Virtual Office Setup » Virtual Office Benefits

A Vitual Office does not have to sacrifice your company image

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:00:42 +0000

While the whole idea of using a virtual office is so that you can cut costs and pump in more money to your business, it should not be a philosophy that is allowed to get out of hand. You are dealing with a company, money and real people who make up your client base and there is a huge difference in being cost-effective and being cheap. Being cheap means you are allowing the issue of quality and quality control to run away from you, being cheap means you are compromising the image of your company just to save a few thousand dollars a year. In business image in everything and trust is not build on the foundations of the inexpensive and shoddy. When looking for a virtual office you must avoid the dangers of using a cheap virtual office, because it is something that can hurt your business.

Would you wear a t shirt and shorts to a big presentation? You would come of looking ridiculous and immediately there would be mistrust in your capabilities. If you look rich, you feel confident and that confidence comes through, especially when you talk to your clients; trying to convince them to buy the product or service that you are touting. This theory has the same applications in business – skimp and you will get returns with figures that closely match your rent. Trust is built not from the overly expensive but quality helps.

I wont mince my words about it, the biggest MNC’s and corporations all bank on image when it comes to business. A large boardroom with amenities impress – and this is something you need to do when you are dealing with money and a purchasing decision. Cheap virtual offices usually offer services that are fly by night – untrained receptionists, a systemless way of managing incoming faxes and important mailed in documents. You also get addresses which are questionable – this happens when companies try to save as much as possible when tailoring a shoe string budget for their clients.

You cannot compromise on certain things. A badly trained receptionist is not only one that can kill your sensibilities, it can also kill your business. Imagine if you are out on a meeting and simply cant take an important call. The call is automatically routed to the central virtual office number and is picked up by a rude, uninformed and impatient receptionist. Guess what, you just lost a big account and here’s the other thing – in the B2B world of clients and transaction -word of mouth and ba reputations stink to high heaven. Do everything in your power to avoid these types of situations and have full control of your virtual office operations.

Make sure it has every facility you need and that quality checks are maintained. The dangers of using a cheap virtual office are ones that are real and very tangible and they are hurting thousands of business every year. So don’t be a victim and spend just a little more – you wont regret it.

Virtual Office Benefits vs Physical Office

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:59:53 +0000

You have made a very smart move in deciding to use a virtual office instead of a physical one. You have weighed up the pros and cons and obviously, they outweigh the other in terms of cost, viability and how much it matches your business model. Looking at the market, you realise there is a plethora of ways that you can set up a virtual office and some companies offer a one stop solution for you. Personally I would not go down the software route, which gives you a matrix – a sort of office interface to manage your daily needs. These usually come with an automated voice reply system as well as an automated email reply system.

I find this too mechanical and much too human. You should give the companies who only offer this sort of system a miss too because in the long run, giving your company the human touch is a lot better than making it seem robotic and impersonal. It goes to your branding efforts which could be undone by unhappy customers who feel all cold when they try to call you up and you’re busy in a meeting or a presentation. Every companies brand should be associated with a warmth associated with handshake and a smile.

It should speak to the consumer and it should convey trust – something only a human voice and a listening ear can handle. Always choose a virtual office that allows you to choose the type of secretary or call assistant that suits you. Usually, some of these companies will outsource these services to external homesourced parties – which ironically enough operate in a ‘virtual home office’ on their own. Also, take a gander at the list of services they have (compare it to the price!) and it must be comprehensive.

Things like a centralized fax number, digital print services, providing a physical mailing address as well as other services like being able to acquire ‘virtual meeting’ software as well as the option to rent a physical boardroom for those all important meetings and presentations that demand the physical presence the clinch the deal. There is a lot to be said about choosing a virtual office that isn’t right for you and this could cause a lot of stress and undue problems.

The key to choosing the right virtual office is ease of operations and a smooth flow of daily activities. It should be the hub, the centralised point of distribution for all documents and there should be an interface where you can access everything about your business through a computer. The synchronization of software and hardware along with the human touch will make a virtual office, a virtually perfect one – one that allows you to breathe easy and concentrate on churning out the profits.

The cost must be kept low as well – there is no point turning to a digital solution when all you have to show it is a monthly bill is ridiculously high. These are the issues of importance when choosing a right virtual office.

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