4 services any e-commerce store needs to outsource in 2021
So, you’ve decided to open your own e-commerce store – or you already have one. However, starting your business is just a first step on the road to success. And it’s not enough to create a website, find clients, and hire a team. Your business needs to grow and develop all the time, adapt to today’s environment, and stay interesting to customers. But you can’t take care of all that by yourself.
Fortunately, in today’s world, you can find many services available that can help you focus on your direct tasks as a business owner and allow your small company to grow. In this article, you’ll find 4 services that any e-commerce store needs to outsource in 2021: shipping, marketing, content creation, and accounting. Find out why it’s important or beneficial to outsource these tasks and discover the key characteristics you need to look for when choosing the agency or service provider.
1 – Shipping
Shipping is one of the most important parts of an e-commerce business. It can be especially difficult if you have little to no experience in shipping. If that’s the case, it’s better to outsource this part of your business to a professional shipping company and focus on your core tasks.
If you decide to outsource shipping, look for a reliable service that can offer:
- UPS, USPS, or DHL delivery
- Packaging, printing, and labeling services
- Customs clearance services
For more about shipping options, check out https://www.packlink.com/en-GB/.
2 – Marketing
Marketing is essential to any business. No matter how good your product is, it will not sell without effective marketing. There are many different marketing strategies you can use to promote your business. However, choosing the right strategy and integrating it into your business model can be tricky and time-consuming. Therefore, marketing is one of the e-commerce services you should outsource.
To find a reliable and capable partner for marketing, check online review websites – such as Clutch – and see what other people think about them. Pay attention to the company’s portfolio and the number of customers they currently serve. Also, check their website to see if it looks trustworthy and provides relevant information about the company.
3 – Content creation and SEO (search engine optimization)
Creating original content for your website is an important part of every e-commerce business. Original content builds trust and credibility with your potential customers, and, when done right, it helps you rank higher in search engines and social media platforms.
Creating high-quality content, unfortunately, takes time and a certain know-how. But you can outsource this work to professional writers from a reputable agency. Make sure the agency you choose also takes care of SEO optimization which will make sure the content published on your website ranks high on search engine result pages (SERPs).
When choosing a content creation and SEO agency for your e-commerce business, pay attention to:
- reputation in the industry (check client reviews)
- experience (there are many agencies that seemingly pop up overnight and then they are gone the next day)
- portfolio (find the agency that best suits your specific needs)
- speed (time is money, and some agencies can be slow to deliver)
The most important thing when it comes to content creation and SEO is that the agency understands your business goals and targets the right audience for you. It will do you little good if the agency drives a million people to your website but only a handful of them are likely to be interested in your products. With content creation and SEO, it’s not all about the numbers – it’s about the quality in the numbers.
4 – Accounting
In order to do an effective job with the accounting of your e-commerce business, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of the seemingly ever-changing tax codes. Otherwise, you may be spending more than you need to and/or you may find yourself with some costly legal issues down the road.
To avoid these costs and potential troubles, consider outsourcing your accounting. Cloud computing and streamlined data sharing have made accounting much easier to outsource than it had been years ago. Now, there is no shortage of accounting agencies on the market. Choose one that is scalable and trustworthy, make sure they are certified or chartered, and check the reviews left by their clients.
In conclusion
Starting and running an e-commerce business is not easy – and it takes a lot of time and effort to do everything yourself. However, there are many services available that can help you focus on your core tasks as an entrepreneur and let you outsource tasks that either require specific skills you may not possess or are simply too time consuming for you.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Learn how to delegate; learn when to outsource. You and your customers will thank you for it.
