There are many small businesses around the world today that boast just a few staff. However they make use of a virtual office which allows them to become leaner more efficient operations.
What is call handling?
A personalised call handling service is there to assist companies to keep their business running in a professional manner when they are unavailable. With a call answering service you will receive your own personal landline telephone number, which you can attach to all your business cards and advertisements. The service is a regular part of any virtual deal as it plays such a fundamental yet vital role within a business.
How does it work?
This is a number that is dedicated especially to your firm from which your clients can contact you on or leave a message with a receptionist who will answer the call. All phone calls will be answered in your personal business name and if requested by you, calls will be forwarded to your mobile phone. Alternatively, a message can be collected from the call handling service and passed on via email or SMS.
A call handling service is always good value for money and can give you some peace of mind to know that your calls are being collected when they would otherwise be missed, ignored or rushed.
Why go virtual?
The virtual office is something that many small and medium sized firms are starting to make use of to cut down their overheads. A relatively small business can expand quite quickly with a call answering service as it allows staff to concentrate on growing the business. Virtual is the way forward in 2010 and a basic part of many virtual office packages is a personalised call handling service, which is the first step towards moving up the company ladder.
Is a virtual office the way to give your business the kick start it needs in 2010?
Virtual office address: Research shows that 66% of new businesses will survive the first two years but then only 44% will see out the first four years. Many businesses struggled to see through last year and if you were one of the lucky ones (or well managed!) or you have recently started up a new business then you should be looking to give yourself as much of an advantage as you possibly can.
Step 1- Ensure you have a short term and a long term plan in place for your business and be realistic with them.
Step 2 – Then look into ways that you can create more profit from your business by cutting back on costs and thinking about your profit rather than just the revenue. This is a where virtual offices are ideal.
Step 3 – From here create a marketing plan to make sure people know who you are and what you can offer them.
Step 4 – By now people should be flocking through the doors so what can you do that makes you stand out? Make them come back by paying attention to the little things like offering a drink while they wait or games for the children to play with.
Step 5 – Look at your business from your customer’s point of view and not your own. What do they want and need from you and are you giving it to them?
Think of 2010 as an opportunity to grow as a business and use the opportunity to do business in a virtual office to allow you the opportunity to spend time and money on your business in order to ensure its success.
Are you looking for UK based call handling? In recent years lots of companies have chosen to re-locate or outsource their call answering operations to other countries where labour is cheaper. However, it seems a lot of these same companies are now realising the benefit of using a UK based virtual office.
Some have said customers prefer to speak to virtual receptionist whose first language is English, which is reasonable. Others like to use a UK based call handling company because should they have a major problem they know the company is accountable by English law. Another reason is the fact that if you need further services such as a UK business address or mail forwarding, it is far more convenient to house all of your requirements under one roof as opposed to using different companies for each service.
5 reasons why you should use Office Front
- Office Front is a UK based call handling company with over 10 years experience
- Each account is handled by a team of three virtual receptionists
- All of our telephonists are fluent English speakers
- We provide personalised call handling with flexible packages and no long term commitments
- We are currently running a price guarantee. So if you find a UK based service cheaper anywhere else we will beat it by 10%. You can’t lose!
We have a number of virtual office testimonials on our site for you to look at as well as case studies so you can see how we have helped companies of all sizes improve the image of their business and cut costs. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
If you don’t need a virtual office for call handling, perhaps because you are not a business and are on the move a lot abroad, you might be interested in using specialised telephone answering service software.
A virtual office usually charges a set up fee and a monthly subscription based on the number of calls you receive. However, if you are not a business telephone answering service software can allow you to designate specific messages for your mum, sister or friends, so you can let them know where you are and how to get hold of you. This is highly beneficial if you are backpacking and don’t have a satellite phone. This software also sends voice and text messages via email, so you can pick them up on your iPhone or blackberry. It’s a great piece of kit if you are student travelling the world on your gap year.
However this is not a substitute for a professional telephone answering service by a virtual office. Our service is delivered by living human virtual receptionists not voice activated machines. We enhance the image of your business. When a customer calls us they are given the impression that you are an established business with an in-house receptionist and not just a person who has an answer machine. In business first impressions count for a lot and getting a crucial message at the right time can make a big difference.
Our call handling service involves answering your calls in your company name and if necessary relaying messages by via email as well as re-directing calls to which ever number you need.
From a business point of view commissioning a professional UK virtual office service is always going to be more beneficial for your business. But for non-commercial use software can help you stay in touch with loved ones if you are gone for long periods of time.
A virtual office provides many benefits such as convenience, image enhancement and better customer service. If you are a small business owner you no doubt wear many hats. You are probably the finance, marketing and business development director as well as the secretary and receptionist all rolled into one. You often realise that you are working for your business, where as it should really be the other way around. By automating certain aspects you free up time to do other things and relieve some of the pressure of running everything yourself.
No one person can be expected to take on so many positions without neglecting certain other areas. In business it’s important to keep costs low, but if it is at the expense of not being able to grow your business or even run it efficiently you are doing something wrong.
If you are currently doing your books yourself you will be aware of how much time this can take up. My suggestion is, why not use a online accounting software? They cost about £200 for the year and they send out all of your invoices, connect with all of you bank accounts and work out all of your tax, automatically. Alternatively, if you like to deal with human beings you can get a virtual office like Office Front to help manage your books.
Other ways in which you can save time and improve productivity include only reading and replying to emails at certain times of the day. People often get into a habit of reading emails every five minutes. This causes distraction and you often lose where you were exactly. By setting aside defined times you avoid distraction and you will be amazed at how much time you save.
Other useful tips include automating new orders through your website or by email. This means you are not constantly bombarded with new orders all the time and your customers have the luxury of being able to order whenever they want. You can also put up a FAQs page, for the everyday questions. This means you don’t have to answer the same questions over an over again.
I also find that setting up a web-site specific telephone number and getting a virtual office to provide a telephone answering service, greatly reduces the number of missed calls and helps you avoid answering annoying sales calls all the time.
Virtual offices sound like something from the future right? Yet the whole world is raving about them and if you are yet to join the virtual world then you may just be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. No catches, just a simple way to enjoy cheaper running costs and an improved business. No more missed calls or lost mail; there is no reason why you should stay in an office that you pay full rental prices for instead of renting a virtual space for a fraction of the cost.
However, not everyone is convinced and many feel it is too good to be true. Saving money for a first time business or riding out the recession from the comfort of a virtual office address is easy to achieve and there are no obvious downsides to doing business the virtual way. If you merely dream of saving money on a receptionist, not having to pay out for holiday, sick, maternity or owed leave and can’t even imagine what it would feel like to do business from an address that screams ‘professional business person coming through!’ then you may want to look into getting your own virtual office address.
As well as the address you get your very own virtual receptionist who is available to answer your not so virtual telephone calls. There is no question as there is no reason not to save money and give yourself the upper hand in business these days and a virtual receptionist is not only cheaper but also more reliable and there is no outlay or maintenance costs for office equipment. A virtual office is ideal for anyone running a small business and further details can be obtained via Office Front.
What are the advantages of using a UK virtual office over one in a foreign country such as India, just for example? If you are a business owner and this applies to businesses of all sizes not just the small ones, keeping costs low and controlling spend are fundamental to the operation of your company.
So naturally when you are seeking the services of a virtual office you will want to find a service that a) fits your requirements and b) is the cheapest price you can find. However, there are consequences to this cost cutting tactic. If you are trying to find the cheapest possible telephone answering service or comprehensive virtual office package, your search will no doubt lead you to some far flung country on the other side of the world.
This is where you may run into trouble. Many callers will recognise straight away that you are using a service which is not based in the UK. The virtual receptionist may have a thick accent and may even find it difficult to fully comprehend messages, which could result in inaccuracy.
By using a UK virtual office such as Office Front you are ensuring that your image will be improved and the service you receive is high quality. All of our staff are fluent English speakers, we conduct frequent and regular training and ensure our account managers are fully versed in the art of customer service. We also invest heavily in technology to make sure we provide a seamless and efficient service.
A UK based virtual office may be a little more expensive in price when compared to say an India based company, for example, but we more than make up for this in the quality of the service we provide. Also if you need to use our other services such as mail forwarding, business address services or meeting rooms you know that we are based in the same country, so the option is there if you need it.
Running your own business can be a stressful business but having your own virtual office space is far from hard work. In fact, you have no physical location, which of course means no costs that come with the ‘virtual’ space such as no rent, no electrics, no maintenance, no cleaning bills etc. Your employees are working for you online or by telephone, so you are not required to provide them with space to work from. Your telephone answering service can be performed from wherever you choose. It is important to understand that just because your office is not located in a real place it does not mean that you forego your address, telephone number, fax numbers, web hosting, courier services, a meeting space and so on.
A mail forwarding service allows you to boast a business address and this is a basic part of a virtual deal. The problem is that you are probably thinking too much about it and wondering how it is really supposed to work. An office is literally where you work and conduct business thus meaning that if you do it in a virtual space you still own an office just as if you worked from home and your office was a room in your house.
A telephone answering service is another basic offering for such an office and this is just one more benefit. You receive all your messages the way you choose and there will be no excuses for missed calls for lunch breaks or while you are driving as someone else is handling your calls with the advantage that you do not have to provide them with a work space. It all seems so very simple but that is one of the beautiful parts of a virtual office; it really is that easy!
If you provide a call handling service or any other customer centric business you will no doubt be aware of how important customer service is to the success, retention and growth of your customer base. Below I have outlined some top tips, which should help you improve the experience your customers receive when they deal with your business.
We provide a call handling service for businesses of all sizes. It’s imperative that we deliver a seamless and professional service. Firstly, you have to make sure you invest in your staff. They are the life blood of your business. These are the people that make your business tick. By not investing in training, development and giving your employees the proper resources to carry out their jobs efficiently you are effectively strangling your business and inhibiting its potential.
If you want your employees to treat your customers well you should treat your staff accordingly. Providing benefits and bonuses really do help improve motivation. As a virtual office solution we deal with lots of businesses on a daily basis. This brings me onto my next tip. We make sure we know all of our customers on a first name basis. We also try to get to know our customers regular callers. By doing this we feel we enhance the call handling service we provide.
My last tip is to allow customers to give feedback on your service. This way you can make improvements which will hopefully pay dividends in the future. There are lots of UK virtual offices out there that is why it’s essential to gain an advantage in any area you can.
Oh the wonders and benefits of the modern world and with a virtual office; your business prospects are seemingly endless! Your receptionist or switchboard is the primary point of contact for customers entering or contacting your business and if you want first impressions to count without forcing yourself into money problems then you should look into getting a virtual office address. If you are already in financial meltdown then taking the step into the virtual world may be your only chance of survival and let’s face it in the tough and competitive world of business the term ‘survival of the fittest’ has never rung truer.
Outsource switchboard – How does it work?
The process works by using a team of receptionists to handle your calls in a professional manner and pass messages on when employees are not available to take a call. The switchboard is in a virtual world in other words not in an office space that you have to pay heavy rent rates for and this is how you start to save on your outgoings. You can be ensured that there will be no loss of business due to leave or an unmanned desk at lunchtime and you will dissolve a large portion of your human resource problems in one foul swoop.
A virtual office address in an area that screams that you simply must be a professional to do business there is another simple yet effective way to make use of the service. You are able to grow your business simply by boasting an improved address and save money at the same time. Your calls can be transferred using a call handling service to wherever you choose and messages can also be taken making a virtual office and an outsourced switchboard a simple yet genius answer to your money problems.
