Virtual offices are becoming increasingly popular in the business world. This is largely due to the unmatched degree of affordability and flexibility it provides to small and start-up companies. However, when it comes to the marketing side of business, the benefits of a virtual office are not quite so obvious. This is because these benefits are largely indirect.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still sweeping across the globe (at the time of writing this article), we’ve seen a huge number of businesses having to change their models and re-evaluate how they can start to move forward in very challenging times.
In this article, we’re looking at 3 main benefits virtual office address provides for your organisation. While we talk about 3 benefits here, there are many more that aren’t related directly to the marketing function of your organisation.
Cost Savings
One such benefit is that the immense cost-effectiveness of a virtual office means the savings on premises can be invested into your marketing endeavours. This benefit is especially important for small businesses and start-ups, as the marketing side of business is highly competitive and expensive.
Renting or owning bricks and mortar is so expensive these days, many business owners are looking for ways in which they can completely irradicate the need for the expense of rent or mortgages. Businesses, especially smaller businesses are looking for dynamic ways in which to develop and grow their business, and this leads us nicely on to the second point…..
A Virtual Office Gives Your Business Prestige
Many start-ups and (to a lesser extent) small businesses register their business at a residential address for the purposes of business correspondence. This makes sense. It costs far less than using an actual business workplace and address to operate from.
However, the major problem with this strategy is that it makes the credibility of the company appear questionable. This in turn makes it all but impossible to attain any level of prestige. In other words, the lack of a professional business address is detrimental to your business' image, severely limiting the level of effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
With a virtual office, a professional business address is part and parcel of the business model. It provides an affordable and effective means for start-ups, small businesses, and entrepreneurs to benefit from all the kudos of a business address: a business address in a prestigious location and a professional presence in the city of your choice.
As your professional business address (known as a virtual address) is used for your mail and can be displayed on your website, it immediately gives your business the impression of credibility and professionalism. The degree of prestige afforded to your business by a professional address allows you to market your products or services to a wider range of people. All of which will greatly boost the effectiveness of your marketing.
A Virtual Office Protects Your Privacy In Marketing
Last but not least, a highly beneficial aspect of having a professional business address is the privacy it affords. Any business owner who uses their home address for business correspondence has effectively given up their personal privacy in the process.
A business registered at home is one that unavoidably publicises your home address wherever it makes a presence, such as online listings and correspondence.
This can seriously compromise your personal privacy.
Your personal details can be easily acquired by telemarketers and malicious individuals looking to exploit your data. A breach of your personal information can lead to a whole host of problems.
In this way, all of your marketing efforts will come at a personal cost: for every time and every place you promote your business, you automatically make public your personal details.
With a virtual business address, however, your business is registered at a professional address ensuring that your business is separated from your personal life. The beauty of this is you can still run your business from home, but your home address is not associated with any of your business activities or communications. Thus, your virtual address ensures that you keep your private address private.
In conclusion…
As covered above, a virtual office can greatly bolster your marketing efforts in a number of ways:
Savings: by minimising your running costs, you can invest more funds into your marketing strategy.
Professionalism: a professional business address combined with a professional receptionist service immediately gives your business an air of professionalism. This ensures that every penny you spend on marketing will yield substantially better results - and even more so if your business has a prestigious address.
Privacy: In separating your business address from your personal one, you can be sure that your marketing activities will work entirely for your business, and not against you as the business owner.
Check out our virtual office offering here the the SME Centre of Excellence or give us a call on 01661 823234 for a chat about your requirements.