I’m a sucker for behind-the-scenes content. Whether it’s “making of” specials included in movie extras or an Instagram influencer showing how they converted a school bus into the ultimate tiny home, I love seeing the nitty gritty details involved in bringing something to life.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was that same type of “how-to” content for setting up a remote office? I mean, how do you actually take your business mobile? How do you translate a physical location—with all the accompanying infrastructure, schedules, and communication—into a system that can work from anywhere, any time?
(Note to self: make that a real video…)
Okay, while the “how-to” video we’re talking about doesn’t exist (yet), it’s easier than you might think to jump into remote work.
Step 1: Move your physical phone infrastructure into the cloud.
It’s time to cut the cord, my friend! Face it: you already check your smartphone a dozen times an hour (a little email here, a bit of Facebook there—we don’t judge) so why not consolidate systems? A virtual receptionist solution like Ruby can host your business number (otherwise known as “porting”), eliminating the need for a physical phone. Plus, porting to Ruby allows you to manage your business line directly from your smartphone through our mobile app or handy dandy online portal.
Check out this quick overview of our mobile app and online portal to see the possibilities:
Learn about Ruby’s mobile app, available for iOS and Android devices.
Take a tour of the Ruby dashboard.
And moving away from a physical phone has other benefits, beyond saving dough:
- Be more efficient. Prioritize customer communications using tools such as our flagging feature to mark calls or chats for follow-up. Plus, we automatically tag incoming calls and chats so you can quickly filter activity by lead, current client, solicitor, non-actionable, robocall, and more.
- Avoid multiple devices! No one should have to carry two phones to do business these days. When you host your business number with Ruby, you can make calls or send texts from your business number through your personal smartphone, keeping your professional appearance polished and your personal information private.
Step 2: Create a communication plan and build good habits.
When you have a team, an office environment gives you line of sight into someone’s day. Someone not at their desk? It’s easy to assume they’re either in a meeting or out on the job and respond to clients accordingly.
With a distributed, remote team, it can be harder to stay on top of who is available and when—and to make sure customer communication is happening at the caliber you expect.
This gets compounded when it’s just you. Now you’re responsible for handling all your work and managing customer communication?
Taking your office remote is a great opportunity to consider outsourcing customer engagement so someone else can focus on getting calls and chats to the right person, on that person’s schedule.
A tool like Ruby moves as fast as your business does, if you keep us in the loop. We can change how we handle your calls at a moment’s notice, ensuring the people who contact your business have the best experience no matter where—or when—you are.
Here are a few ways you can use the app or dashboard mentioned above to achieve total flexibility:
- Status updates: Update your call handling instructions at any time. Control when and where you want to take calls, who you would like to receive calls from, and other options.
- One-tap call handling: In a hurry? Tap the Hold My Calls button and we’ll take messages or offer voicemail until you’re back.
- Smart scheduling: Create a call handling rhythm that aligns with your daily schedule. We can also sync with your calendar and change call handling based on your availability.
- Temporarily change where we’re sending your calls: While you’re working remotely, we can connect your calls to your mobile phone, home number, or a Skype line—or just take messages. If your update should apply to your whole company, or if you need to update your default call-handling instructions permanently, our Customer Happiness team will make it happen.
- Update your voicemail: Keep your after-hours callers in-the-know by with a customized voicemail greeting.
- Take advantage of call assists: If you’re in an environment where making a business call isn’t ideal—or if you’re just too busy—we can help with outbound call assists.
Step 3: Meet your customers online, too.
You aren’t the only one evaluating the value of remote tools—your customers are already there. More customers prefer using online chat because it allows them to multitask while receiving critical information about a business. In fact, 42% of customers rank it above all other communication channels. And 73% of chat users report satisfaction with their experiences—the highest level of all channels.
Ruby’s industry-leading customer engagement solution extends beyond virtual receptionists and typical call answering services. We also have an extraordinary team of friendly, highly-trained customer service specialists ready to connect with your website visitors through live chat.
Why chat?
- Capture more leads.
- Improve your search rankings.
- Learn more about your website visitors.
- Keep people informed when your business is experiencing disruptions.
- Create consistent, engaging customer experiences across channels.
But wait, there’s more!
Whether you’re new to this whole remote work thing or a seasoned pro, Ruby has tons of tricks, tools, and resources to maximize your efficiency and wow your customers while you work remotely:
> Discover 7 work-from-home office setup secrets.
> Read a Customer Success Manager’s approach to working remotely.
> Find out everything you need to know about running a virtual office.
> Get a few tips for transitioning back to the office.
Wherever, whenever, and however you work, Ruby’s here, there, and everywhere to help. We offer numerous plans to fit different business’s needs. Find the details on our plans and pricing page.
