You can sample tech services for little or no cost
What’s the catch? A few restrictions and the possibility that after using the “basic” freebies we’ll get hooked and upgrade to fee-based services – but that’s of course a good thing if the service helps our business.
If this sounds like an opportunity too good to refuse, read on for my Top 10 recommendations about ways to leverage technology without blowing your budget.
Believe it or not, it is possible to take advantage of a wide variety of technology services – from phone conferencing to video hosting – for little or no cost. Such sampling also makes it easier to decide what’s worth the investment for your company’s growth.
1. Phone conferencing.
It’s available through Free Conference (www.freeconference.com), which allows you to schedule your conference call through the Internet. Beyond the normal long-distance charges you pay your phone provider, there are no surcharges, additional fees or commitments. We’ve been using this service for many years. I can tell you from personal experience, if you use conferencing frequently this service will save you thousands of dollars per year.
2. File sharing.
If you have a large project that requires sending large files across the Internet and you don’t want to choke your e-mail server or deal with granting access to your network server, try www.YouSendIt.com. While it’s limited to a 14-day trial, if you’re working on a short-term project, this service could do the trick. In addition, if you like it or need it going forward, you can use their service for about $10 per month.
3. Internet-based meetings.
For live meetings over the Internet, explore your options by using Internet-based meeting software. Microsoft Office Live Meeting (www.microsoft.com/livemeeting) and WebEx (www.webex.com) both offer limited, trial versions of their products. But don’t make it a major event: both Live Meeting and WebEx limit the number of meeting attendees.
4. Online surveys.
Interested in surveying customers on new product questions? Online surveys make messy and cumbersome paper surveys a quaint business artifact. Online surveys provide an easy way for the participant to provide data. And, because the survey is online, with each completed survey the results are tallied automatically allowing you to view them in real time. Zoomerang (www.zoomerang.com) and SurveyMonkey (www.SurveyMonkey.com) both provide an easy-to-use, free online survey. The free versions do have limits on the number of questions, participants and how long you can access your data.
5. Video services.
For training, marketing, or really any recordable event, you can use Google Video (Video.Google.com) or YouTube (www.YouTube.com). The services are free and you’re only limited by the length of the video. My company has put up samples of our training as well as an intro to our company for new employees and prospective clients.
6. Audio recordings.
Has your company created pod www.iTunes.com) Web site.
7. Blogs.
If you’re interested in setting up a blog to let customers know about your product knowledge or professional musings, Blogger (www.Blogger.com) is a free blog hosting service.
8. Event invitations.
If you belong to a networking group or routinely host other kinds of groups or meetings, eVite (www.evite.com)is an interesting option for handling invitations. eVite lets you share information about your event, such as the time, location and a description of the get-together. You also must include a list of email addresses for the people you are inviting to your event. After sending out your invitation, you and others can see who’s coming, who isn’t,and read comments or messages from anyone that chooses to provide them.
9. Online visibility.
Want some free visibility and help in making your company more prominent with search engines? Check out Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com)and put in a factual entry for your firm. It’s free and shows up at the top of most search engines. Just remember to check back periodically to keep your listing up to date since anyone can make changes to Wikipedia listings.
10. Management of e-information.
Finally, while it only offers a free trial, Roboform (www.RoboForm.com)at $30 saves a couple of hours per month (at least in my case). It remembers passwords for any site that you use that requires them.RoboForm also has an auto-fill feature that, with the click of a button, fills in forms with personal or business data, as well as credit card information.
These products represent just a sampling of the many IT offers currently available. Many other vendors offer “basic” versions of their service or limited use versions. If you’re not sure, take the time to ask. Using these limited software versions may be all you need to solve a current need.
