Hey, you’re not in this alone.
A virtual assistant can help you complete all your mundane, repetitive tasks, making your work life more manageable and efficient.
In the startup phase of your business, hiring reliable support is a key component to actually growing your company. Someone needs to take care of the data entry, email management and appointment scheduling so you can work on strategic plans.
Here, read this blog post and learn why you should outsource virtual assistant services. Along with that, you’ll also explore the benefits of a virtual partnership and how to spot a skilled VA.
What are Virtual Assistant Services?
Virtual assistants are contractual workers who are professionals in offering virtual assistant services to help your business streamline processes.
These remote workers can handle all kinds of business-related activities that you can think of.
Why Outsource Virtual Assistant Services?
Virtual assistant services are designed to make your work life so much easier. The VAs who offer these services have different specialised skills that can cater to various operational needs.
What makes virtual assistant services critical to your business growth is explained below.
In your everyday business operation, there are a lot of tasks that need to be done but don’t really need your personal attention. In that case, call in a virtual assistant and pass on the workload. You can use the time to work on developing your project, completing tasks that only you can do.
It's expensive to hire a permanent employee. Conversely, hiring a virtual assistant is cost-saving because you only need to pay for their services.
If you’re operating on a global scale, you can benefit from a virtual assistant. These professionals work in different time zones and can offer support 24/7, beyond normal operating hours.
Virtual assistants promote a work-life balance for busy entrepreneurs. Balancing your work schedule and personal adventures is difficult when you don’t have reliable support. With a VA, you can run your business and still have time to pursue other things.
When you hire a new team member, you need to train them. It’s less work when you have a virtual assistant. These remote professionals are hired for the skills that they already have, which means they are ready to go and don’t need training to function optimally.
Top 10 Virtual Assistant Services Your Business Needs
If you still don’t know what tasks you need to let go and hand over to a VA, we made a virtual assistant services list that can be helpful to your outsourcing journey.
Take a look.
Content Writing
We won’t get tired of saying that content is king. And you shouldn’t be too, because good content can help boost your brand’s presence. Today’s digital age has pushed content marketing to a key marketing channel for fledgling businesses.
There are several content marketing activities that you can outsource, such as SEO writing, blog post writing and copywriting.
Email Management
You’re a busy business owner; you don’t have time to scroll through your packed email inbox. But you can’t just leave it and miss important emails that need to be answered. Therefore, hire a virtual assistant service and stay on top of your daily email messages.
Administrative Support
Whatever business you’re running, the administrative tasks are what sustain your daily operation. As such, if you don’t give it the necessary attention it deserves, your organisation might collapse.
Hand over your administrative work to a virtual assistant. From data entry to phone answering, delegating these activities will ensure a smoother workflow for your firm.
Social Media Management
Over 5 billion people are huddled across social media platforms. Getting in front of that kind of audience is a great opportunity to boost your social presence and extend your reach.
So, if you don’t have enough time to manage your social accounts, we advise hiring a virtual assistant. They can create a post, schedule, share and engage with your growing followers.
Lead Generation
Lead generation involves different stages of finding customers, attracting them and nurturing them so they can turn into buying customers. However, pushing consumers into the sales funnel is a very time-consuming venture, too demanding to squeeze into your packed schedule.
So, instead of doing it yourself, hire a virtual assistant who can pick out and source qualified leads to grow your customer base.
Website Management
Work doesn’t stop after you’ve created a website. You need to micromanage it, keeping it updated with content and ensuring it’s functional.
Hiring a virtual assistant for website management is a cost-effective solution to optimising your site’s performance and allowing your business to make an impact online.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is the most effective digital marketing campaign that you can leverage to promote your products and services. That’s why it’s one of the most outsourced virtual assistant services for many businesses.
You can employ a VA to handle email marketing software, write newsletters and make follow-up emails.
Graphic Design
Hiring full-time graphic designers is expensive, especially for a startup. That’s why this task is perfect for virtual assistant outsourcing.
Hire creative remote workers to do the design work of your company and let them enhance your brand identity.
Bookkeeping
By handing your bookkeeping activities to a virtual assistant, you can allow your team members to focus on their core functions and tap into their expertise instead of juggling tasks.
On top of that, you can rest easy knowing that your financial management is in the hands of an expert.
Research Support
Every key aspect of your business benefits from research. The moment you start a company, you conduct a multitude of research to get to know your consumers, market, industry and competition. This is how you get valuable insights to stand out and gain a competitive advantage.
So, outsource this task to a virtual assistant. They can provide accurate data to help you make data-driven decisions.
So, What’s the Price of Hiring Virtual Assistant Services?
Outsourcing virtual assistant services is way, way cheaper than hiring in-house workers. Even though your virtual support can provide the same level of expertise for the same tasks.
The price of working with a VA varies on several factors, such as type of work, skills and experience and location.
The more expertise needed to fulfil the tasks; the higher the pay.
Experienced virtual assistants charge higher than new VAs.
Remote workers from countries that have a low cost of living tend to charge less.
Some of the best countries that offer cheap virtual assistant services are the Philippines, India and Indonesia. These places have a large remote workforce that is priced economically, saving you up to 78% of operational costs.
How Do You Pick Your Virtual Assistant?
There are many instant benefits that you get to enjoy the moment you hire a virtual assistant. However, these advantages can only be experienced if you can hire competent VA support.
Finding this type of virtual professional needs a keen eye, weighing several factors such as…
Skills and Expertise
What tasks are you going to outsource to your assistant? Whatever it is, you have to be sure that your remote support has the specific skill sets to successfully portray their role.
Experience
What industry are you in? A virtual assistant who has experience in your line of work can easily grasp your business needs. They offer better support, giving you a competitive edge.
Compatibility
You will be working closely with your virtual assistant. Therefore, you have to make sure you’re comfortable collaborating with them. If you can get along—sharing the same vision and working style—it becomes easier to build a healthy working relationship.
Availability
How many hours do you need your assistant to work? Check your VA’s availability and ensure it matches your business schedule and needs.
Budget
What’s the cost of hiring your virtual assistant? Make sure that you can afford the services of your assistant. It has to be within your budget so you don’t compromise your other expenses and your company’s long-term financial sustainability.
Beyond these factors, effective management is key to making sure your virtual partnership can achieve its business goals. You have to maintain communication, provide feedback and set expectations earlier on.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, virtual assistant services can transform your operations to be faster, simpler and more efficient.
But you also have to remember that VAs are not superheroes; they don’t have all the skills to complete all the services we mentioned above. To maximise your virtual collaboration, finding the right virtual assistant who matches your needs is key.
At VAV, we make sure that you work with a remote professional perfectly suited to your job requirements and business needs.