Learn more about Virtual Offices and determine if it's for you...
By Elias Ek

Your business runs on good information and excellent communications. Your customers have to be able to reach you, your sales, and service people with a minimum of waiting and no fuss. A customer's trust that you'll be there when they call is a key part of your service relationship.

But The Fact Is, You're Not Always There.

A Virtual Office will provide you with a professional message management system that impress potential and existing customer. A lot of people would think that a Virtual Office and Customer Service is only about answering the phone and forwarding mail. But then you miss the main points. It's about efficiency and image.

A good Virtual Office should help its customers free up their time and their money for tasks that only they with their specialized knowledge can do, while the VO ensure that all communications with customers, vendors and partners are handled with politeness and professionalism. This way even one-person companies can have the resources of a larger company like skilled a customer service staff, an organized order process etc. This will not only increase operational efficiency but also give the image of a dependable and professional company. This can make all the difference when negotiating for better terms from a vendor or trying to secure sought after privileges at trade events etc.

Here are some common service items you should look for:

• Courteous and professional receptionists
• Standardized processes so you know what you get
• A prestigious address
  
• They provide callers with the information from your company background
  
• Daily Fax receiving
  
• Daily Fax forwarding to your e-mail
  
• Office Address for your marketing materials, business cards and website
  
• Mail receiving
  
• Mail forwarding service
  
• Daily reports with details regarding all services
  
• Monthly customer service improvement meeting
• Conference rooms available for rent
• Other secretarial services like receipt organizing, word processing, etc.
  

Virtual Office providers range from someone working from home with literally 20 phones in front of them on their desk to professional operations that handle daily business for hundreds and even thousands of businesses. The SOHO is in this case often the less preferred choice since they don't have the phone, computer and business systems that the larger providers have invested in. The lone guy with the phones can also only answer one call at the time, making it quite possible that sometimes calls will have to go unanswered. The key here is that you are handing over the keys to your business to the VO, make sure you feel comfortable with the company and their people.

More service as you need it
Another important aspect to look for is the VO provider's ability to provide more services as your business and its needs are growing. With time you will likely not only get more phone calls but you will also need more qualified services like Customer Service and Order Management. It is a clear advantage if your Virtual Office provider can upgrade you to a Customer Service customer since they are already familiar with you and your business and you know that you can trust them to do a good job.

Is it worth the money?
Missing a customer's call is expensive. A customer seeing a P.O. Box as your address can be expensive. Only having a cellphone number on your business card can be expensive. Losing a caller's business for any reason is definitely expensive! And remember that using a Virtual Office service to give your company a professional identity and image is in most cases far more cost effective than adding a person to your staff.