Originally published on www.usglobalmail.com.
Virtual mail scanning and forwarding become essential services for remote workers.
The glorious mythos of the post office from frontier times still survives – and the postal workers honor it (mostly) – by delivering the mail in rain, sleet, snow, or atmospheric river. The question put to you: is this the most efficient way for a 21st century business like yours to do mail?
If you think your business and employees – working in the office, remote or hybrid arrangement - could be more productive and efficient, then keep reading…
Every day the United States Post Office sorts and delivers over 421 million pieces of mail to over eight million businesses in the US. Even with automation and productivity improvements to minimize human error, the potential for mistakes remains ever present. With the recent, pandemic-driven advent and normalization of remote work, logistical matters for companies of all sizes became needlessly complex and wasteful. If only there was a way for employees to receive and manage their company snail mail on their laptop from…anywhere. That would be a gamechanger.
Smart companies don’t get caught flat-footed when technology takes a small side step or even a giant leap forward. They prioritize their future customers and consider every avenue of going digital with their correspondence and parcels. They seek out the next evolution of technology that promises to do more for their customers. Smart companies are founded by early adopters who know that progress doesn’t slow down for anyone’s business plan.
The next evolution of mail has arrived. Say goodbye to your snail mail box and its ever-brimming contents of class-conscious (first and second class know better), anti-environmental voluminousness. Forget about waiting for your mail to be sorted. Spare yourself the wait at the bank and have your checks automatically deposited. A virtual company mailbox mobilizes and empowers your employees while providing business services you’ll soon wonder how you lived without…
What is virtual mail?
You’re probably thinking: I already have an email address and a SPAM folder absolutely bursting with shady discounts on products most people are too embarrassed to shop for in person. Why would I want more of that?! And we can forgive you for that misconception because virtual mail is a relatively new concept in the enterprise sphere. But no, virtual mail is decidedly NOT your email.
Think about the assortment of letters, checks, packages, catalogs, invoices, legal paperwork, and vendor documents - not to mention the prolific amount of junk mail your company caches every day. This is your snail mail.
How long does it take your staff to sort, review and create action items from your snail mail? Add to that the time it takes to deliver the mail to each employee. Plus, a drive to the bank to deposit your checks that arrived in the mail. In today’s hypersonic business environment, time is too precious to cast away on anachronistic concepts like snail mail.
The future of your company’s mail is virtual, customizable and sustainable.
Productivity and value
Imagine that you’ve filled out your change of address form and all of your company mail now comes directly to us. Your business mail stops piling up at the reception desk. The office might even seem larger without the precariously-stacked parcels threatening avalanche. Instead, your letters and packages come to us. They get scanned automatically. You can review them within 2 – 4 business hours of USGM receiving your mail. Checks are deposited into your bank account - safely and securely - making your money available to you within 2 – 3 days. The rest of your mail can be sorted online - on your computer, tablet or phone. You can decide to scan the inside contents; otherwise save, delete, forward the item to yourself or someone else, and, finally, choose a date and bundle for your packages. As for your junk mail, we shred and recycle it – returning to the earth from whence it came.
Whether you’re a digital solopreneur, manager of a brick-and-mortar small business, or in charge of human resources for a global corporation - virtual mailboxes are a convenient, secure way to receive mail without having to manage a physical mailbox. You can access your mail from anywhere…and even give up to ten users a virtual mailbox of their own! Additional users on your business account are only an additional $5 each.
Convenience and accessibility
Virtual mailboxes provide growing businesses the convenience and accessibility options they require to grow into agile, competitive companies. Physical mail can be chaotic - arriving at random times, delivered by a different character every day; checks are perennially “in the mail,” but never seem to arrive when they’re due. Stacks of mail compound in random locations; first creating minor columns of litter, then metastasizing into leaning towers of credit card offers threatening to collapse across your desk.
There’s nothing convenient about that.
With a virtual mailbox from US Global Mail set up according to your personal preferences, your mail behaves as it's told. For your convenience, you can access your virtual mailbox on any device, anywhere in the world. (As long as you remember your password. Otherwise, it’s click on the “Forgot Password” link and follow the polite prompts for you!)
As long as you have an internet connection, your US Global Mail virtual mailbox can travel the globe with you - or wherever your business or the tides take you.
Organization and security
When you organize the folders in your virtual mailbox the way you want, you’ll see that the service offers added productivity when compared to a traditional mailbox, post office box or company mail room. Your mail and packages can be arranged, reviewed, stored, and forwarded easily – helping you keep your inbox organized. You can also set up folders to keep your employees organized or allow them to set up new folders for themselves.
When it comes to physical mail, security hasn’t so much been an afterthought as much as it’s been completely forgotten. Where and when does your company mail arrive? The vast majority of professional offices receive their mail by way of an unguarded reception desk, where it often sits unopened - but rifled through, if not pilfered by passersby - until someone from accounts receivable goes in search of payroll sustaining checks. After hours, the floor outside your locked door serves as a favorite spot for overnight delivery. Then the mail must still be repackaged and forwarded to remote workers.
With a virtual mailbox service, you have the enhanced security and confidence of knowing that your mail arrived at one of our processing centers and securely sorted into each employee or departments’ virtual mailbox. Everything scanned is treated to bank-level encryption to provide an enhanced level of security. Your messages are kept confidential and held in your secure online account, protecting them from theft and damage.
Time-saving automations
A virtual mailbox also provides time-saving automations. These include automated sorting, forwarding messages to other members of your team, setting up filters for managing emails and attachments, and in some cases integrating with third-party software solutions. We definitely recommend pre-scheduling your shipping bundles. Not only can you save 80% off international shipping rates, but you can also decide when and how often you want to receive your regular shipment. That way, nothing is ever delivered without you expecting it. These automated solutions make it easy for you to manage your mail efficiently – freeing up your time for more important tasks.
Professionalism and prestige
One of the many benefits of using a virtual mailbox is increased or improved professionalism. By having a physical commercial address in the US, businesses that otherwise lack a physical office presence can appear established and trustworthy to their clients. While enhancing your reputation, a professional business address cannot help you establish citizenship in the US or other countries.
Cost Benefits
A virtual mailbox is the ideal choice for solopreneurs with an idea, small business owners without a physical address; founders staking their claim in their first start-up; and even growing corporations with up to 250 team members. US Global Mail offers a special subscription package just for small businesses that allows up to ten employees to enjoy our services. If you’re reading this and thinking, “My global company needs these services, but these guys are probably too small to handle my business,” then stop. We create individualized plans for companies of all sizes and their expat employees scattered around the globe.
We’ve worked with quite a few companies you’ve probably heard of before too: like Netflix, Regeneron, NetApp and Chubb.
Of course, there’s no shortage of virtual mailbox providers who charge less compared to traditional postal services. Many of these companies nickel and dime customers to death with hidden fees and then go out-of-business as quickly as they opened, leaving their customers and their missing mail in the lurch. Others offer little or no security or insurance for your checks and packages. You should work confidently, and rest assured, that US Global Mail has been in business for over twenty years and has customer service awards galore. You’re in experienced, trustworthy hands.
We offer customizable pricing solutions, which can benefit businesses with a steady stream of income as well as those that experience changes in their mail volumes from month-to-month. This way, you’ll know what to pay every month and never be greeted by an unexpected invoice.
Don’t Take Our Word for It
US Global Mail works with thousands of people and companies around the globe to provide error-free mail scanning and forwarding services. Just last month we were rated the #1 Mail Scanning and Forwarding Service by Top Consumer Reviews. Here they are tooting our horn:
“US Global Mail continues to be our favorite mail scanning service for anyone who wants to transition to receive most of their mail virtually. We're excited at the idea of getting unlimited envelope scans for under $10/month and so many other services at no additional cost. We're happy to give this mail scanning provider another first-place finish.”
And finally, the test drive…
Post pandemic, business leaders have come to understand that remote employees can be some of their most focused and productive members of the team. To keep their workforce agile and making well-informed decisions from home, the smartest companies choose US Global Mail for virtual mailbox services. We can do this for up to ten people at the same Enterprise rate. Including additional users only adds $5 per employee.
We would absolutely LOVE IT if you signed-up for an enterprise mail forwarding plan right now. (You can sign up right here!) But we understand that you didn’t reach this point in your business career by making impulsive decisions, uninformed. Hence, our test drive offer – try the US Global Mail enterprise mail-forwarding and scanning service for 30 days; if you don’t like it, we will refund 100% of your money. (But we’re pretty confident it won’t come to that.)
If you’ve read this far and you’re still not 100% clear on who we are and how our virtual mailbox service works, you can always visit our help center for a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions OR pick up the phone to reach us the old fashioned way:
1-866-596-8965.
We even have a comprehensive blog set up to provide you with detailed information on international mail forwarding.
