In a time like 2021, when a pandemic is raging, and the economy still hasn’t fully recovered, it’s understandable for start-ups and small to mid-sized businesses to cut costs where they can. However, some investments can prove to be beneficial for new and small businesses in the long term. This includes outsourcing certain tasks and aspects of the venture. While your business doesn’t need to outsource everything, there are aspects that you need to entrust to professionals to help propel your business forward. Here are some of them.
Marketing
Marketing is one of the first functions business owners need to keep going in the time of an economic downturn, especially if you find that this is not your area of expertise as a business owner. After all, recessions don’t last forever, and your business needs to be ready to engage customers at any given time so that they know where to go when the economy opens up again.
A marketing firm can help you understand your audience, do the research that you don’t have time to do yourself, and create a cohesive and strategic plan to capture your target audience and translate that attention into sales. A good marketing team will take the content creation, ad design, and social media posting off your long to-do list so that you can prioritize the other equally important aspects and functions of your venture. At the same time, many of these marketing firms have the creativity and resources to develop new strategies and ideas that you may not have the wherewithal to implement in-house.
Digital security
We live in a time when everything is digital–and not making the shift towards the digital world can spell trouble for your business. The COVID-19 crisis taught us that the world could change overnight, and our businesses always need to be able to pivot and move everything online at any moment’s notice.
But with this shift from the traditional to the digital comes a lot of security risks. This is why your business needs to hire professionals who will help you and your staff gain access to everything you need right at your fingertips, all while making sure that everything remains safe and secure. These companies have resources like Brivo’s cloud access control, a platform that helps your company turn your smartphones into keys to allow for contactless access to areas in your workspace.
Digital security firms also have network cable wiring and surveillance experts, which can help your business ensure that your connectivity remains faultless and that you have enough security to meet your operational requirements without worrying about the risks of all kinds of cyber-crime, like hacking. If your business relies on digital processes, having a team of people looking out for you in this area can be highly beneficial, if not necessary, especially if there are no IT experts in your in-house staff.
Customer support and service
Good customer service is always key to any successful business, but perhaps even more so in a world that’s dominated by eCommerce. A 2020 study found that 96 percent of consumers will not return to a business if they don’t experience quality customer service, which means businesses need to get customer service right off the bat.
If your business requires you to deal primarily with customers over the phone or online, an external customer service company or a call center or chat service might help you keep your operations in place, help you meet your customers’ immediate needs and concerns, and give your audience a channel through which they can express their feedback and reviews. While customer service can also happen through email and social media, nothing beats knowing the feeling of knowing that there’s another human being on the other side that’s willing to help them with their concern.
Lead generation is also another benefit of customer service since reps can use your company’s voice to directly offer your products and services to potential customers. If you want another layer of sales generation, gaining leads through customer service may be a big help.
Additional Tips on Outsourcing
If your business is on the smaller side or if you’re just starting, don’t be afraid to start small. You don’t want to burn funds on functions that are not necessary for now. Identify the most urgent tasks and work your way from there. Don’t be too quick to reject freelancers as well, especially in marketing.
Outsourcing is a great way to help you grow your business while focusing on your task as the CEO or owner.
