Have you heard this term? If so, you’ve probably wondered what exactly it means. Not to worry – today we’re going to explore the concept of a virtual office, how you might go about establishing one, and what benefits you and your business can derive from doing so.
First, the basics – what exactly is a virtual office, anyway? Well, as the name suggests, it’s not a physical place. Rather, a “virtual office” comprises a mix of technologies and services that enable entrepreneurs and business people to:
- Present a professional, polished image
- Stay constantly connected and avoid missed calls
- Reduce or even eliminate dependency on traditional office space
- Reduce or eliminate physical commuting
- Realize cost savings and a smaller environmental footprint thanks to the above
Easy Office Phone’s Hosted PBX technology allows you to achieve all of the above, while still saving money over traditional telecom options. Let’s take a look at each of these benefits of a virtual office and how our service can fulfill them.
Image: we all know how important image is. To help customers feel confident buying your products or services you need to present an image that depicts your company as established and credible. Here’s the catch – even the most solid, dependable companies in the world were small and unestablished when they first started. We all have to start somewhere.
With Easy Office Phone’s virtual office technology, you can deliver the right impression the moment your customers dial your phone number. With our customizable auto-attendant (also known as virtual receptionist) feature, your customers will immediately hear a polished automated greeting welcoming them to your company and presenting them with a list of options. You might choose to have several departments serving your customers, such as Sales, Support and Billing – even if all of those options go to just one or two people. Remember, it’s not misleading – you know your company will do a great job for its clients, but when you’re trying to get a foot in the door you’d better make sure the foot you’re putting forward is your best.
Connectivity: Our world is a fast-paced place in which to live and do business. Your customers are just as busy as you are; if they can’t reach you when they need your help, they’re likely to become frustrated and perhaps even move on to another supplier. As a result, you just can’t afford to miss calls due to outdated technology.
As part of your virtual office solution, consider find-me/follow me and voicemail to e-mail from Easy Office Phone. Both of these powerful features are included standard with our monthly service packages, and greatly increase your odds of getting those important calls. With find-me/follow-me, you can choose to call additional numbers (such as cell phones) when a caller dials your extension. Our service can dial these numbers either sequentially or simultaneously. Voicemail to e-mail provides you with further assurance – even if you do miss the initial call, we’ll immediately send you a digital recording of the voicemail message your customer left. You can download and listen to the message on a desktop or laptop computer, on your smartphone, or anywhere else that you have e-mail access. Complete your communications suite with our Electronic Fax service, which allows you to send faxes through the web and receive them via e-mail.
Office Space: If you’ve seen the amusing film from Mike Judge, you know that traditional offices can be overrated. Even if your red stapler isn’t missing, your job is still tied to the building you work in, meaning significantly increased operating costs. This can be a killer for startup businesses! Easy Office Phone can route your calls to you via a number of devices – a Business VoIP phone, a soft phone running on a computer, a smart phone or even a traditional landline. As a result, you can work from anywhere – your home, the road, a hotel – and still get all of your customer calls, without anyone realizing that you’re not sitting in a traditional office.
Commuting: We all dread it – and we envy those who don’t have to endure it. Why not beat the rat race and work from where you choose, as described above? When you’re able to work from the location of your choosing using Easy Office Phone, you can eliminate thousands of dollars a year in fuel costs, vehicle maintenance, licensing fees and parking tickets…not to mention the intangible cost of losing your sanity due to wasting time in traffic jams.
Environmental benefits: After setting up your virtual office, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’ve done your part for the Earth by significantly reducing your environmental footprint. Cutting out a few round trips to the office per week means greatly reducing your carbon footprint. Go even greener by getting rid of the need to run those fluorescent office lights eight hours a day, eliminating messages scrawled on memo pads, and doing away with those annoying fax machines!
That’s all for today. We hope this post answers the question of “what is a virtual office?” and demonstrates how you can use Easy Office Phone’s service to set up your own virtual office solution and start enjoying its benefits.