Running a business can be expensive – there are so many things to pay for, from the rent or mortgage on your office space to the salaries of your employees, and everything in between. One way to save money is to outsource some of your operations to other companies. While they form expenses initially, the increase in efficiency you’ll get from experts freeing your time will lead to long-term gains.
Customer Support
When many small businesses read this tip, they’ll immediately ignore it because they think it’s not possible for them. After all, if you don’t have enough money to support a full-time customer service team, how can you outsource it?
The truth is, you can outsource customer support to a call centre for less money than you think. You can even find call centres that will use your company’s brand name, so customers won’t know they’re talking to someone who works for a different company. Although you might think this will impact your relationship with customers, they would rather get through to an experienced external service than wait three days for an email.
As well as outsourcing this task, you can also automate thanks to advances in technology. You can use a chatbot on your website to answer FAQs, or you can set up an auto-response email system.
Writing and Editing
If you don’t have the right skills within the business, it can be costly to train someone or hire a full-time employee to write and edit blog posts. In this case, it can be more cost effective to outsource the content to a freelance writer or editor. As businesses rely on content more and more, you’ll find many Australian freelance editors that will help. By outsourcing rather than hiring, you can also scale up and down however much you need.
Website Design and Maintenance
If you need help with design, there are plenty of online services that can assist small businesses. For website maintenance, you can also outsource this to someone skilled in web design and coding. This can save you the headache of having to fix website issues yourself, and will usually be more cost-effective in the long run.
For example, they will perform software updates, ensure that your website is secure and backed up, and help you troubleshoot any issues that may arise.
Accounting and Bookkeeping
Especially when it comes to small businesses, owners tend to be sellers and product designers rather than number crunchers. However, bookkeeping and accounting are essential parts of any business – without them, you won’t be able to track your expenses, revenues, or profits accurately.
Outsourcing your accounting and bookkeeping can save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Not only will you have access to professionals who can do the job quickly and efficiently, but you’ll also save on the cost of hiring and training professionals.
Digital Marketing
Finally, another outsourcing opportunity for businesses is digital marketing. Many small business owners try to handle their own digital marketing, but it’s a full-time job that requires a lot of knowledge and experience. For one thing, who will tweak PPC campaigns on Facebook and Google? Can you afford somebody to assess the analytics and constantly improve your campaigns?
Outsourcing your digital marketing to a professional agency can save you time, money, and stress. You’ll get better results because digital marketing agencies have the staff and resources to invest in your campaigns. What’s more, economies of scale also mean that they will have the best tools.