Technology is a wonderful thing, butwhat seems to be happening more and more in the world of business isthat AI including chatbots, automated answerphones, driverless taxicabs, lorries and cars, self-service supermarkets and fast-foodrestaurants are all making the headlines, but are effectivelyremoving the human element from many walks of life.
While advancements in technology canhelp to automate many a task and save big companies a fortune by nothaving to employ staff to perform certain tasks, it really isworrying that they can believe their customers are going to be happyabout these changes.
At the end of the day, a business ownershould never forget that their customers are the life-blood of theirbusiness. Without happy customers, how would any business manage tobe successful?
Howcommunication has changed
The internet has completely changed theface of business and the creation of mobile technologies such assmartphones, laptops and tablets have transformed the way we interactwith each other.
No matter whether you are a B2B or B2Cbusiness, how we communicate with each other and our customers havegone from just face-to-face meetings, letters and telephone calls tocommunicating over various messaging platforms, social media andthrough apps.
With the creation of Skype and Slack,business people no longer need to meet face-to-face, but instead caninteract with each other and directly with their customers in waysthat not too long ago were once unimaginable.
Greaterflexibility in the workplace
All of these new technologies andcommunication platforms have enabled people that work more remotelyand work together, whether that's via online collaboration sites orSkype when you can have meetings in different time zones unimpeded bygeography.
The ability for teams to work togetherremotely means businesses have a whole new level of freedom thatmeans that they no longer need to build and rely on one physicalcentral head office.
Technology has also enabled soloentrepreneurs and micro-businesses to operate on the same platformand at the same level as the much larger companies that used todominate business sectors.
Adoptingvirtual services
With so much new technology at ourfingertips, it makes sense to adopt and make good use of as much newtechnology as we can, including the creation of virtual services thatthis new technology has allowed to grow and flourish over recentyears.
As a business owner, it is importantthat you identify and utilise virtual options that could bettersupport you and your staff as well as your customers.
Depending on the size of your businessthat could be as simple as adopting one single virtual service, suchas a real-life human callanswering service, an app or piece of softwarethat will help to resolve an existing issue with your business.
Interactingwith your customers
As mentioned earlier, a lot ofbusinesses are moving more towards using AI and technology to replacethe human element of their production line or business structure.While it has meant that companies have cut their overheads and savedmoney, it has served to create a big disconnect with their customers– the very people they need to keep their business alive.
As any business improvement consultantsand managers will tell you, how you interact with your customers ishugely important. While a company can adopt technologies to helptheir staff work better with each other, they need to remember to dothis with their customers too.
Workon your infrastructure
Your business needs to be fast, agileand always connected. However, if you are a solo-entrepreneur or youare running a small business with a skeleton staff, then you will berunning at maximum capacity with little to no time to dedicate to thecare of your customers or to be able to effectively deal withprospective new clients that are calling your business 24/7.
An important part of the success ofyour business will be to realise that you need to run a human-centriccompany that makes good use of modern technology but also maintainsthat essential human element and connection that your customers needto trust your company and get the high-quality customer service thatthey want from you.
While these days it is important thatyour business needs to be connected 24/7, it doesn't mean that you asan individual must be!
Takingthe virtual option
You need to take a regular break fromyour business each day and enable yourself to step away and rest forthe sake of your own mental health. However, you don't want to miss asingle phone call from a prospective new customer that can become anew source of income for your business.
This is where our completevirtual office services can come in very handy.Not only can we help you to catch every single call from aprospective new customer or B2B company that wants to contact you byhaving your calls answered by a real-life human receptionist, we canallow you to break free of being permanently tied to your businessphone line.
Unpluggingyourself from technology
If you prefer to stay in control ofyour business phone and can answer every single incoming call on yoursmartphone during your working hours, then you can at least allowyourself to take the night off after work.
Capital Office London also offers busybusiness clients the option of a voicemailonly service that you can switch on after youleave work so that you are not disturbed by your business calls whilespending time at home with your family or friends.
By using either of our call answeringservices you can set yourself healthy boundaries between work andhome life. This will encourage you to take needed downtime andunplugging yourself from technology as and when you need to.
Protectingyour privacy
Because modern technology allowsbusiness owners to work from pretty much anywhere, this means that alot of lean business owners are able to set up and run their companyfrom home rather than to go to the expense of hiring offices to workfrom.
It can be quite eye-opening to realisejust how much company information is available online. While you wantyour business to have a strong online presence and you will beactively doing everything you can to build up your brand recognitionand raise awareness of your business, you will still be wanting toprotect your own personal privacy and the privacy of your family.
While it is important to protectyourself and your business from hacking and identity theft, you willneed to submit a lot of your information to the CompaniesHouse website for public display.
The Companies House website has aregister of every single registered limited company, a publiccompany, LLP, CIC and persons of significant control (PSC) in thecountry. This means that the details of company addresses, the namesof directors and their addresses are all available for anyone toview.
While all these details are required bylaw to aid transparency and prevent people from hiding behind nomineedirectors or control companies without having to declare an interest,it can be riskier for those running a business from their ownpersonal home address to be exposed to cold callers and disgruntledcustomers knocking on your door, or potential ID fraudsters stealingyour identity.
A great solution here would be to makegood use of our virtual office address services.
Virtualoffice address services
Registered Office Address: Byusing our virtual office address services you can have a RegisteredOffice Address in London for your business.This means that your home address will not be publicised online.
A registered office address is a legalrequirement for all UK Companies. Our service includes free statutorymail forwarding and is cost-effective, reliable and efficient. Yourregistered office address with us is HMRC approved so you know ourservices are credible and trustworthy.
Directors Service Address: Adirectorsservice address package allows your companyofficers to use our central London address as their businesscorrespondence address, which is displayed at Companies House on thepublic record. Using this service will keep your private home addressoff public display.
When using our virtual addressservices, including a directorsservice address option, you will still need tosubmit your residential address to Companies House, but this will bekept private and off the public record.
The only address for your company thatwill be displayed is your virtual office address that is based in thecentre of London's famous business district, giving your businessinstant credibility and a sense of gravitas that will do your companyimage a world of good.
By taking out any of our virtual officeaddress services, your registered office address or directorsservice address will be:
Your name
Your company name
Kemp House
152 – 160 City Road
London EC1V 2NX
Do not hesitate to contact ourexperienced team at Capital Offices to discuss your business needs,whether that is for any of our call answering services to ourcomplete virtual office package or virtual London business addressoptions.
Call our team +44 (0) 207 566 3939 oremail us office@capital-office.co.ukor call in for a chat at our London offices in Kemp House – we arealways happy to talk to you!
