are.

3.  Versatility in Use

Collaboration set-ups come in all shapes, sizes and configurations, which allows for versatile use of the conference furniture and its respective space. For a small open space, a huddle table would suit most users. A monitor mounted to a wall or to the end of the table transforms this small hub into a mini video conferencing solution. A larger room or meeting space could allow for a large table or even a modular configuration made up of smaller tables that can be moved to accommodate different applications or needs.

4.  Faster Content Sharing

The emergence of new collaboration technology has seen a rise in media sharing controllers. Utilizing this type of equipment in your conference allows participants, whether in the room or remotely joining, to easily share ideas, documents, charts or messages electronically with the click of a button rather than clogging up anyone's email or forcing users to bring physical paperwork to the meeting. 

5. Advanced Customer Service

The last thing any business wants to hear is a customer complaint. Fixing the issue can become difficult if your business is nowhere near the customer. Rather than spend money to send a technician out to fix the issue based on limited knowledge of the problem, a video chat allows all parties to see what is going on and discuss solutions face-to-face. This way, problems are easily resolved and you have prior in-depth knowledge of what it will take to fix whatever may be wrong, rather than guessing at a customer's email description of their complaint.

Implementing video collaboration is an important first step in providing your company with a competitive edge. There's no denying that its benefits far outweigh its cost. In fact, the price associated with video conference furniture and its technology is now much more cost-effective than it once was.  The next time you are looking for a way to set your company apart, increase productivity or sales and bridge the communication gap with your clientele, consider a switch to video conferencing.