Offshore Virtual Assistants as the Key to Small E-commerce Business Growth

An e-commerce entrepreneur’s journey is challenging. Various applications and tools are available on the market, but learning how to use them takes time and patience—which you may lack at the start of your business.

You need skilled staff to manage various recurring but essential activities on your behalf to grow your business. They should be someone you can trust to deliver timely results every time. A virtual assistant agency in Phoenix is one option to find the talent you need.

Let us explore how offshore virtual assistants boost e-commerce business growth in Phoenix.

How Offshore Virtual Assistants Drive Small E-commerce Business Growth

Offshore virtual assistants are highly skilled and accomplished professionals from remote locations with extensive experience. They are responsible for supporting client companies and performing administrative duties. These tasks include answering phone calls, managing appointments, organizing email accounts, handling data entry, and overseeing social media.

E-commerce businesses can work with offshore virtual assistants from reliable business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. The BPO provider will match them with professionals who fit their qualifications.

Small and mid-sized e-commerce companies contribute to the demand for offshore virtual assistants as they grow their businesses to serve more customers. Remote work continues to be the norm, with 35% of U.S. employees working remotely if their role allows it. Subsequently, the demand remains to rise.

Many e-commerce companies that work with third-party professionals are already seeing positive results. Here are seven ways offshore virtual assistants empower e-commerce businesses in Phoenix:

Reducing Operational Expenses

Offshore virtual assistants are independent contractors and not full-time employees. They are not subject to additional benefits and payments, such as health insurance and paid time off. 

Furthermore, client companies incur no overhead costs such as technical equipment and office infrastructure since virtual assistants use their equipment from their homes. This arrangement is a significant upside for small e-commerce businesses looking for cost-saving measures to grow their businesses.

According to Best of Budgets, working with an offshore virtual assistant can minimize your costs by up to 78%. You can then allocate the money saved to essential business areas, such as revamping your manufacturing equipment or improving your marketing strategy.

Scaling the Business

When your e-commerce business takes off, you may find it challenging to fulfill customer needs independently. Shoppers have short patience and will cancel orders quickly if you take a long time to ship the product or complete their orders.

Hiring and training new full-time employees is also time-consuming, causing you to miss significant opportunities during the intervening period. New hires also require investments in equipment and tools.

Offshore virtual assistants for e-commerce businesses in Phoenix can help scale operations in less than a day when needed. They received training from the third-party agency before onboarding. They can also assist with closing sales leads, which is crucial to a growing e-commerce business.

Providing Positive Return on Investment (ROI)

Hiring a virtual assistant might initially look like an expense, but it is worth it in the long run. Many small business owners need to realize that not optimizing their time is one of the most costly mistakes they can make. Furthermore, working with contractors is an expense-saving decision, especially when they are offshore.

So, how much does it cost to employ an offshore remote assistant? E-commerce customer service outsourcing providers in the Philippines, one of the best destinations for virtual assistants, charge an average of $10 per hour. This fee is significantly lower than the rate in the United States or other Western countries.

Phoenix has a large pool of exceptional talent as well. However, if you have a limited budget but still need to fill a skill gap, knowing you have offshore options is good.

Accessing New Knowledge and Expertise

Your internal team may be good at what they do, but specific tasks require specialized knowledge, skills, and expertise that in-house staff may not have. You need your internal staff to implement your vision, but you can gain specific skill sets from remote assistants. Outsourcing allows you to access diverse virtual assistants for your e-commerce business in Phoenix.

Your e-commerce business becomes more robust when you leverage virtual assistants’ knowledge, fast adaptation, and skill acquisition. Instead of overworking internal teams, you can hire external help to perform the job to a high standard in less time. Doing so saves your employees from overworking and allows them to concentrate on higher-value activities.

For example, you can outsource to a virtual assistant if you lack knowledge of web development. Doing so can save you time from teaching yourself how to build an e-commerce website or scouting for someone who can.

Ensuring Location Independence

Having a third-party remote assistant is an excellent strategy for companies to promote location independence as the modern business landscape becomes more open to remote work. With a strong internet connection, offshore virtual assistants can work from anywhere.

Another benefit of location independence is using the “follow-the-sun” approach. This workflow method involves sharing issues and assignments between team members in different time zones, minimizing delays, and improving responsiveness. The virtual assistant takes over the task after the internal team’s shift.

Using this model for outsourced e-commerce or customer service enables you to reduce time to market and speed up processes. However, this requires regular communication. So, a good outsourced customer service tip is to ensure open communication before implementing the strategy.

Managing Social Media Accounts

Social media is a good marketing tool to connect with customers and grow your e-commerce business. Being active on social media helps you get real-time customer feedback, allowing you to change your marketing strategy accordingly.

Not addressing customer complaints or managing your social media accounts can give you a negative reputation among shoppers and potential buyers, ultimately affecting sales. You must have a solid online presence since social media lets you promote your brand, interact with buyers, and build trust. However, your small business may be short on time.

Virtual assistants for e-commerce companies in Phoenix can help you manage your social media accounts, post regular updates, and respond to customer comments. They can also assist in creating engaging content that customers will love.

Overseeing Your Calendar

Maintaining an organized planner is a task that is often overlooked but is crucial. You can prevent scheduling issues with the help of a remote assistant who will manage your appointments, meetings, and tasks.

The offshore virtual assistant helps ensure you have enough time to manage each area of your business, get from one appointment to another, and handle personal obligations. They can also remind you about essential tasks you must accomplish in the office to ensure you are on top of your daily schedule.

As a small e-commerce business owner, you have many tasks that make it hard to remain organized. Hiring a virtual assistant follows the principles of customer-centric outsourcing, which can help you manage your calendar effectively.

Key Areas Where Offshore Virtual Assistants Drive Growth

The market for third-party remote assistants grew from only performing secretarial activities to involving more specialized tasks. Moreover, high-speed internet has enabled offshore virtual assistants to work from anywhere on tasks requiring technical and specialized skills. Remote workers are also 47% more productive than in-house, on-premises staff.

Offshore virtual assistants for e-commerce businesses in Phoenix can handle the following specialized roles:

• Customer support and relationship management. Virtual assistants can help with customer service using phone, chat, and in-app support. They can answer customer inquiries based on customer support protocols and company policies. They also receive training to respond efficiently, helping brands foster stronger relationships.
• Social media management. Many offshore virtual assistants have a background in social media management, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, and display ads. You can invite them to join your team to support digital marketing projects.
• Bulk data entry. Small e-commerce businesses often hire virtual assistants to update product descriptions, enter data into company systems, and tag sold-out products. These tasks are time-consuming but essential, so many entrust them to offshoring providers in the Philippines.
• Administrative tasks. Virtual assistants are similar to clerks and secretaries, except they remotely perform administrative work such as customer data gathering, bookkeeping, and order processing. They can also help you verify if digital documents are complete and signed, create presentations, and maintain websites.
• Calendar management and appointment scheduling. Offshore virtual assistants for e-commerce can help business owners in Phoenix set up appointments with customers, manage schedules, and meet deadlines.
• Research and market analysis. Some seasoned virtual assistants have market research knowledge. They know where to find statistical findings, including case studies, whitepapers, articles, and other credible resources. They also know how to use and analyze the resources.

You can outsource e-commerce services to offshore virtual assistants. They can handle all social media posts, answer emails and calls, and manage returns. You can then use the time you save from outsourcing non-core tasks to:

• Prepare growth and marketing strategies
• Network with potential clients
• Source new supplies
• Raise funds
• Have a proper work-life balance

The Bottom Line

Offshore virtual assistants for e-commerce businesses in Phoenix can perform seemingly endless duties, enhance team productivity, and help grow the company despite working remotely. Their cost-efficiency, broad skillset, and quick learning ability make them a great asset to your small business.

As the business landscape leans toward remote work, you must organize your manpower accordingly. Working with an offshore remote assistant is the right step, as geographical restrictions no longer limit companies from hiring talent.

Looking to hire top-notch virtual assistants? Unity Communications is your best bet. We have skilled, highly qualified, and dedicated virtual assistants ready to join your team.

Let’s connect to find out more!