Product Information

With more and more companies offering business owners virtual services via the internet, a greater number of companies than ever before are taking advantage of the many services on offer, such as the one being offered by Your Virtual Office. A sole operator or entrepreneur can save themselves a lot of money by using someone to outsource different parts of the business rather than them having to hire out a large building to accommodate a full suite of in-house staff, as well as avoid all the overheads of supplying and running essential IT and telecommunications equipment.

A popular option for the single business owner or entrepreneur is to use a virtual receptionist through our professional call-handling package to help manage essential aspects of the day to day reception duties without the need for employing someone on site. But what are the benefits of hiring a virtual receptionist, and what can most businesses expect get from using such a service?

Ideal employee

For starters, a virtual receptionist can be available to your business needs 24 hours a day and doesn’t need time off for sickness or holidays – that’s because you are outsourcing to a virtual service rather than hiring an individual receptionist. The virtual service provider will have a team of people to handle all the individual services you need and this means there are none of the usual limits and barriers that you find with hiring a single member of staff to work on site.

Having a virtual receptionist service on hand also allows you to offer your callers a professional receptionist service at any time, ideal if you want to conduct in-depth or drawn-out business or client meetings where you don't want to be disturbed, but you cannot afford to miss any important incoming calls.

For those small business owners who may only need a voicemail only service to cover periods where they are out of communication, such as during business meetings, travel times or while away on holiday, then there are even low-cost services to suit you too!

The financial costs of hiring a virtual receptionist is also much less than taking on a full-time employee, especially when hiring the service over the longer term where you can get great value for money. Not only do you get that very important extensive receptionist coverage you require, but you don’t have all the associated costs that come with having someone offering this service within your business – there are no holidays to accommodate, pension plans to contribute to, sick days to cover, equipment to provide, or other expenses.

Avoid employee issues

Many businesses will have hired temporary staff over the years to do this kind of work and while this can be a great option, at other times it doesn’t work out quite so well. By using the services of a virtual receptionist, you are accessing professionally trained people who will be able to perform this service all of the time, no matter where you are based or what your line of business is. The kind of experience and professional expertise offered by a virtual receptionist would cost a lot to employ for your company, full or part-time, if you could even find someone that good.

Professional Virtual Receptionists services are also very flexible and are able to be completely personalised to suit your company – the receptionist answers with your company name, accesses your business information and will act as if they were a full-time member of your business team. This means that they can offer a fully comprehensive, seamless, and professional customer service without actually being physically present within your company, or ever having to set foot through your doorway.

Virtual Services Available

As well as ensuring that they answer your incoming business calls with a warm and friendly tone using your company name, your virtual receptionist will also know about your company background. They will be able to intercept and direct an incoming call confidently, politely and efficiently.

Depending on your business needs, your virtual reception services can be tailored to meet your requirements. This can include routing calls to the right person, transferring calls between different sections of the business, taking messages while staff members are unavailable, and even for the screening out sales calls and nuisance callers.

By simply outsourcing your essential company receptionist duties to Your Virtual Office, you can have all the professional services that a full-time receptionist offers without the need to hire any full or part-time employees whatsoever.

You can save yourself a lot of money too because you also don’t need a physical location for them to be based – no need to have an office within the premises with a phone system and a desk. There is no need to have an office at all for your administration needs if your business model doesn’t’ require one. And you can keep down the costs of overheads such as electricity, office rent, stationery, land-line and mobile phone costs by outsourcing this service while still offering the best possible customer experience to everyone who calls your company.

Every limited company needs to have at least one director as part of its company foundation along with at least one shareholder, though they can be the same person. There are certain responsibilities with being a company director and certain things you need to disclose to a public register. One of these is an address and this is where our directors service address service comes in.

Limited company basics

A director is just one essential part of the information required to create a limited company. There are a series of pieces of information that must be submitted to Companies House to create a new limited company. These are:

• The company name – this needs to comply with the rules regarding what you can and can’t call your company, available through Companies House websiteThe address for your company – this can be the business premises or a registered officeOne director and one shareholder – they can be same personMemorandum of association – agreed by all shareholders to create the companyStatement of capital – details of the shares of the company when it is formedArticles of association – company rules about how it will operateDetails of anyone with significant control – this is more than 25% of shares or voting rightsSIC code – standard industry code for the type of business you are creating

As well as registering the details above with Companies House, the company needs to let HMRC know that they will be paying Corporation Tax.Company formation can be done online or using a company formations service such as the one we offer. This means you simply provide the information and we go through all the necessary forms and procedures then provide the certificate to prove the company has been formed.

Being a company director

Being a company director means you will be listed on the public record as being associated with the company. Anyone can become a company director apart from if they have been disqualified under the articles of association, are an undischarged bankrupt, have been disqualified from such a role by court order or you are also the auditor for the company.A director doesn’t have to be a shareholder but they can be both – it depends on the individual and the company. There are also ways to add a director after the company has been formed as well as remove one if they no longer wish to have the role – although there must always be one director listed for the company.

Director’s service address

There are several pieces of information filed on the public record at Companies House for the director of the company. These include name, date of birth, residential and service address, occupation and nationality. This is where the director’s service address service comes in very handy. Your residential address is not a matter of public record but your service address is, and often people don’t want their home address to be available publicly. If you ran your business from home, I am sure you wouldn't appreciate the risk of cold-callers knocking on your door at all hours.Therefore, many company directors make use of our service to use our London address as their service address. The only stipulation with being a service address is that it can receive statutory mail and that it can be found – so it has to be a real 'bricks and mortar' address. Our Directors Service Address is a real address based in the heart of London.Our comprehensive service means we can collect your statutory mail on your behalf and forward it to an address of your choosing. It keeps your personal address from the public record and allows you to ensure no-one can find out where you live through this register.The additional benefit of the system is that you get to use a London address, with the prestige this gives a business. It doesn’t matter where a director lives or where the business is based – they can still use the London address as the director’s service address. It can even be used as the registered office address for the whole company if this works well for the business.

Conclusion

Keeping information such as your home address private is an important step for most people with concerns about security and identity fraud. By using a service address such as ours for your director’s address, you can have the security of keeping information private as well as the reassurance that your mail will be handled in a top quality manner and that you will receive it in a timely manner.

A virtual address is a solution that suits a number of businesses from different industries. It suits the kind of business that don’t have mail handling facilities at their premises or perhaps their business premises are also their home address. It may suit people who travel abroad a lot and aren’t around to check mail or it may simply be that the business doesn’t have the budget for a receptionist or administration assistant. This is where the virtual address service comes in.

What is a virtual address?

A virtual office service is available in several different variations to suit all types of businesses and all points in the business life-cycle. The range of facilities available means that businesses can take as much or as little as they need - from the start up entrepreneur working from the dining room table to the international company juggling dozens of bases in different locations.

The virtual services

The first part of the service is called a virtual mail room. This can includes a number of different services depending on your needs including mail sorting and scanning to email to storage of mail until personal pick-up or bulk forwarding to another address. This includes cheque depositing and a mail forwarding service as well as options such as cloud based accounting services.The second level of service is termed as a virtual office and includes general services such as phone answering as well as company mail handling. Your chosen level of mail-room services can be added on or you can simply have all of your mail forwarded as required. Our Virtual Office services also includes physical services such as the use of a smart, state of the art, unbranded conference room and an office area for physical meetings when you need to do business in person. By using this service, you get to use a prestigious London address for those important meetings.

UK Postbox services

Our virtual mail-room service is a comprehensive service that makes use of the top online mail management service available, called UK Postbox. This service is operated around the world and offers private and confidential mail handling services, much in the way of a PO Box but with several additional benefits.With a normal PO Box, you need an address and the box needs to be within your sorting area. But the UK Postbox service has no such restrictions so you can be based anywhere in the UK. It can receive and action important personal and business documents that will be scanned and sent to you as you choose. Other options include having documents stored on the secure server that you can then print or just view online.Finally, as the service is privately owned, it can offer complete privacy for customers. There are no requirements to release information under the Data Protection Act to give customers an added level of security to that offered by simple PO Boxes.

Extra services

There are also additional services that can be added to the package or taken in their own right if they suit the needs of the business.Private mailboxes are an ideal solution for small businesses and for people that travel a lot due to the nature of their work. They allow the receiving and safe storage of mail and ensure that there is no risk of mail being lost or damaged while no-one is around to collect or deal with it.The virtual address service can also be used for two legal purposes – as a registered office address and as a director’s service address. By using a registered office address service, the business can use a single London address on all of its correspondence, with the added prestige that comes with owning your own central London business address. It is also a practical measure if you work from home or don’t have a permanent business address yet, allowing the business to be registered in one location, regardless where it operates.The director’s service address works in a similar way. Any company directors need to register certain details with Companies House and this includes their address. As it is a matter of public record, some people don’t want to use their home address and have this disclosed to the general public, so instead use a service address for the public record. This service is for that purpose and allows the London address to be used on all official matters. It also helps to keep business cold-callers from arriving uninvited at your door at all times of the day or night.

Benefits of virtual office services

There are other reasons why a business would choose to use one or a number of virtual office services.Top of the list, especially for the mail handling services, is that there either isn’t someone available to deal with mail at the business premises on a daily basis, or the business address is also a home address. Managing mail can take time and also space which some businesses don’t have. Or they may not be in the position to employ someone to do the task and this can result in a haphazard approach to mail handling where important paperwork may be easily missed.Privacy and security are two big issues for businesses and one way to help with both is to withhold the business address from public record, especially if these are private residential addresses. Using virtual office services allows you to do this as well as to be certain that paperwork and deliveries are handled in a secure manner before being forwarded to your chosen address.There is also a great first impression that comes when a business has an address in London, regardless of where they are actually based. This can add prestige to the company and this can help to quickly establish new companies who have recently formed and want to be taken seriously by their new clients.Finally, if the business is based abroad but trades in the UK, virtual office services can offer a London address for those UK customers to correspond with that guarantees the handling of mail in a timely manner and can even handle incoming phone calls from UK based customers.

Much of the world was confused with the announcement of Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn. Many had difficulty understanding why Microsoft would want this company and why LinkedIn wanted to sell. LinkedIn was at a standstill in its business growth/strategy. In order for the brand to move forward, it needed a fresh perspective, which is something that Microsoft can offer. It is a great opportunity for marketers, as you will learn from the information below.

Better Networking Capabilities

Microsoft was rather interested in the fact that LinkedIn had over 433 billion business-driven users, with at least 2 billion of those users having paid memberships. The tools available to those with paid memberships are far more advanced than what free users have available. The availability of these tools allows marketers to network more, build a name for themselves, and make new connections to further their careers.

Increased Skill Learning Potential

LinkedIn has the ability to help users increase their skill sets. This means that marketers can use new tools, new methods, and new approaches to making those cold email campaigns work. Some of the published content on LinkedIn is helpful for marketers as they learn how to use the platform to make sales and market to the right audiences.

Social Media Exposure

LinkedIn is considered a social media website. Given that it is a social media networking site; marketers have the ability to help increase advertising potential to a more diverse audience. Connections can be made, messages can be exchanged, and meetings can be set all from this platform. The ability to use a single platform for communications, promotion, and having social media presence is invaluable to some marketers.

Larger Customer Base Potential

Customers have the ability to leave commentary in the form of a review on LinkedIn content. Your marketing department will have access to a larger customer base by being present on LinkedIn, and with that comes the requirement to market to the multiple demographic groups within that customer base. It is best to develop an online presence, build a reputation, and work on building relationships with your customer base to learn what marketing approaches are going to work best for that specific platform.

Improved Technology Platform

Microsoft plans to improve the technological aids available to LinkedIn users to progress the platform. LinkedIn was at a standstill, it was stuck – new technology and software tools will help grow the membership at LinkedIn and will help marketers keep better records from new connections, campaign performance, and learn what tools will help them in their everyday life.

Better Business Structure

From viewing some of the content and business descriptions of successful industry leaders, marketers can learn how to develop a better business structure. Marketers can also learn the importance of marketing in a way that fits a business’ structure. It makes for more successful marketers because the marketer needs to learn how a business creates a budget, how it determines what it will pay for a product/service, and what types of brands/products it wants to be associated with.LinkedIn offers businesses the opportunity to create a detailed business profile within the platform. This outlines the brand’s goals, preferences, and direction. Marketers should be able to read between the lines to determine whether to proceed with client gaining or work on obtaining a different client.

Recruiting Marketing Team Members

Marketers will often post a resume, along with previous job skills online. When a major corporation is looking for someone new in their marketing department, LinkedIn is one of the places that they look. It is important to make sure that your contact information is up-to-date and that you highlight any special skills. When you are looking to be recruited, consider offering a sample pitch on your LinkedIn profile so that potential employers can see that your pitch is optimized for the web, has substance and includes a good teaser.

Final Say

With the increased potential for creating stronger, bigger networks, marketers stand the chance to make a name for themselves. Marketers also have the means available to access larger vendor/client pools to further their careers. It is important for marketers in all avenues of the industry to embrace the acquisition of LinkedIn as a step in a forward direction with advanced technology, better sales tools, and an easier way of communicating with clients.

In order for a business to remain relevant in today’s world, it has to be up-to-date with trends. It also has to be in-tune with technology. Brands that use the latest technology to improve customer experiences are dominating their respective industries. To become a driving force in your specific industry, it may be time to make some upgrades to your business’ methods, tools, and strategies.

Use Video Marketing

Video marketing is trending in 2016. It is important to learn the tricks to creating a compelling video-marketing campaign that displays the brand’s ability to adapt to change. When creating video advertisements, make sure to only include text that is relevant. Society wants to watch and listen rather than read. Show examples of how a product or service works while explaining simply why a consumer or business needs the product/service. Simple is the best approach with video marketing.

Telecommuting Employees

Telecommuting (virtual) employees are ideal for growing businesses. Not only are virtual offices and virtual employees becoming more popular, it is a better way to keep overhead costs down for businesses. Employees that have the ability to work remotely are more productive, have better work ethics, and are more relaxed. They also have less sick days and require less vacation time than traditional employees. Going virtual is trending in 2016 as more businesses see the advantages of a virtual workforce and the need to cut spending on traditional office spaces.

Mobile-Friendly Websites

In 2016, much of the world has gone mobile. This means that your business needs to be able to go with them. More people are accessing the Internet from wireless devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers. Google has also made changes to its policies requiring businesses to be mobile-friendly.Your mobile users should be able to access the same features as your web-users. When consumers have to go to a computer to place an order rather than right from their mobile device, it is seen as an inconvenience.

Increased Demand for Faster Service

Consumers do not like to wait for ordered items to arrive in the mail or via parcel delivery. More are demanding same-day service for goods, services, and consultations. If your business has multiple locations, it may be a great marketing strategy to advertise same-day delivery for local customers. This will increase your client base and allow for the business to expand to more areas around the world with the same business model, operations, and delivery practices.Those that are not local should be offered the option of overnight delivery, at their cost for shipping. Companies have to be able to cater to customer demand in order to have longevity in their industries.

Upgrade Computer Networks

Upgraded computer networks using an individual business server, cloud networks and integrated applications, makes working easier for your employees. Advanced technology is designed to make performing tasks, staying productive, and reaching co-workers with questions easier. It is important to include a central location for employee chatter for employees to decompress, joke a bit, and take some of their work-related stress off.Consider implementing the use of tablets, mobile inventory counters and mobile conferencing technology, to keep all employees on the same page. Outdated technology tends to fail over time, and this can result in a huge loss of company data. It is vital that you stay up-to-date with technology.

Use Digital Tools

Digital tools help keep all of your employees on the same page. Tools like Dropbox, Slack, Trello and Evernote, are ideal for keeping files in a specific location while allowing access to them by all employees. Some of these tools can be used with additional integrated apps to create time lines, have productivity reminders, and deadline reminders. Anything that helps employees stay on-track, upbeat and happy at work, is a good addition to your digital tools. The tools should be available to all employees so that none are working at a disadvantage.

Final Word

Working to get your company up-to-date may cost a bit up-front but will be worth it. It will also provide a better overall experience for your customers. The increased revenues from happy customers that continually come back, gives you more to re-invest into the company for further technological improvements to your everyday operations.

A virtual office space is beneficial for small businesses and solely online companies. Business owners do not have the worries of paying for building repairs, dealing with building malfunctions, or paying for the cost of a company location. Instead, employees have a centralized location to refer to while working from anywhere in the world. Productivity increases when employees have the option to work remotely either regularly or from time-to-time.

Low Company Overhead

When there is not a need for a physical office location, you can cut a lot of overhead costs out by going virtual. You will not have to worry about paying for utilities, cleaning services, or renting office space. The lower overhead means that you can put that money right back into your business or work on the next phase of growth.

Lower Business Start-Up Costs

There are dozens of costs associated with setting up a new business. That comes with finding and securing a building, creating office space for administrative purposes, and paying for proper licensing fees. Physical locations also require equipment, furnishings, and sanitary restroom spaces. There are building codes to adhere to and they often come with hefty maintenance bills. Avoiding all of this when you are just starting your small business is less of a financial burden right from the start.

Physical Location Information

A virtual office does have a physical address and real phone number. It is provided as a means for mail delivery, global mail forwarding, and access to a receptionist. If you have a board of directors or high-profile positions, the personal information of the directors can be kept private as well. Their data would show as the company location for security purposes.

Happier Employees

Employees that can work from any location and have access to a virtual office set-up are happier. Their work is of higher-quality and their productivity remains high. Since employees have the option to design their personal workspace and access virtual offices, they are more likely to stay on-schedule, complete more work, and stay with an employer for a longer period of time.

Advantages for Internet-Based Businesses

Internet-based businesses do not need a physical office location for its employees. It may be a good idea to create a hybrid business model situation here as a small group of executives could work together in one space. If you require a physical meeting space for a conference or potential industry-changing meeting, you can use office space that is available through the entity that you set up your virtual office with. Most have meeting spaces available for client use in their packages along with the ability to provide materials to use during presentations as well.

Potential for a Hybrid Business Model

In some business situations, having a small workforce in one dedicated space is necessary for operations purposes. The rest of the employees can be virtual employees, working from any location in the world. Integrate a cloud networking system and communications tools for your workforce to communicate with. The workforce should also have a dedicated means of contacting superiors and department leads.

Higher Attendance Rates

When you create a virtual office network for your business, you have a higher attendance rate and less employees calling in sick or requesting time off. As employees can work from anywhere, their work can also go anywhere. If an employee is under the weather but still able to perform their job duties, having the ability to do so from the comfort of their bed or home office will allow them to still complete your expected tasks for the day without affecting their work performance.

Global Telecommunications

With the increased technology of the Internet, you can have a workforce that is located anywhere. The use of VoIP services, video conferencing technology and cloud networks helps a virtual office work as a traditional office would. Teleworkers are able to work on flexible schedules in any time zone and adapt their working times accordingly.

Final Word

Consider if the benefits of a virtual office are ideal for your small business. As a start-up, it can cut down some of your immediate spending and allow the business to build and become successful. A virtual office location is convenient and allows for safe communications between employees and customers.

A cluttered work area leads to frustration and decreased productivity. If you work in an area that requires creativity, you may lack some of that creativity with too much clutter around you. The tips below will help you to organize your office for increasing your focus and productivity.

Purchase a Desk with Storage

A simple desk that does not take up much room is okay as long as you have zero paperwork to put on it. You do need room for typical supplies like pens/pencils, staples, paperclips and organized tabs for reports. Everything else, other than a small calendar, should be kept off of the desk. The more organized your immediate workspace is, the more productive you will be.

Keep Distractions Out of Sight

Anything that distracts you such as mobile devices with social media access, a television or an open window, should be removed from your sight. Log off of social media accounts. Turn the television off and consider noise canceling headsets to still enjoy nature with an open window but without the noise distraction.

Add a Creative Element

Your private workspace should have one little dedicated area for a creative inspiration piece. Whether it is a book, a painting or a photo, anything that helps you stay creative is helpful. When your mind is working and coming up with new ideas, it is productive.

Electronic Organization

Rather than keeping boxes of files and records in your office space, consider using an electronic organization program. You can use a scanner and an internal file system on your computer to save digital copies of every piece of paper you need for work purposes.

Organize after Each Project

It is a good idea to take a few moments after each task and put things away. Anything that you took out for one project but do not need for the next, should be placed back into its assigned space. Keeping clutter off of your desk keeps your mind focused on work and the next task you have to complete.Keeping unneeded items out on your desk all day means that more is going to join it. By the end of your day, half of your immediate work space could be taken up by items that you just did not feel like putting away when you were done with them. Get into the habit of cleaning as you go, just as professional chefs do in order to keep their immediate workspace free of debris, distractions, and potential hazards.

Dress for Work

It may not make sense to some, but in order to help your desk area and office space stay organized, you should still dress for work even if you are working remotely. If you have a video conference or meeting planned, your space needs to look neat and clean. You also need to look neat and clean. A clean, professional appearance helps you maintain productivity and stay on-task.

Include Natural Light or Natural Elements

Being closed off in a stuffy workspace is counter-productive. It makes working seem mundane, boring and displeasing. When you set up your own workspace area, make sure you have access to natural light. If you do not have a window in your office space, change your light bulbs to LED options and bring in a couple of small plants.

Give Yourself Room to Stretch

As you work to create your workspace, make sure you have room to stretch. A cramped workspace often leads to losing interest in the task at-hand. When designing a home office, make sure it is on the opposite side of the home to prevent clothes and other items from finding their way to the office. As you build a collection of dishes/silverware, clothes and beverage containers, it makes the space seem more like a general purpose room than an office space.

Final Thoughts

Your personal workspace does not need to look like it belongs to a minimalist, it just needs to be tidy and well-organized. Assign everything a place and remember to always put things back in their proper place. This requires a bit of diligence on your part, but it is only a second or two of extra effort. You will notice that your productivity will increase when your office space is neat, clean, organized, and fresh looking.

Being happy in your career is important for both productivity and personal happiness. When you are unhappy with a career, it ruins your outlook on that career and reduces productivity. If changes to your work situation need to occur, it is important to take the steps to do so in order to meet your own career goals.

Bringing Personal Situations to Work

Not leaving personal difficulties at home wrecks your outlook on your job. If you are unhappy at home, it comes to work with you. Leave your personal business at the door and focus on your job. Save personal discussions for breaks. It is difficult to leave tragic situations at the door, so in those situations, ask for some leniency.

Not Setting Work-Related Goals

Without goals, you have nothing to look forward to in your career. Set a goal to receive a promotion, become a team leader or obtain a raise. Reach that goal and set another. Make each goal bigger so that you have to work a little harder to reach it. Reaching goals should become a personal game to see how quickly you reach each one.

Constantly Checking Email Accounts

Unless you need email for work purposes, keep it closed. It is a distraction and reduces productivity. Schedule 5 minutes per hour to check emails and only respond to those that are work-related.

Working Long Hours

Working in an industry that requires long hours is exhausting. It can make you not want to go to work. Consider a schedule change, or speak with a superior about working a different shift with less hours per shift. You can also get more done each hour to prevent working longer hours.

Not Sleeping Enough

Sleep is important. When you don’t get enough, you don’t perform well. Make a sleep schedule and stick to it, even on weekends. Your body needs a schedule to be in sync so that you can perform at your best at work.

Working too much remotely

While working from a remote location, or from home, is more comfortable, it can be a distraction. At home you are likely to be more interested in enjoying your relaxation space, watching recorded television or taking care of household chores.To remedy this, work from home or in a remote location sparingly. When you are at work, in a work setting, your concentration stays on work. It is important to maintain a productivity schedule when working from home.

Working a Job you dislike

There is not much point to working a job or in an industry that you dislike. It is essentially the career kiss of death. If you are not excited about the industry you work in or the company you work for, it can affect your performance.Find an aspect of the industry that you do enjoy and focus your energy there. It will help you take more pride in your work and the company you work for.

No Room for Advancement

If there is no room for growth or advancement in the career you work in, it makes it hard to stay positive about going to work. If advancing is important to you, schedule a meeting with your superiors and let them know that you are slightly unhappy and wish for more responsibility as an added challenge.

Procrastination

While some people do work better under pressure, procrastinating can actually bring on a lot of stress. Rather than waiting until you actually have to perform a work-related task, set yourself a task schedule and stick to it. It will help you get more done throughout the day and it prevents you from having to work late or on weekends to make up for what wasn’t completed during your normal work week.

Social Media Distractions

Social media is a huge distraction. Most people check social media multiple times throughout the day, on the company time. Stay off of social media while at work. Only access these networks on breaks and when you are away from the job.

Final Thoughts

By taking some of the advice here, you can help yourself have a lucrative career doing something that makes you happy. When you are unhappy, make changes and set goals. Without goals you have nothing to look forward to in your career, which often leads to dissatisfaction.Are you guilty of any of these bad habits?

Business insight specialists are predicting the rise in demand from customers for improved customer-centric services as well as more flexibility in the workplace for employees. Business owners are now listening more to the needs of their customers and workers to help generate greater success and improved possibilities for the future.

The rise of the CCEO

A greater focus on customer experience is a big trend this year. Customer-centric businesses are now becoming more profitable than those who don't focus on customer services, so more companies are now looking to recruit Chief Customer Experience Officers (CCEO) to their boards.Forrester Research have revealed that loyal customer bases spend on average around 13% more per transaction than single speculative customers who buy once and are never seen again. Many businesses will work their sales and marketing techniques from their staff downwards, but it is the job of a CCEO to work from the customer upwards. CCEOs understand what customers want and will work within the team to streamline product and service developments, and make them more tailored to better suit their customer demands.The main aim of bringing a CCEO on board is to build the business around the customer, and then everything from there upwards will be about delivering the best value to the customer and building a culture within the business that prioritises customer care. It is all about delivering a frictionless customer experience with a personal human touch.

The demand for Same-day delivery

Market leaders such as Amazon have been at the cutting edge of customer service technologies since their inception. They have been looking at ways to develop a same day delivery service for a while now, and their drone delivery service is still being tested.Customer fulfilment is a high priority for all major businesses, so offering the fastest delivery service possible will always be a lucrative revenue channel. While same day delivery is still the domain of the local fast food industry in most areas, new companies such as Deliveroo are taking this a step further. By partnering up with restaurants that do not offer a delivery service, Deliveroo are now bringing more revenue in for different restaurant owners without the need to employ their own delivery staff.This trend has now spilled over into the retail market where people may order goods online to pick up themselves or book a delivery service to pick up for them. Same day courier services are now offering a service to customers to book a pick-up or delivery at a cheaper rate than some overnight carriers, and through an app the customer can keep track of their goods on every step of the journey.The demand from customers for more convenience means that in most cases they are willing to pay for it. This has opened up a niche for a fast delivery service for perishable items as well as urgently needed items for work or home.

Increasing SME and micro-business exports

Business analysts are predicting a further rise in micro-businesses this year. Micro-businesses are essentially companies that employ no more than ten staff, and a lot of these are expected to be very small-scale businesses where people are turning their passions and hobbies in to a moneymaking enterprise.With the rise of the internet opening up worldwide trade opportunities, the creation of the micropreneur has seen an increase of more than 55% in micro-businesses in the UK since the year 2000. It is now thought that there are over 8.4 million people employed in 5.2 million registered micro-businesses across the UK.A key growth in exports is predicted this year for smaller traders. With the market opening up to trade in China and India, there are more opportunities for SMEs to trade abroad amongst new growing economies. There is a lot of potential for small business owners to expand their reach further this year, especially if they produce something unique that other countries will provide a demand for.

Growth of flexible working and the freelance market

With an ever shifting and changing workforce, there is expected to be a boom in freelance and flexible working options for employees. Along with a rise in commercial rents, many new businesses will be looking to share office space and workshops to keep costs down, which will also include the use of virtual offices.Even in smaller towns across the country, shared workspaces are on the increase allowing entrepreneurs and sole-traders to come together to share facilities and overheads, as well as opening up the potential for skill-sharing across the wider community.Freelancers are also taking on much more specialist work than ever before. This means that they can no longer rely upon a quiet corner of a coffee shop to get their work done. With an increase in freelance workers wanting flexible hours to fit their lifestyle, many are choosing to work from home or use a local hub that can offer secure and reliable internet connectivity.Many freelancers working from home like to get out of the house and interact with other like minded people to share ideas and collaborate together on larger jobs. The ability to join forces with other freelancers as well as providing regular social interaction in a creative atmosphere can be very beneficial for both worker and client.

Conclusion

The main trend for this year will be for businesses to get to know their customers inside and out. New businesses just setting up will be more likely to succeed if they can take the time to engage with their customers in new ways.

The virtual office service continues to grow worldwide.

According to the latest survey by Staples, 56% of entrepreneurs and managers of small businesses are using virtual office technology, spending less time in shifts or working from their conventional desktop.Technological development today manages communication platforms where entrepreneurs from virtually anywhere in the world are connected to their staff and retain a core that keeps in touch with customers and suppliers at any time without losing a single contact. A virtual office can help business with key areas of their operation, which can include mail forwarding addresses to professional telephone answering services.Thanks to the technological potential of intelligent mobile phone users, live virtual office services can literally connect to their customers and suppliers. They can also easily link them to provide these devices which allow them to have permanent access to the network. Through a professional virtual office service, it also provides them with fully adequate physical spaces to attend their meetings and appointments as if it were their own office depending on their needs.

Stay Connected

Through virtual office services, people not only have the ability to better manage their professional time, but additionally may also devote more time to their family. According to a Staples survey, 52% of employers feel calmer taking a holiday, because they know they can stay connected to their business.As for the impact on mobility, the amount of displacement of an employer from a physical office and their home is practically reduced by 95%. This allows users of this service to take the time spent commuting to instead conducting entrepreneurial activities during working hours and a better quality of life in their free time.

Cut the Carbon Footprint

By managing their professional services from home, virtual workers not only optimise their time, but further substantially reduce their carbon footprint, minimising their environmental impact as a result not only of displacement but by reducing the consumption of energy and water.The power savings by incorporating a virtual office service is close to 90%, as employers eliminate all costs associated with the adaptation and equipment of a conventional office, which also has a positive impact on the environment in terms of reduction in the consumption of furniture and architectural finishes; much of the carbon footprint generated on the planet is directly related to the processes of construction and remodelling, according to figures from the World Resources Institute.All these advantages make the virtual office of today, ideal for companies and entrepreneurs from all sectors with flexible work schemes, while having a positive impact on the environment and office productivity.The ability to link electronically means virtual office workers have new possibilities in the way they carry out their work. This ability has even made it unnecessary for the office work to be performed in an office. Instead, it can be achieved at any place where the worker is located, provided that they can be networked and communicate electronically.

Among the advantages of the virtual office:

• Lower installation cost. Companies do not have to have an office with as much space. This is because some workers are elsewhere, other than at the main office. This reduces the cost of rent and/or the expansion of a common office.
• Lower cost of equipment. The companies, instead of providing office equipment to each employee, can share much of the equipment. This is similar to how LAN users share their resources with those who are doing their job ‘away’.
• Prestigious Location for your business. Build client trust and brand reputation by showing a central London office address for your business.
• Formal network of communication. Due to the need to stay informed and receive instructions, companies are giving more attention to having a communication network, thereby leading to the development of better communication among workers.
• Fewer work stoppages. When storms, rain, flooding or other inconveniences hit, including diseases, preventing workers from moving to the workplace, the virtual office makes it feasible to continue with work activities, by both the individual and the company.
• Social contribution. The virtual office allows companies to hire workers who otherwise would have no job opportunities, whether they are disabled, elderly or parents with young children. This also includes high-value employees geographically located away from the offices of the company.

But virtual offices also have some disadvantages that must be considered, among which are:

• Sense of isolation. With no regular contact with other company employees, they lose the feeling of being part of a job
• Fear of job loss
• Decay in the mood
• Family tension

All these disadvantages of the virtual office are related to motivational and psychological aspects, which is why companies should pay special attention to both the stage of selecting candidates to work as teleworkers ( workers in virtual offices ), and the activities of support, feedback, motivation and communication.In an increasingly competitive environment, the virtual office offers the possibility to expand the scale of activities with a less than proportional increase in cost that growth usually entails. The virtual office provides benefits not only for companies in the field of services but also to manufacturing companies throughout, with regards to office work.