Outsourcing

Outsourcing – The Online Business Buzz Word

Outsourcing has quickly taken over the online business world and for good reason. Many companies have tasks they need performed and outsourcing provides the process for getting these tasks completed.

Maybe it’s due to a book that talks about working four hour work weeks or due to the lower cost, but outsourcing has become one of the most popular discussions in forums, on blogs and all over the internet.

What is Outsourcing?

Before you start hiring writers, outsourcing your customer service and dealing with other freelance workers, it’s important to understand what outsourcing is all about.

Outsourcing is defined at the contraction of the business process or tasks to a third-party. An example of outsourcing, which has been used for over a century is found in the writing and publishing world. Many celebrities have outsourced the actual writing of their books and articles to a freelance writer. Businesses today, do this with blog, website and advertising content.

The Top Benefits of Outsourcing Online Tasks

Three major benefits come from outsourcing necessary online tasks. Many other benefits may also be realized, depending on the task and the business outsourcing it. However, the following three benefits are gained by any business using outsourcing as a way to grow and run the online portion of their business.

Lower Cost

Typically, it’s far cheaper to outsource tasks, such as content creation, customer service, technical support, marketing, search engine optimization and many other tasks, compared to hiring a full time or even a part time employee.

Saves Time

Specifically for smaller businesses, outsourcing eliminates tasks from your to-do list. When you wear multiple hats, taking one of those hats off and letting a freelancer handle it can free up time for other tasks.

Gain Expert Experience

Maybe your specific expertise is found in the SEO world, but you’re not very good at writing. In this case, you can outsource the content you need to expert writers and focus on your expertise.

The benefit of experienced experts is often realized in the hosting industry. Many hosting companies outsource the technical support to a team of experts and concentrate on building their business with the time they save.

These three benefits provide something you cannot always get from hiring an employee or trying to handle all your business tasks on your own. Outsourcing can also provide you with many other benefits including the ability to grow your business much faster, but these are the three main benefits.

What Online Tasks are Most Often Outsourced?

Online businesses often outsource a number of tasks and actually build a team of freelancers to help grow their business. Some of the most common tasks outsourced online include:

• Research
• Bookkeeping
• Social Media
• Hosting
• Technical Support
• Customer Service
• Content Creation
• Search Engine Optimization
• Website Design
• Advertising
• Cybersecurity

Many other tasks can be outsourced and it really depends on your expertise. It doesn’t make much sense for an SEO expert to outsource those tasks, but if this specific person is running a hosting company, outsourcing the technical support makes perfect sense.

Other tasks you can outsource include:

• Email management
• Managing e-commerce
• Travel planning
• Video creation and submission
• Data entry
• Reputation management
• Order fulfillment
• Legal document and contract creation
• Pay Per Click campaign management
• And Many More!

Anything you don’t specialize in can probably be outsourced.

What to Consider When Outsourcing to a Third-Party?

The main issue businesses run into when outsourcing, is finding a freelancer or company they can trust. Many business owners want to be in control and letting somebody else handle something can be difficult.

When you’re considering using a third-party company for something, such as technical support or customer service, you need to completely vet the company first. Make sure they can live up to the guarantees and reputation they have built for themselves.

It’s important to choose the right company for any task you plan to outsource. If you don’t, you could end up with a low quality product or service and the major benefits of outsourcing may not be something you experience. However, if the right company or freelancer handling your outsourced tasks, you will save time, money and gain expertise.

Server Sitters is the top choice for outsourced technical support in the hosting industry. If you run a hosting company or you’re considering starting one, our team of hosting experts will provide you with all the benefits of outsourcing your technical support. Contact us today for more information about how we can help you save time, money and gain expert hosting support.