According to the Silicon Valley Bank Startup Outlook Survey, startup businesses having a projected rise for 2020, with two-thirds of startups saying 2020 will be better and 79% plan to hire in 2020, despite our current economic situation. As a result, many of these startups will be in search of ways to establish some sort of presence in their respective business market.

Most times when people hear virtual services for their business, they only think of a phone answering service. Simply a virtual receptionist answering calls and taking a message. But what if there were more to it than just that? Startups can benefit from obtaining an affordable virtual service that comes with a plethora of included services. Virtual Services are the future of tomorrow, allowing users to choose their services a la carte! Check out which services are best for you:

Branding/Phone Answering & Screening

It is extremely important for new businesses to establish some sort of presence in their respective market. For any business, it is of high importance to create some type of visual presentation of your company. This encompasses client perspectives and client understanding of your industry. Not only that, but it’s human nature to be influenced the most by first impressions. Potential clients first impressions of your company’s visual presentation can greatly influence the actions they will take from that point forth.

Virtual answering services are also ideal for small businesses that are in their growth stage. With a virtual answering service, your business will seem much larger, and in turn, will be recognized more. This larger sense of presence allows interested professionals to feel at ease and trust your business more.

Your company’s customer service will also benefit greatly from a virtual answering service. Callers will experience reduced waiting times and a speedy connection to the person they need to speak to. Call forwarding is vital to your staff’s productivity and organization. Time missed results in missed opportunities!

Client relationship is one of the biggest factors determining success for a business. Avoid damaging those very important relationships by getting caught off guard when answering calls by having a virtual receptionist screen the caller. Who is calling and what are they calling for, are typically the questions asked, but remember these screening questions can be personalized/modified at any time with a virtual answering service. Unanswered calls also go hand in hand with maintaining these client relationships.

If your business needs do not require a 24/7 phone answering service, your after-hours calls will be sent to a personal and password protected voicemail box. Most virtual services also give you the option to automatically send those voicemails to a preferred email, that way you can always monitor your inbox and not miss a beat!

Though this era of technology and the internet facilitates clients to reach you via other methods, such as emails, live chat, and online inquiry forms, the majority still prefer a phone call as their go-to. So, do not miss out on potential business and get you a phone answering service that will provide an upscale and professional image to put at your company’s forefront. Lastly, always keep in mind that the most responsive businesses are the first to knock their competitors out of the water!

Prestigious Mailing Address with Mail Collections & Secure Mail Holding

Having a professional mailing address, as opposed to a home address or P.O. Box, can not only help with branding and company image, but it can also help with organizing, prioritizing, and disseminating your businesses’ mail. Virtual services go beyond and are more than a remote mailbox. Because most of these virtual services are in actual office buildings or offices themselves, mail collections are also set up for unexpected walk-ins/visitors, and can sign for you in the event you have any packages/envelopes that require a signature drop off.

Once again, the completely customizable experience is hard to pass up on! Virtual mail services collects your mail, secures it and the rest is entirely up to you. Once your mail is secured, you can decide what to do with your mail. You may select to forward all mail to a specific address (perhaps if you’re traveling), or you may simply prefer to be notified once the mail is received. Depending on where you sign up for your virtual services, you may even have the option to request your mail to be scanned and emailed, or even ship things on your behalf to clients/partners with tracking included!

At Empire, we offer a turnkey corporate image with all the tools you need to run a business from home or on the go. If renting an office space is out of the question, then you may want to consider a virtual office. Our monthly affordable virtual packages will help

you save money on your overhead cost without sacrificing the image or quality of your business.  Our Virtual offices are an excellent solution for start-ups and small businesses looking to keep costs low while gaining all the resources of a professional corporate image.