5 Things to Consider When Choosing the Best Virtual Office Provider for Your Business
1. Location, location, location!
Find a Virtual Office provider who can provide you with an address that compliments your business. If you are based in Scotland and servicing customers primarily in London, then getting a virtual address in Scotland for your business may not be the wisest decision. Sometimes customers want a sense of feeling that they are dealing with a business that is close and easily accessible to them.
Icon Offices provides a solution to this problem by providing 4 different addresses to choose from in London and Essex. Our addresses are spread out over an approximate 20 mile radius and our Virtual Offices Services start from only £0.99 per week.
Be realistic when choosing an address for your business. Time and time again we find small businesses jumping on the “Central London” band wagon for a virtual address. Getting a Central London address for your business may seem glamorous but can sometimes have an adverse effect on it especially if you are a still finding your feet as a business.
Many customers can identify a small business by the way that it operates e.g. your phone is always on voicemail, the same person always answers the phone and emails etc. This can then lead customers to question if you really have an office in expensive part of Central London where rents are sky high.
Sometimes when customers realise that you are not large / established enough to have a Central London office it can lead to loss of trust and confidence as customers can begin to question why you are not using your real address and how they might be able to find you if something goes wrong.
Some clients and suppliers take it a step further and see it as a dishonest act. The unfortunate thing is that you will rarely get this feedback from a customer or supplier when losing that all important deal. However our research tells us that it is a common factor for customers and suppliers to walk away from a deal where a business “claims” to have an office in Central London but actually doesn’t.
Sometimes having an office in the suburbs is a safer bet as potential customers and suppliers are less likely to question your location as a start up / small business operating from the suburbs, than if you claim to be a Central London outfit.
2. A unique address
How many other companies are registered at your virtual office address? Is the address already blacklisted due to another company’s neglectful actions? If the address is blacklisted how is this going to effect your business if a client or supplier does a credit check on your company? What happens if someone else using your address has a bad reputation? Is your brand going to be confused with the culprit company on the basis that you both share the same address?
These are very important questions that businesses looking for Virtual Office Services forget to ask when choosing a Virtual Office Provider.
Thankfully we have a solution that overcomes all of the above. We provide every customer with their own unique office number at the address of their choice, allowing businesses to have their own unique identity without being associated with other businesses registered at the same address.
3. Attraction
Always try and find a virtual office address that has an attractive property to back it up. Many Virtual Office Providers are Virtual Businesses themselves! This means that the address that they provide you with could be for a post box attached to a shed door. Think of what this could do for your image and reputation if one of your clients / suppliers looks up your address on Google Maps.
Icon Offices are one of the few Virtual Office Providers that occupy and use their own addresses for Virtual Address services. This means that if anybody Googled any of our addresses, they would be presented with attractive, professional office buildings that enhance the image of your business. Also think of a scenario where a client may wish to meet you at your office.
Our East Ham, Chadwell Heath and Hainault Business Centres all have meeting rooms which means meeting your client on site at your Virtual Office Address to close that important deal, is always possible.
4. Convenience is key.
Always choose a Virtual Office provider that provides you with a convenient way to access your post. Some provide a collection only process. This is fine if you live local but such services should be avoided if you need to travel from a distance or are only available to collect mail at irregular times when the Virtual Office Provider’s office is closed.
Always choose an Address Provider that gives you a range of options to access your mail, including scan to email, and mail forwarding via post. Icon Offices provides all of these services.
5. Look for extra benefits.
There are so many additional services that small and start up businesses can benefit from. e.g. Company Formation, Bank Account Formation, Business Phone Lines, Professional Call Answering Services, Accountancy Services, Meeting Room Hire. Icon Offices provides all of these services and acts as a 1 stop shop for many of your Business Set up requirements.