The terms Virtual
Assistants and Virtual Personal Assistants are often used interchangeably.
Well, even though there isn’t much difference in their nature of work, the key
difference lies in the services offered by them.
Let’s understand
this better. A Virtual Assistant is an employee who provides support services
to your business or organization from a remote location. A Virtual PersonalAssistant is also a Virtual employee but provides services similar to that of
an office executive or personal secretary.
A Virtual
Assistant is a general term and service offerings range from general admin
tasks to more specific ones like social media management, managing ad campaigns
etc. Therefore Virtual Assistant services include Virtual Personal Assistantservices but not vice versa. The role of Virtual Personal Assistants is more or
less limited to personal assistance tasks like managing your email inbox,
making travel arrangements, booking appointments, sending greetings to clients
etc. on your behalf, making online purchases on your behalf etc.
Virtual Assistant
is an umbrella term. There are different types of Virtual Assistants.
Sending greetings/wishes to
clients on their special day
Managing your social media
profile and responding to comments etc.
Making travel arrangements like
booking flights, accommodation
Cold calling prospects to
arrange meetings
Setting up appointments
Maintaining a calendar and
setting up reminders
Planning your agenda for the
day.
Therefore Virtual
Assistant services are broad and if you wish to become a Virtual Assistant you
need to identify your strength and area of interest and specify the niche you
are going to provide services on for instance, data entry, social media, design
services or bookkeeping. As an employer you need to specify the tasks you need
assistance with and them hire the best type of VA suitable for the role. You
may need to hire multiple Virtual Assistants for different tasks.
A Virtual Personal
Assistant is a niche in itself and the services are more or less defined unlike
that of Virtual Assistants.
Amazon is the
largest ecommerce marketplace today. Needless to say many ecommerce store
owners resort to Amazon to sell their goods and services. Therefore Amazon Data Entry has become widely popular these
days. But when there are too many companies providing the service, choosing the
right service provider is difficult. Here are things to consider when choosing
the best Amazon data entry
outsourcing partner.
Experience – When
executing complex projects experience makes all the difference. Therefore when
choosing the right Amazon data entry service provider it is important to note
their experience of using Amazon as an ecommerce platform and the volume and
complexity of projects handled in the past. Any company that has years of
experience providing Amazondata entry services to businesses from across different verticals will
likely be a better choice over others.
Reputation – Another
important factor is the reputation. A company’s reputation comes from its way
of executing previous projects. If the company has been in the market for long
and has good reputation, it is likely that they provide high quality services.
Technology and Infrastructure – Be sure to ask about the kind of software and other technology
company is using to complete Amazon data entry work. If the company is using
old and obsolete technology and infrastructure, it would impact the quality of
work they deliver.
Shopify, an e-commerce platform that is simple enough for budding entrepreneurs to launch an online store and start earning some extra cash right away yet sophisticated enough to please experienced retailers and established businesses.
And that’s what sets Shopify apart from numerous other ecommerce platforms in the market.
It’s super simple, easy to set up and does not require much investment. In fact, the basic Shopify plan starts as low as USD $29 and comes with all the features you need to get off the ground. Ideal for e-commerce start-ups looking to start their e-commerce business and earn some money.
For those who have started their business with Shopify and are looking to scale up, Shopify is for them too! Shopify has a range of free and premium apps that can help you boost sales and grow your business.
There are thousands of apps like that and to choose the right ones for your business growth can be a challenge. But not to worry, for we’ve done the legwork for you and compiled a list of most popular apps that make shopify product upload and other related tasks easy to scale your business.
Here are some of the best Shopify apps to help you grow your business:-
1. WhatShare
As a growing business, you can’t afford to spend a lot on advertising and promotions. WhatShare allows you to share your products with your clients and customers on Whatsapp, a popular communication and chat app. If you engage with your clients on WhatsApp, WhatShare offers an intimate and personalized way to showcase your products. It even allows customers to recommend it to their friends and family on WhatsApp.
2. Omnisend
It’s a wonderful app for email automation. It sends fully automated personalized emails and SMS messages to customers. It helps to send relevant messages to customers in the right context. Whether its sending festive greetings or some discount offers in the new year, Omniscient can go a long way in customer retention. The fee is only USD $10 a month with 14 days free trial.
3. Optin Monster
The best Shopify marketing app to gather email addresses and boost sales. It has all the advanced features you would possibly need to grow your email list, reduce cart abandonment, retargeting, etc. It’s a bit pricy at USD $49/month but it’s worth all the features it offers and the benefits it promises.
4. Referral Candy
It’s the ultimate Shopify app to gain referrals. This app lets you give your customers incentives to refer their friends and family. You can choose from the list of incentives. At USD $ 49 a month you get automatic rewards delivery and a dashboard to track referrals. Another one of shopify’s amazing ways to help you boost sales.
5. Smile
An app to boost customer loyalty to your brand. Smile app lets you create a loyalty program on your store for loyal customers. You can issue reward points based on sales, social media mentions, brand following, etc. This is a freemium app. The above-mentioned features are available for free but you can upgrade to give additional rewards or create a customized rewards program.
6. Bold Upsell
An app that suggests complimentary products to the customers at a discounted rate. For instance if a customer is ordering an iPhone, the app would offer him an iPhone case or cover at a discounted rate. Anybody who is ordering baby clothes might be interested in baby toys too and so on. It’s a paid app with 30 days free trial. The price is a meager USD $ 9.99 per month or 19.99 for small business plan.
7. Outfy
An app to automate your social media promotion and enhance your social reach. This app helps you promote your products on twelve social media platforms simultaneously thereby expanding your reach to thousands of potential customers.
8. Katana
A cloud-based software with Shopify integration that helps you with complete production planning, scheduling and inventory management. It empowers small manufacturers with the management of workshop operations and inventory.
Manufacturers can now manage their production activities, purchase of materials, order deadline, etc by having a complete view of the order fulfillment process. It's priced to scale with your business starting at USD $ 49/month with a single user, single inventory location and a single e-commerce channel. You can upgrade to multiple users, multiple inventory location and multiple e-commerce channels by paying additional charges.
9. Privy
An app that is designed to help your conversion rates by displaying highly convertible popups, flyers, banners, etc that can be used to showcase discounts, special offers, etc. It also creates exit pop-ups to display to customers who are about to exit your site without taking any action or without completing the purchase. It’s a freemium app. The free version lets you enjoy all the above features and the paid plan lets you track your site’s numbers so you can see if its having any effect on your website.
10. Product Reviews
Another one of the very useful Shopify apps that let you integrate customer reviews into your store page. We all know that positive reviews play a great role in building trust amongst visitors. Also reviews have been proven to play a role in influencing purchase decisions as well. Customers always go for products with a lot of positive reviews.
11. Optimonk
An app for exit intent pop-ups, messenger and email pop-ups, it is designed to help you increase your subscriber base, reduce cart abandonment and increasing cart value. It comes with a 14-days free trial thereafter USD $ 29/month going up to USD $399/month.
Conclusion:
That’s it, folks! That’s the end of the list. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means but it does a fairly good job of introducing you to some of the best Shopify apps one can use to grow your business and boost sales. Please note you should not use too many of them as it will only serve to confuse you and distract the visitor. Instead, your best bet would be to use these and see for yourself which one works best for your business!
Don’t get overwhelmed with the prices as most of these apps offer a free trial without asking for your credit card details. Try and test these apps before you decide to invest in them! Alternatively if you’ve used any of these apps, do let us know your experience in the comments section below.
As your business grows, you become more tangled with tasks that need
your immediate attention. Not many entrepreneurs and startup owners are
able to cope up this increasing workload. Most of them become
overwhelmed by petty tasks and do not get enough time to focus on their
core business activities. This, in the long run, affects their
productivity. Then, what is the solution? Are you, like many other
busy entrepreneurs and startup owners, are forced to be drowned in the
workload? The answer is a big resounding ‘No’. What you need to do is to
hire a virtual assistant and delegate them unimportant tasks so that
you can have some free time to focus on your core business activities. A virtual assistant as defined by Wikipedia provides
technical, creative or administrative support to clients remotely. As
virtual assistants work at remote locations, you will not be responsible
for paid leave, sick leave, retirement benefits, or any other benefit.
You will pay only for the services you will receive. What’s more, you
will not have to face any logistic problem, such as making arrangement
for office space and buying equipment and supplies.The biggest benefit
of hiring a virtual assistant is that you can save both time and money. Here are the top three ways in which a virtual assistant can boost your productivity: Internet research
As
a business owner, you must have been spending a great deal of time on
the Internet in searching for news related to your niche or what you can
do in order to improve your products or services. So if you hire an
internet virtual assistant, you can save some time that you can utilize
in focusing on your core business activities. According to Ninja VA,
Internet research virtual assistants can conduct relevant Internet
research based on the requirements of your business. They can even
identify business problems and effective solutions through their
intensive internet research. So hiring a virtual assistant for
Internet research can save you a great deal of time, which you can use
to focus on your core business activities. Social media
Needless
to say, social media has become a growth driver in the recent few years
and this trend will continue in the future as well. You, as a business
owner, must have been spending some time on various social media
platforms to promote your business. You can hire social media virtual assistants and save both time and money. You might be wondering
how hiring social media virtual assistants can save you time and money.
Well, if you don’t hire a social media virtual assistant, then you will
have to take a social media expert on board. Without any doubt, for
that, you will have to shell out a good amount of money. Whether
you hire a social media expert for just updating your social profiles,
it will cost you a handsome money. On the other hand, you can hire a
social media virtual assistant at a fraction of the cost. So delegate social media tasks to a social media virtual assistant and use the time you save for planning strategies to check your competitors. Data Entry
There
is no doubt that you cannot possess information without data. Data is
in the center of everything whether you are going to devise marketing
strategies for your business or you are thinking about providing your
high-end, loyal customers with a discount or deal. Therefore, the
success of an organization depends on how big, accurate data it has. As
any organization grows, the volume of data also gets bigger. As a busy
individual, you might not be able to handle a big volume of data. And
hiring an in-house data entry expert is a costly affair. To manage a big
volume of data, you should hire a data entry virtual assistant. A
data entry virtual assistant can do a variety of tasks for you, such as
reviewing data for any glitch, compiling, verifying, and sorting
information as per your priorities and objectives, and more. If
you delegate these tasks to a data entry virtual assistant, you can have
some free time that you can utilize in planning strategies for the
growth of your business. Conclusion: Virtual
assistants are a secret weapon of startup owners and busy entrepreneurs
to boost productivity. Tasks such as Internet research, social media
management, data entry can easily be delegated to a virtual assistant.
So, don’t try to do everything yourself. Instead, delegate these tasks
to a virtual assistant and use the time you save to make marketing
strategies. This will certainly boost your productivity.
I am, a jewelry designer by
profession decided to take her passion for designing exclusive Costume Jewelry
a step further by opening her collection for sale to the public. I had only
limited it by selling to friends and references but the response was good so
she was encouraged to expand. So, I decided to open an e-commerce
store and in no time she had a website up and running with latest
collections on offer. What’s more, managed to sell a few pieces from her
website thanks to social media presence. Things went well for the first few
months but gradually website began to see a decline in traffic and sales.
However, I got so busy
making new pieces so that could not focus on the website’s operation, its
issues and the maintenance. I made a mistake that most E-commerce
store owners tend to commit. They think once their e-commerce store is up
and running, they are in the game!
Well….far from this. Creating an E-Commerce site is just half
the work done. The upkeep is the challenge. E-Commerce store owners are under
constant pressure to display up-to-date, unique and relevant information to
create a positive impression in the minds of the online shoppers and eventually
convince them to buy. And let me tell you that this involves a lot of work.
Keeping your E-commerce website up to date and unique with all
relevant information is more than to uploading the new products, images etc.
·Product Data – such
as product titles, product description, product availability, shipping
information, sizes etc.
·Optimizing – keywords
in titles and descriptions makes your product searchable amongst thousands of
others.
·Stock Availability –I raise a
complaint only to be told that the product you requested is out of stock! So make
sure site is up to date with even the smallest detail that would matter to the
customers.
·Data Mining –price
of products it is important, do market research,
know the price your competitors are offering etc.
·Categorization – Wrong
category can hamper your product’s visibility.
After reading huge number of articles and blog then i realized e-commerce
data entry is a cumbersome task that requires not just due diligence but
also adequate skill and experience. After all, you don’t want to repeat the
same mistake as I am. Little wonder then that there are so many companies offering
these services. Online data entry is a commonly
outsourced task simply because most e-commerce stores do not have the resources
in-house and hiring a new resource is a long and tedious process. Hiring a
full-time resource on fixed monthly payments and then spending time and effort
to train him and supervise him. Add to it the cost of benefits like leaves,
infrastructure etc. and the amount is significant. Ecommerce
Outsourcing Companies need no leaves, supervision or other benefits and
charge only for the work done.
Most of ecommerce
outsourcing companies offer e-commerce virtual
assistant services have hands-on experience working on many e-commerce
platforms like Amazon, eBay, Magento, and Shopify. Outsourcing
data entry and other e-commerce tasks save you much time and money to focus
your attention on some core activities like marketing, increasing revenue etc.
Choose a reliable outsourcing partner and simply relax as they take over the
assigned tasks smoothly and efficiently.
Also, the E-commerce
experts take every step to make sure that images are the proper size,
clear, cropped and high resolution (they even do the required changes
wherever needed). They make sure that the shipping details are correct and
alternative or related products are added to give the customers extra
information.
What Outsourcing E-Commerce Data Entry Services Means for Your
Business
Fast
and Effective Data Entry Services – Teams in
outsourcing companies comprises of skilled e-commerce experts who have the
ability to perform all kinds of data entry services quickly and
accurately.
Use
of latest technologies – E-commerce
data entry experts have the necessary ability and qualification to
use the latest techniques to optimize
your listing to make it searchable for search engines like Amazon and
Google. In short, they do everything needed to scale up your
conversion rates.
Categorization
– With
tens and thousands of products, you can be sure that the product is
grouped under the right category.
Security
and Website Maintenance – Most outsourcing companies have 24/7
support department that takes care of any issues like website load speed,
downtime etc. Moreover, they take precaution to make sure that
confidential customer data is safe on your site.
Cost-Effective – Most
business owners would probably consider hiring an experienced resource
in-house. After all, everybody is jittery about handing over the reins to
another company just like that. However come to think of it, outsourcing
such tasks falls cheaper than hiring a full-time resource.
Sales figures, revenue, list of customers, market share, and information about company’s products/services, information about competition etc. What is the one word that sums up all the above?
It’s Data.
Data is nothing but above information collected, reported and presented in suitable format which can then be utilized to take strategic business decisions.
Data , therefore is central to any organization big or small. The data is stored in computers in the form of facts, figures, graphs, content, videos, graphics etc which can then be used for decision-making purposes.
Therefore creating and maintaining records of such data is critical to the business. Creation and maintenance of such record is what we call data entry.
Data Entry is a critical function in any business but it’s time-consuming and requires dedicated resources.
That precisely is the reason why organizations world over are looking to outsource data entry tasks. Many multinationals across the world choose India as their destination to outsource data entry services. Ever wondered why?
Well…that’s what we are going to cover in this blog.
But before we get to the reasons as to why India is the destination of choice of data entry tasks, let us first understand what data entry entails.
What is meant by Data Entry Services?
Data entry is more than just feeding data into the system. It encompasses all data related tasks like data processing, filtering, sorting, entry, formatting, document conversion etc.
All data entry professionals therefore are expected to have basic computer knowledge and good knowledge of excel, word etc. They have to have a solid understanding of all output formats like PNG, JPG, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word and more.
Many international companies choose India for data entry outsourcing because they can get all the above services at a good price. India is like one-stop shop for all their data entry requirements with IT professionals having sound knowledge of computers, IT systems, and software applications etc which make them capable of delivering quality output.
Other Reasons which make India the Destination of Choice for Data Entry Services:-
Large Pool of Skilled Resources – India has abundance of skilled IT professionals with both advanced and basic IT knowledge.Moreover the Indian educational system is such that it makes the resources employment-ready thereby making it easier for companies to hire individuals. Also many schools in India teach English as the first language which again gives them an edge in the international market over other Asian counterparts like Philippines, China etc.
Quality Service – With skilled and qualified people working, you can be assured of the quality of service being delivered. Indian outsourcing firms have firm QC guidelines and stringent data management policies in place which ensures accuracy and reliability of services being delivered. Moreover the sincere and positive attitude of Indians helps them deliver top quality services to clients.
Good Infrastructure Support – Most of urban India is very well connected when it comes telephone, broadband, mobile and telecom network etc. Uninterrupted power supply, excellent IT infrastructure and high-speed internet are few things which are common in most of towns and cities throughout India. Moreover the fact that the Indian government is very supportive of IT consulting, Technology and Innovation with various programs and policies being put in place.
Round the clock support– Most BPO companies in India have a 24/7 work environment which makes it easier for international companies to avail services in their preferred time zone.The staffs work in rotational shifts to be able to cater to clients from across the globe. For instance if a U.S client wants the services during his work hours which is 12 hour difference from India, the staff from India can work night shifts for him. Similarly, another team may be required to work in the early morning shift to cater to clients from Australia and New Zealand.
Saves Time – Data entry is non-core task for organizations yet very critical to the successful operation of the company. However getting this done in-house would require lot of dedicated resources and lot of time which could otherwise be utilized doing more productive core tasks.Therefore outsourcing these tasks to India helps them save both time and resources and at the same time get work done by professionals much more quickly and efficiently. Also the time difference helps here as the U.S clients can assign work towards the end of their working day and they can get completed documents before the start of their shift the next day!
Ease of Scalability – If you are handling data entry tasks in-house, you’ll have resources in-house which mean there will be pressure to hire more people when the work piles up or there will additional pressure of idle resources during lean time. This will not be so when you outsource. Whatever the volume of work, the outsourcing firms are capable enough to handle any volume and complete the task with the same accuracy and speed. You can be flexible with the size of the team you want to hire and can upgrade or downgrade any time at ease depending on volume of work.
Pay only for the Work Done – Handling tasks in-house means there will be permanent expense of salaries etc irrespective of the work done. When you are outsourcing you can choose the mode of payment i.e. you can choose to pay hourly or per project basis. This essentially means that you only pay for the work done which is fair to both parties.
Cost –Effective – Last but not the least, cost which is main driver behind outsourcing for any business. India is a labor-intensive country with a population of over 1 billion.Labor is cheap in India and level of education in the country ensures available of skilled labor at that price which is a big bonus for developed countries! Moreover easy access to infrastructure and other facilities make it easy for BPO companies to flourish as its cost-effective. Therefore Indian companies are in a position to offer service at par with international standards at a fraction of the cost!
To wrap up….
Little wonder then that most of outsourcing partners are Indian. The Indian outsourcing companies bring to the table many benefits for the parent company in the long run.
They don’t just offer large pool of skilled resources at a fraction of the cost but also carry an honest and sincere approach to work which is instilled in them by the India culture.
Of course one might argue that the cost effective solutions are offered by Brazil, Russia, China, Philippines as well but few countries come close to offering the level of service that India does not just in data entry but a wide variety of support functions.
If you are looking to outsource your data entry or other functions, your search for a reliable outsourcing partner ends here!
