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Podcasts have been around for quite a while now, but during the last five years or so, the podcast industry has seen an exponential growth. Nowadays you can find podcasts on any topic you can possibly think of, and younger audiences in particular have been showing great interest in them, as the general feeling is that podcasts are a great source of in-depth information. It didn’t take long for brands to recognize this as an advertising opportunity for them. When you think about it, podcast audiences are a marketer’s dream - they are highly invested in the topic, many times they look up to the person who is presenting the podcast and they cannot really use an ad-block for podcasts. That might explain why in the US, podcast ad spending is projected to reach the 1 billion dollar mark in 2021 and increase to over 1.6 billion dollars as early as 2024.
Given the vast interest there is in this relatively new industry, you can imagine that it is becoming ever more competitive each and every day. Businesses are not only interested in sponsoring podcasts, but many of them are now launching their own podcasts, as a new content marketing channel. Many of us probably know of some famous podcasts, listened to by hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people, but only a few wonder how the beginning of successful podcasts looks like. It is definitely not easy to grow your podcast when you are just starting out, and that is why there are professionals ready to help businesses and regular people alike launch and grow their own podcasts.
One of these people is Ted Cragg, podcast manager and consultant, who offers his services to those who want to start podcasts related to the travel and tourism industry. His expertise ranges from helping new podcasters get started and manage their uploads, to offering audio editing services. As you might imagine, a lot of Ted’s work involves consulting with his clients and that is often done by scheduling and conducting video calls. Let’s take a look at how Ted manages to schedule meetings, take video calls and get paid, all in one place.
An alternative to text-based comments and submissions
When it comes to lead generation, the old school way of doing things usually involved a contact form, where prospective clients would input their data, ask whichever question they might have and so on. A pretty one-way communication. This changed with the emergence of video meeting software, which was noticed and acted upon by Ted. He realised that it will be better for his business if he allows the customers to be able to choose the way they want to communicate with him. That is why, on top of the text input he can receive from customers and prospects, he now integrated a MeetFox booking feature on his website, where people can book appointments with him and they will receive all the meeting details they need with just a few clicks.
I primarily use MeetFox as an alternative to text-based comments and submissions, for those who prefer a live consultation over video. Some people prefer to go straight to video as a first point of contact, but perhaps would feel intimidated to have to go through scheduling, then load a video conferencing software. To do it quickly, and be able to select your preferred time through the built-in calendar, overcomes those obstacles.
Moreover, Ted noticed that even though many people might not be used to using this software, it is so easy to get around it that they quickly adapt to using it:
The easy access through our browsers, no need to install anything or create an account, then makes it easy to convince people that this is an app worth using, even if they are accustomed to something else.
Great user experience
As with most types of software, great user experience is something to aim for when defining your goals. It is MeetFox’s mission to facilitate seamless, quick and easy meetings, all with the greater scope of creating an intuitive user experience.
For Ted, offering his customers an easy way to communicate with him is part of the customer experience he aims to create. He greatly enjoys MeetFox’s usability in terms of UI design, features and integrations.
For freelancers, coaches, consultants and anyone booking meetings with potential clients, MeetFox just makes it so straightforward and simple, with a great user interface as well. It integrates with existing calendars and programs, so you don't have to force people over to it completely.
The all-in-one service of showing your availability, integrating into your website, allowing easy scheduling, clear alerts that then integrate into other calendars, and then quickly starting the call, checking audio/video settings, a handy chat window and even sharing screens is just outstanding.
We couldn’t have said it any better!
Happy customers
Who doesn’t want to have happy customers that will refer you within their network and spread the word about your amazing services? Even though customer satisfaction is a top priority for many businesses and independent professionals alike, it is oftentimes easier said than done. People have different standards and expectations and it is not always the easiest of tasks to try to satisfy everyone. One way you can try to do that though is by offering your clients a swift experience from the very first touchpoint. MeetFox has helped Ted do just that:
In the less than two months since I've installed MeetFox I've picked up a couple clients already, and had a few more exploratory meetings. The feedback has been solid so far, people enjoy the simple, straightforward experience.
The bottom line
Overall, we’re more than happy to see that Ted can use MeetFox to attract more clients and offer them a great user experience without making them go out of their way to get in touch with him.
This is a great app and solid service, and well worth modifying or updating your systems and procedures to give it a try. It's a solid, stable platform with quality video and audio. When I had a couple questions for customer service, the response came back via email within an hour.
