Creating A Global Presence With A Virtual Office

By Author: Simeon Howard
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Having a global presence is a much talked about concept in the business world. In the olden days, in other words before the advent of the Internet, having a global presence was something that was reserved for large multinational corporations. These were businesses that physically owned factories or assets in various countries and had several divisions that operated in these different countries. Today, on the other hand, it's something that even an independent business person can consider. The main question to ask is, "How can you access a slice of the global market for yourself?" First though, let's look at some of the workings of the global market.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Operating in a Global Market

There are many advantages and disadvantages to operating in a global market. An example of an advantage would be that you can have far greater business opportunities in a global market. Clients have greater buying power and you can expand your business globally without incurring huge expenses. However, at the same time, you have thousands or even millions more competitors to deal with. Technology moves faster ...
... in a global market, clients are more knowledgeable and expectations for delivery are higher. There can be no slacking off in the global market. A bad reputation spreads quickly and customers won't think twice about buying from your competitor instead.

A Global Presence Requires More Than Just a Website

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges that businesses face is trying to establish a presence in the global market. Many companies think that by simply having a website with a few corporate details on it, they can establish a global presence. A few months down the line they wonder why they still aren't getting any inquiries. The truth is that even a well built search engine optimized website will on its own not necessarily provide you with a global presence, or not one of any significance at that. What you need to do is find ways of establishing a local presence in different parts of the global market. In that way, you can start to establish a level of credibility to a global market of potential buyers.

Finding Ways to Access the Global Market

Given the prohibitive costs and reams of red tape involved with setting up a business in a foreign country, what are other ways in which you can establish a local presence in different global locations? One very cost effective way to do this is to make use of the concept called virtual offices.

What Is a Virtual Office?

A virtual office is a business rental agreement whereby you rent a prestigious office address in a particular city in order to enhance and promote your corporate image. You do not physically occupy the premises; instead, a professional receptionist or PA answers your calls and either takes messages or forwards them through to you. Mail is collected and forwarded to your physical office premises. From time to time, if you need to hold meetings or presentations, you can also then rent a boardroom or meeting room at the virtual office premises for an hour or day as required. The concept is great because it gives your corporate image a boost while keeping overhead low. The beauty of this concept is, if you can operate a virtual office across town, why not on the other side of the Atlantic?

How a Virtual Office Can Help You Establish a Global Presence

Think about the basic concepts of a virtual office. A professional local receptionist answers your calls. If your virtual office is in a country where the local language is Spanish or German, for example, what an advantage to have someone answer the phone in the native language? Even if it is an English-speaking country, there are many different English accents around the world. Having someone with a local accent answer the phone immediately makes the customer assume that you are a locally based company. When in due course they find out you are in fact based overseas, this will then create even more of an impression. Your company must be doing well if you have offices abroad. Almost immediately you will have established a level of confidence with the customer. Smart business people will acknowledge that having a local presence in a foreign country shows a level of expertise within your company and will inspire them to do business with you. Before you know it, you could be establishing a global presence for your business.
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At YourCityOffice.com our virtual office technology makes us unique, by integrating Bespoke Software developed by Open Design Systems, the groups Graphic