From creating new products to leading marketing initiatives, running an e-commerce business is a full-time job for online store owners. They often don’t have time to handle every aspect of the business, focusing instead on high-level business strategies that move the needle. While e-commerce trends come and go, every business has a list of daily e-commerce tasks that remain constant. These tasks are essential for a properly functioning business. But what do e-commerce businesses do when they lack the bandwidth to complete crucial tasks? They rely heavily on outsourcing.
An e-commerce outsourcing specialist might be better trained to handle e-commerce-related tasks, allowing business owners to focus on other areas of the business. Whether it’s outsourcing a few tasks or fully committing to outsourced e-commerce services, there’s never been a better time to outsource certain tasks to contractors or freelancers.
Below are 7 of the most important e-commerce tasks you should consider outsourcing:
1. E-Commerce Business Product Sourcing
When you’re in the business of selling products, everything that goes into finding these products becomes a continuous cycle. Realistically, you can’t forever rely on one of your best-sellers to keep bringing in the money. You need to always be on the hunt for new ones regardless of whether your current products are selling or not. Don’t become complacent with your current product line. Stay on the lookout for new opportunities, as product sourcing requires a more in-depth approach than simply browsing online.
2. Product Listing Optimization
A well-optimized product listing is essential if you want to grab potential buyers’ attention. From the product title down to the images used, each of these elements has a unique way of converting potential leads into actual buyers. The trick is to have all these elements complement each other to form one convincing “pitch,” which is not the easiest thing to do without the necessary experience and skill set.
Thankfully, you can find plenty of skilled freelancers to improve your product listings. In the online marketplace, presentation is key. You yourself would most likely buy an item that has all the information you need over one that comes with low-quality images and poorly written descriptions, right?
3. Customer Service
Every business needs competent customer service because you won’t be available 24/7 to address urgent concerns. By having an extension of your voice answer inquiries on your behalf, customers are given the attention they expect.
One of the advantages of hiring freelance talent today is that many have experience in customer service roles. This can be beneficial for streamlining your business and improving profitability.
4. Order Fulfillment/Processing
For some people, processing orders is not a complicated task. What’s so difficult about getting customer information, checking the inventory for stocks, updating a database, and arranging product shipment? While the task can be considered clerical, it’s not going to be that easy when you have 30 orders to process for an entire day.
If your product is “hot,” you may have to process even more. Doesn’t sound as easy anymore, does it? Yes, the task may not require a lot of thinking, and it’s repetitive at best, but you’ll need all the help you can get when volume spikes. It’s going to be impossible for you to take care of this when you have your hands full managing the business’s daily operations, which makes outsourcing this task more sensible.
5. E-Commerce Inventory Management
Imagine how embarrassing it would be to advertise a product in your store only to find out that you’re out of stock when a potential customer decides to place an order. Such a scenario can put your reputation in question and can hurt your business. Not only will you be accused of false advertising, but it will also make you look disorganized and unprofessional.
One way of keeping this from happening is by using a competent e-commerce platform able to track inventory as it comes in and goes out. It’s also beneficial to have a dedicated person overseeing your inventory to ensure you have a clear understanding of your warehouse stock levels. Having an inventory manager also helps you save money because they can help you order new supplies and determine how much you actually need so you don’t end up having too much excess inventory. Keeping a balanced number of items in stock requires focus, which is why outsourcing inventory management makes perfect sense.
6. Web Design/Development
Like a brick-and-mortar store, your e-commerce store needs a strong visual presence to capture the attention of potential customers. Having a visually inviting and easy-to-navigate web presence is crucial. You have to remember that while people today may be highly visual, a lot of them also have a shortage of patience. Beyond aesthetics, your website should prioritize user experience. The text should be readable, the images shouldn’t be intrusive, and navigation should be easy. If it takes more than a minute for a customer to locate your shopping cart, you can’t expect people to have the patience to look for it, which can lead to fewer sales.
Web design and development require a specific skill that not everyone has been blessed with. By hiring a freelancer who has the skills and experience for both, you’ll be giving your business a big advantage because they have the ability to make your web presence stand out.
7. Social Media
People today are on social media almost all the time, and it would be a total waste if you didn’t take advantage of the millions of potential customers you can put your products in front of. To help increase your odds, outsourcing social media management to a freelance expert is an excellent decision. Having an experienced social media manager handle your social media tasks is a worthy investment with benefits that you will continue to reap in the long run. A skilled social media manager can be a valuable asset to your business, providing benefits that continue to pay off over time.
Where Do You Begin?
Once you have decided that outsourcing is something you want to do, the first step is to take note of the seven tasks mentioned above and list out all the duties and responsibilities each task will entail. It’s important to be very specific at this point, as this will be your basis for finding the right person for each task.
- Which social media channels will the social media manager handle?
- Will you allow the inventory manager to order new supplies without your consent?
- How involved do you want to be with customer service?
- Will the web designer/developer be in charge of presenting you with a design, or do you already have one you would like them to replicate?
It’s important to give yourself time to do a proper task assessment so you and the person you hire know what to expect.
How Much Are You Willing to Spend?
While hiring a freelancer is more affordable than hiring for a full-time position, it can still cost more than you expect, especially if you have hired multiple freelancers. Most freelancers generally work on a per-hour basis, but some work per project or on fixed pricing. Identify the option that aligns best with your needs and financial constraints, as this will guide your selection of a freelance marketplace and freelancer.
Where Do You Find Them?
With the gig economy at its peak, finding a freelancer to outsource tasks to has never been this easy. Dozens of websites offering massive talent pools are scattered all over the internet, each one offering a unique way of helping you hire and manage freelancers. Popular sites like Upwork, FreeUp, and Fiverr are just some of the websites you can visit so you can begin looking for the best people to help you.
Hiring individual freelancers is one option, but it can be time-consuming. Between reading resumes, messaging back and forth, and interviewing candidates, you’ll end up with fewer hours in the day to operate the business. Another concern is that you can’t be certain if a freelancer will work out, putting you back in the same spot a few weeks or months down the road. If you want to get the best help with the least amount of hassle, you could hire an e-commerce outsourcing service. They effectively take care of the outsourcing process, finding and managing the right people to work on your projects.
Formally Onboard Them and Set Expectations
Once you have hired the freelancer of your choice, the next step is to formally onboard them. Begin by setting expectations as to the work hours, outputs, and reports you require.
- Are they supposed to work in the same timezone as yours?
- Which reports will they need to provide on a weekly/monthly basis?
- Do they have to work on weekends?
- Is there a certain number of hours they need to work each week?
This is also the best time to provide them with access to all the tools you use both for work and for tracking purposes, as well as discuss how you will communicate with one another.
Final Thoughts
Running an e-commerce business is no walk in the park. However, it’s much easier with help from freelancers. By outsourcing certain tasks, you can lighten your workload and devote more time to high-impact activities.
With eCommerce accounting services from Fully Accountable, you can leave accounting to the professionals. Contact us at (877) 330-9401 or schedule a strategy call to learn more about our eCommerce solutions and outsourced accounting services.
