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Creating a virtual office using VoIP
If you want to impress existing or potential customers, sometimes it can help to look like a larger operation. There are many things you can do to create this illusion. One is to create a dynamic virtual office environment using VoIP.
Voice over internet protocol (VoIP), also known as internet telephony, has given many companies new ways to promote themselves and manage their operations. It lets your business make and receive phone calls over the internet and divert calls at will, freeing you from the restraints of fixed phone lines in a bricks and mortar office.
As a result, VoIP enables even the smallest, home-based businesses to create a virtual office environment, helping them compete with larger organisations.
Virtual reality
Many successful businesses and sole traders base their operations out of a virtual office. Callers are greeted by a professional telephone menu. There's hold music plus recorded messages, a call back option and flexible voicemail for when calls can't be answered.
With a system like this, your company's customers need never know that you work from your dining room table. And even though it sounds expensive, actually most VoIP packages include these features as standard. Your IT supplier may be able to help you get started.
Communication skills
A good VoIP system will offer an online control panel, so you can log in and change your call settings from anywhere. You should be able to create, edit and arrange your voicemail prompts or change your answer phone message no matter where you are in the world. You can also have all calls conveniently routed to one number.
Of course, one of the main advantages of using VoIP to create a virtual office is cost. Instead of having to meet the capital cost of moving into a real office, covering rent and overheads, a virtual office provides many of the same services with greater flexibility and freedom at a significantly lower price.
More information relating to VoIP:
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Comments
Technology can greatly enhance a business and VoIP technology can really help a new start-up business but please do not fall into the trap of thinking it is the be all and end all. Remember we all hate complicated telephone systems that ask up to press 1 for this or 2 for that or push you through to a voicemail - people want to talk to people. If you are keeping your costs down by working from home then invest a small amount and employ a telephone answering service - if implemented properly it will return the investment in new business!
a best guide on virtual office topic. It covers all the essential points and I really like this part of the information.
There's proper hold music plus recorded messages, a call back option and flexible voicemail for when callscan't be answered. With a system like this, your company's customers need never know that you work from your dining room table.
I agree, low cost cloud computing gives the small business access to the same technologies that are being used by far larger companies, allowing them to compete on a more level playing field. The cost savings and flexibilty can be significant, but more importantly for a lot of start-ups and small businesses it offers the chance to present a much larger company image. A hosted PBX is the first step, your phone system is the first point of contact for many customers and anybody who is engaged, missing calls, not getting voice mail or failing to call people back is loosing business from the outset. Hosted PBX's are cheap and can provide a major advantage for small businesses in terms of professional image and customer experience.
Chris
You should be able to create, edit and arrange your voicemail prompts or change your answer phone message no matter where you are in the world. You can also have all calls conveniently routed to one number.
This technology is great for little businesses - one of the major reasons small business go under is because they can't afford all the costs that come with setting up and running a business. Many businesses are looking towards the virtual world with many big companies using virtual assistants to help run their businesses whilst keep costs to a minimum.
Rachel
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