A Virtual Assistant to Handle your E-Commerce Business - Reasons and Process

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If you run an e-commerce business, you already know that a hundred different tasks must be done every day - all equally important. But it’s physically impossible for one person to do everything themselves.

Administration, customer service, accounting, and marketing are crucial aspects of a profitable business. Unfortunately, every time you finish one task, you’ll find ten more waiting on your to-do list, and the list keeps piling on. At the same time, you’re not making enough money to hire a full-time team.

So how do you balance the growing pile of unfinished tasks without burning a hole in your pocket?

By hiring a Virtual Assistant.

Virtual Assistants are a small business's greatest asset, and in this blog, we’ll discuss why a Virtual Assistant is a good choice for e-commerce businesses and how you can hire one for your venture.

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Who is an e-commerce Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant for your e-commerce business is a contractor who will help you with business operations. You may delegate multiple tasks to these Virtual Assistants and focus on the big-picture work knowing everything all your other tasks are in good hands. An e-commerce Virtual Assistant is skilled at providing exceptional service in many business areas, from creating designs, and managing administrative jobs, to following up with clients for payments.

Virtual Assistants are experts in their fields who can manage routine tasks efficiently. There is only one minor difference between an in-house and a Virtual Assistant; instead of working with you in the office, they operate remotely.

You may use their expert e-commerce skills to deliver modern and intelligent solutions to your e-commerce business. They will tailor their services to your needs, whether it’s creating SEO content, managing inventory, or dealing with customers.

For example, when you sell on multiple channel selling platforms, you should use multichannel management tools to manage your business effectively. Some integration apps that can be mentioned are Wix eBay Integration, BigCommerce Etsy Integration,...

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Why hire an e-commerce Virtual Assistant?

Let’s discuss the benefits of working with a Virtual Assistant and how they can help your e-commerce business.

1. Save money AND time

If you’re considering hiring a Virtual Assistant, you might already know that they are affordable compared to a full-time employee.

How?

When you hire a Virtual Assistant, you only pay for their work. However, when you hire a full-time employee, apart from just their work, you also need to take care of additional expenses - such as bonuses, paid leaves, and insurance. Not to mention the monthly expenses of renting office space and buying equipment.

All these expenses are eliminated with a Virtual Assistant, as you only pay them per hour/project. And as for equipment and technology - they have their own.

While everyone talks about how a Virtual Assistant can save money, not many acknowledge the time you save when you opt to work with an e-commerce online assistant.

Think about it. Time is the most valuable resource you have as an entrepreneur. This is why you want to hire an assistant in the first place so that you can use your own time more efficiently.

However, even hiring takes time. First, there’s the time to make a job listing, scour through resumes, and conduct interviews. The process could take weeks or even months.

When you hire from a Virtual Assistant agency like Wishup, the hiring and training process is taken care of for you. Your Virtual Assistant is screened and vetted for you by the agency and trained in various valuable tools. This system is designed to ensure you don’t waste any time and that your Virtual Assistant is ready to start on the job from day one.

Therefore, by choosing to hire a Virtual Assistant, you are killing two birds with one stone and saving money AND time, two of the most crucial resources for your business.

2. Work with an expert

While the two core reasons for employing a Virtual Assistant are cutting costs and gaining more hours in your day, there’s also a third, essential reason to hire an e-commerce assistant.

When you started your e-commerce venture, you might not have estimated how many different parts are involved in running a business. For example, you have to manage clients, handle accounts, create social media content, and regularly update your website according to website KPIs, among other things. And while some of these tasks can be learned on the go, others require specific knowledge and skills.

Take design, for example.

Branding is integral to establishing your business and making a lasting impact in the audience’s mind. Look at these brand identity examples to learn what branding can do for your business. Even if you hire an in-house designer, it takes a lot of time to train them to think in line with your brand. However, with platforms like Delesign, you could specify your requirements and get matched with a designer who is experienced in the type of design you need.

Apart from helping with specialized tasks such as design, bookkeeping, and marketing, your Virtual Assistant can also help you with routine daily tasks, such as -

• Research
• Lead Generation
• Sending out cold emails
• Writing blogs and articles
• Planning webinars
• Scheduling meetings
• Managing inbox
• Making travel arrangements and more.

All these seem like trivial tasks that you can do yourself. But tomorrow, consciously note how much time it takes to reply to customer queries, clear the junk from your inbox, and sort out your to-do list. And think if you could spend those hours more efficiently on growth strategy. If the answer is yes, you could probably benefit from a Virtual Assistant.

3. Grow your team effortlessly.

Do you ever notice that some months are busier than others for your business? For example, maybe you sell gift items and get unusually high orders during the holiday season. Or you could sell beachwear and have a surplus of orders in the summer.

Does it make sense, then, to hire a full-time team that will not have much work to occupy themselves with the rest of the year?

For this reason, Virtual Assistants are a game changer for small e-commerce businesses. Because they are paid by the hour/project, you don’t have to get into long-term contracts with them.

This means you could hire as many Virtual Assistants as you need without it becoming a financial burden. And once the busy season is over, you can easily terminate the contract. The good part is that if you like the services of any particular Virtual Assistant, you can hire the same person next time, to make things easier, as they are already familiar with how you operate.

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How to Hire an e-commerce Virtual Assistant?

Broadly speaking, there are three general approaches to hiring a Virtual Assistant for your e-commerce business. All of them are great options, and depending on your preferences, you can choose the one that suits you best.

1. Hire from a Virtual Assistant outsourcing company

This is the best approach for entrepreneurs who want access to the best possible talent in the shortest time. If you urgently need an assistant and don’t have the time to go through the whole hassle of hiring from scratch, an outsourcing agency is your best bet.

Perks of outsourcing agencies 

• Pre-vetted and pre-trained candidates
• Instant replacement if you’re not satisfied
• Onboarding in a matter of days
• More stability than working with freelancers

2. Hire from freelancer platforms

For entrepreneurs who want to be more involved in the hiring process, freelancer platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are excellent places to start. You can look at various profiles related to the skills you’re looking for and hire the candidate you feel suits the role. You could also make a job listing and wait for freelancers to bid their services to you. However, this is not as quick as hiring from an outsourcing agency and might take time to find the right candidate.

Perks of freelancing platforms

• You get to negotiate prices
• Hands-on involvement in hiring
• More profiles to browse and choose from
  

3. Create a job listing online

It is an option for people looking for Virtual Assistants with precise requirements that are not commonly found on freelancer platforms or with outsourcing agencies. In this approach, you must create a listing online and list all your requirements in the job description. Then, you could post the listing on platforms like Google or LinkedIn.

Then you could shortlist candidates by resumes and conduct interviews until you find the person you like. This is a tedious process and not as stable as the first two, as there are chances of the assistant flaking since no third party is involved. If you’re opting for this approach, make sure not to make the whole payment upfront to avoid getting scammed.

Perks of creating job listings

• Great for very specific roles
• You get to be involved in every process of hiring
• You have the authority to set your own prices

Ready to hire your e-commerce Virtual Assistant?

One of the most beneficial strategies to run a profitable e-commerce business is to hire a Virtual Assistant. A Virtual Assistant can provide all the services of a full-time employee at a fraction of the cost. Your Virtual Assistant can do everything from administrative work, marketing, design, content, and other e-commerce-related activities.