Starting and running an online business is a tedious job. With so much already on a seller’s plate, including inventory management, shipping and returns, content management, and more, it could be challenging for them to accomplish all the scheduled tasks with due accuracy and perfection.
So how can an online seller complete all priority and equally important tasks in time?
By outsourcing!
By outsourcing some of your tasks, you can save time, effort, and sometimes money too. Yes, you read that right. You can SAVE MONEY TOO. Trying to do something that you’re not proficient in can indirectly impact your sales, and you have to bear additional costs to make things right. So you can save a few extra bucks if you outsource that task in the first place.
Now you must be wondering which specific tasks to outsource. Keep reading as we have disclosed 15 tasks to outsource when running an online business in this post.
The good news is you don’t have to hire a full-time employee to get these jobs done for you. You can hire people on a contractual basis or even hire freelancers for a one-time job.
There are so many things that Debutify can do for you without charging any additional fee. If you’re on our premium plan, don’t forget to check the list of features you get with your package to boost your sales and conversions. You’re going to love our add-ons. PROMISE!
15 Tasks To Outsource When Running An Online Business
1. Website Design, Development, And Maintenance
Fortunately, it is easier than ever to get your website designed and developed on ecommerce platforms like Wix and Shopify. But many other technical things need you to have a professional web developer on board who can help you create a mobile-responsive and navigable website that guarantees the best user experience (UX).
A professional website designer and developer can also assist with branding, such as logos, banners, and other visual elements you need for your website.
In addition to that, it’s also essential to ask your website developer to install plugins and themes for you so that you can have a secure and more functional website for you and your visitors.
2. Social Media Management
Almost every online business, big or small, is doing social media marketing these days. Sadly, many online sellers do not have enough time to handle their social media accounts.
Even if they do have time, they’re not knowledgeable enough to create engaging and targeted Facebook posts, tweets, and hashtags.
There are two ways you can outsource this critical task - either find a social media manager who can handle your social media accounts or you can hire an expert consultant who will teach your team how to run and manage your social media accounts.
If you choose to go with the latter, make sure you select someone with substantial experience in the space of social media customer handling and engagement.
3. Inventory Management
Every online business starts with a small and manageable inventory. It wouldn’t be tough for you to manage and organize everything on a spreadsheet initially.
But after some time, when a business’s marketing efforts eventually pay off, your inventory and orders are multiplied by XX number of times, and it won’t be possible for you to manage your stock on a simple spreadsheet.
That is where you need to consider outsourcing inventory management to cope with the growing needs of your business.
When you outsource your inventory management task, you get access to inventory management software that can organize and manage things without needing you to hire additional stockroom personnel. So you also save on your operational costs. It is a win-win.
However, you'll need to manage the Product Information Management (PIM) System on your own, so you can keep track on each of your product's important details no matter how large your brand becomes.
4. SEO
If you want to bring your online store into the limelight, there is no way as effective as SEO. With the right SEO strategies, people will easily find your website online.
SEO is a technical field, and even if you’re good at some of its aspects, it is still advisable to have an experienced SEO expert on board who knows what he’s doing.
From keyword research to finding link-building opportunities, a capable SEO expert will optimize your site perfectly for search engines and your targeted audience. Or, you can hire a separate specialist who you can outsource link building from.
Overall, outsourcing marketing services like SEO and PPC can not only save you money but your valuable time as well.
For more, you can read our "Ecommerce SEO for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide" or our "Beginner SEO Tips For Your Shopify Store" and learn about some amazing SEO tips for your Shopify store.
5. Content Management
Content creation and marketing are integral elements of a digital marketing strategy. Unless you’re really good at creating unique, relevant, and SEO-optimized content and descriptions for your online business, you should hire an expert to do this job for you.
With many online businesses now having their blog, it is crucial to create premium content that generates leads and drives conversions.
Having a proficient and experienced copywriter on board will guarantee your blog section stays in line with the recent trends.
You can either outsource all of your content creation responsibilities or hire a proofreader to refine the work of your creative team.
6. Administrative Tasks
Everyday administrative tasks are time-consuming. Before things get out of your control, it is better to have a VA on board who can handle your daily tasks on time, and that too with utmost perfection.
A general administrative VA can fulfill the following (and many other) responsibilities:
Schedule management
File management
Handle your travel arrangement
Create presentations
7. Email Marketing
Almost every online business uses email marketing at some stage to reach out to its existing and potential customers.
You can use this channel to inform customers about any upcoming product, send discount offers and coupon codes, and remind them about their incomplete transactions.
You have to expand your reach as your business grows. When you send emails to your customers, you need a system that sends out one email to multiple recipients.
Also, you need to have an engaging and winning format that grabs customers’ attention and helps them convert. Collaborating with a proficient email copywriter and an email marketing service can help you stay ahead of the competition without investing a lot of your personal time.
8. Order Fulfillment
Order processing is another important task that you can assign to a VA. The process has a direct impact on your sales process.
You might not have to outsource this task when you have a limited number of orders per day. But it becomes extremely crucial when you have multiple orders daily and you have to ensure the fast and accurate processing of each order.
9. Bookkeeping And Accounting Tasks
Your books of accounts represent your business progress and stability. Plenty of online businesses fail just because they don’t keep an eye on their cash flows and working capital.
When you have too many things on your mind, it can be easy to forget to record cash transactions and track minor expenses. To handle these things, you should consider assigning your bookkeeping and financial management tasks to an accountant or a bookkeeping expert.
By outsourcing this task, you not only stay on top of your finances but would be able to stay compliant with taxes and other financial legal obligations.
10. Market Research
Market research is another crucial task that requires the assistance of an expert. Let’s suppose you want to expand your product range and need to test a few options before you launch your product officially. This is where market research and analysis come in.
A researcher or data analyst will gather data for you, perform different tests, and provide you with reports that you can use for decision-making.
11. PPC Marketing
PPC is certainly one of the best options when it comes to online marketing. PPC enables you to have paid targeted traffic on your website instead of relying on old-school organic methods (they’re equally beneficial, though).
Just like SEO, you cannot monitor and run your PPC campaigns independently. Having a PPC expert on board will help you generate measurable and targeted leads for your brand.
12. Graphics Designing
Unless you’re too confident about your graphic designing skills, you should outsource this task to experts who know their work.
You can not leave your branding to amateurs. After all, it is one of the most critical aspects of your business success. That is why you must have a professional and experienced graphic designer in a team who can handle all your visual tasks with sheer perfection.
If offering a permanent role is not currently an option, you can also consider delegating these tasks to freelancers on a per-project basis.
13. Live Chat Support Services
Failing to create a solid customer service strategy increases your risk of having up to 42% more abandoned transactions.
An effective customer support strategy addresses all customer pain points, including shipping and returns, product inquiries, ordering issues, and more.
Outsourcing your live chat support services ensures you have access to people who have proven customer dealing experience.
While there are many benefits of outsourcing this specific task, there are some drawbacks too. So make sure you pay attention to every aspect before you delegate this task to the professional.
14. IT Support
Almost all online businesses experience technical difficulties at some point. Issues, such as malware, server issues, and corrupted data are part of the process.
These issues can only be addressed by a professional IT support team. Since this job is too technical to be handled by an amateur, it is better to have someone experienced on board.
15. Photographer And Video Editor
The first thing your customers see when they visit your site is your catalog. So you need to outsource your photography and video editing tasks to someone who’s a pro in this field.
Ricky Hayes
Trisha Ballesteros