Case Study: Makovsky Calls to ACT Conferencing for Investor Relations Communications Support
Makovsky + Company is one of the leading independent global public relations and investor relations (IR) consultancies in the United States. Since 1979, Makovsky has specialized in the financial and professional services, health, technology and business services sectors. Among its many client responsibilities, Makovsky supports its clients’ IR-related communication efforts, including the coordination of conferencing services for quarterly earnings calls that can involve more than 120 participants.
Gene Marbach, group vice president of Makovsky explained, “I’m responsible for vendor selection, and I like vendors who make me look good because if things go wrong, the heat’s on me. We ensure our clients receive excellent customer service and therefore, we must work with vendors that mirror our level of service.
“Previous conferencing providers couldn’t consistently follow the procedures I requested, such as calling me one-half hour before the start time of an earnings call. Sometimes I waited two days for a response to a question. That’s just unacceptable.”
Solution
Because of their previous provider’s poor customer service, slow response times and inability to adhere to Makovsky’s expectations, the company looked for a new conferencing provider and found ACT Conferencing.
“In an era when conferencing seems to have become a commodity, ACT stands out,” Marbach said.
Makovsky seamlessly transitioned its conferencing services to ACT and relies on Elite Audio Conferencing and Conference Director. ACT Elite Audio Conferencing offers the ultimate high-touch, customized event conferencing solution for high-visibility conferences that require Q&A, broadcasting presentations via the Internet, voting or polling, and continuous monitoring. ACT Conference Director is a Web-based management tool that enables real-time viewing of participant information and activity, online chats with the operator or co-presenter, prioritization of questions during Q&A and more.
According to Marbach, Makovsky has been thoroughly impressed with ACT’s services, its professional operators and the level of service ACT provides.
Business Results
“Fifteen minutes before dial-outs I start watching participant activity using Conference Director, which is very easy to use. It’s a great interface that we can share with our clients. In fact, Conference Director is critical to the success of our calls, because we see the same thing as our clients, and this makes the process a lot smoother and easier to manage.”
In addition, ACT’s Elite Conferencing service can be customized with many personal touches and technology features to ensure that client objectives are met. Each Makovsky earnings call includes a Q&A session, and Marbach arranges for each call to be recorded to enable replay after the live call. ACT also provides transcriptions that serve as a reference for lawyers and Board members.
“Makovsky is a high-touch company that delivers very personalized services,” summarized Marbach. “ACT is similar to Makovsky … responsive, knowledgeable and thoughtful. The bells and whistles are good but ACT provides the service that’s essential in our business. The operators are sharp; they show up and get the job done. One of our clients even took the time to compliment us on our conferencing solution.”
