by Managing Editor Yoon Cannon | General, Build Your Dream Team
Did you know that nearly 60% of companies are outsourcing tasks to cut costs? Many small companies are falling behind.
They don’t have the ability to afford in-house specialists to keep up. This is due to fast pace technology making business more competitive. Outsourcing is the main key you might be missing for your company to thrive.
Today, IT and other professionals are very expensive to hire. Leaving small businesses in the dust if they can’t afford them.
The benefits of outsourcing are countless. You can outsource mundane tasks so your in-house team can focus on essential assignments that require time and effort. Outsourcing offers both big and small companies significant money-saving opportunities and the ability to stay ahead of the game.
Three Types of Outsourcing
There are three main types of outsourcing. There are many types of jobs and ways to outsource. The key is to find what is best for your company and your needs.
Outsourcing Professionals
This is the most common type of outsourcing. Many small companies cannot afford to outsource expensive specialists. This includes specialists in accounting, administrative, and legal work.
In most cases, you don’t need an in-house full-time professional to do these jobs. You can outsource work to a company or professional when necessary.
Outsourcing IT Experts
Not only are in-house IT experts costly, but they aren’t necessary all the time. The majority of the work they do can be done from anywhere.
Why not hire remotely a professional that has the expertise in the latest technologies.
From app development, system administration, and software design to maintaining your website. You can find less expensive IT experts around the globe that are a fraction of the price of hiring locally.
Outsourcing Copywriters and Marketers
When it comes to marketing, many small businesses turn to their in-house employees. Creating text and design for pamphlets, websites, social media, and blogs.
There is a lot more that goes into creating a quality marketing campaign than just writing text.
Today, with proper content, a company can go far. Outsourcing professionals in the field can help boost their image and put them in the limelight
Outsourcing Benefits and Risks
Did you know that 47% of companies choose to outsource work to reduce capacity issues? Paying for office space costs a lot more than hiring a freelance professional.
Benefits of Outsourcing
1. More specialized talent. – As a small company, it’s not always possible to hire professional talent. They tend to be costly to hire in-house. With outsourcing, you have access to professionals around the globe at a lower cost, depending on your specific needs.
2. Save Money. – A company may spend $1,252 per new employee training alone. This doesn’t include additional costs of office space and expenses such as sick pay, pension, and others. Also, you have more access to professionals with more experience and knowledge that cost less on average.
3. More transfer of knowledge. – A strong team made of experienced experts can cover everything across the board to keep your company up to date.
4. Higher performance. – Most outsourced professionals work per-project basis. Focusing only on the task at hand without distractions that an in-house employee may have. As a result, they deliver work faster and of a much higher quality.
5. Reduce expenditures on new technology. – Technology is always changing. The moment a company finally has the funds to invest, new technology is on the rise. By hiring experts already using the latest technology, the company doesn’t have to train in-house employees to implement it.
6. Improve in-house productivity. – Allow your employees to focus on the crucial tasks. Keep your business moving forward by outsourcing mundane tasks such as data entry.
Drawbacks of Outsourcing
As with everything else, there are always drawbacks. If you pay close attention, do your research whom you outsource to, and always read the fine print, you should be fine.
1. Loss of control. – If you assign work to an outsourcing company or freelancer, be aware. Without controlling the results, you may find yourself worse off than before. Outsourcing requires a bit of organization and work on your side to maintain quality and move forward.
2. Hidden costs. – If you choose to outsource work to a company, be diligent about what you are signing up for. There is often a small print that may incur more costs than hiring in-house. Always review the contracts carefully. Make sure you are aware of what you are paying for and which added costs might come up.
3. Security risk. – If what you plan to outsource requires sharing personal customer or employee data, it could pose a risk. Always consider what type of work you plan on outsourcing and hire trusted companies and freelancers.
4. Time difference. – Many outsourcing companies and freelancers may be working in a different time zone. This might make it challenging to sync with your schedules. However, with good time management, there are always ways around it.
5. Language barriers. – Remember that many outsourcing companies and freelancers are not native English speakers. This could pose a problem with the language barrier. However, if you do your research well, you can find fantastic professionals with perfect English.
6. Moral dilemmas. – One of the moral dilemmas may be denying someone from your team an opportunity to grow by outsourcing work. The possibility of stumping the growth of your community by not working with a local talent agency. Another issue is that some consumers frown upon outsourcing.
Bottom Line
In essence, the benefits of outsourcing for small businesses outweigh the drawbacks. This is because you need to keep up with the big guys if you wish to grow as a company. The best way is by having experts on your team that many small businesses can only afford in-house.
A small business requires a dream team to advance and keep up. Outsource as much as possible by finding companies, or freelancers on sites like PeopleByTheHour and UpWork. Even small businesses could build a dream team,save money, and keep up with the latest changes in technology.
Which tasks you feel could be outsourced in your company?
Question: Would you outsource to give your in-house team more time to focus on important tasks? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Hristina Nikolovska is the appointed Community Manager at WhatToBecome. Using her extensive background in digital marketing, as well as her social media and public relations experience, Hristina’s passion is helping others stay organized through clear communication and pushing for the realization of projects of every sort.
by Yoon Cannon | General, Attract More Customers
When it comes to marketing your small business, where every dollar counts, it can feel a bit like throwing your money into a giant black hole, never to be seen again. However, it doesn’t have to be.
Small business owners today have never had greater access to cost-effective and trackable marketing tools. The question is, where to start?
Below, we’ve gathered five great ways you can go about marketing your small business, no matter your budget, from five experts in the field.
Also, be sure to check out our previous article on Easy Local Business Marketing Ideas to Boost Sales.
#1: Marketing Your Small Business With Email
Victoria Treyger shares “There’s a reason email marketing ranks high on our list of recommendations for small businesses and startups: It works. Regardless of industry or organizational size, marketers across the board point to email marketing as the tactic that produces their highest return on marketing dollars invested. ExactTarget.com’s 50 Email Marketing Tips and Stats for 2014 reported that marketers received an average return on investment of $44.25 for every $1 spent on email marketing.
Not only is it effective, it’s also desired. In study after study, consumers regularly say that email is their preferred channel for brand communications. According to MarketingProfs.com, a study suggests that for nearly one-third of all consumers, email is the communication channel they prefer when it comes to marketing.”
Read More: 6 Ways to Market Your Small Business for Less Than $100
#2: Socialize on Social Media
Chris Dunn says, “According to the Pew Research Center Report of Social Media Usage: 2005-2015, nearly two-thirds of American adults use social media now. This is a near tenfold increase within the last decade.
Popular social media channels include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Snapchat. Each of these social media platforms are unique in its own right and require unique ways of engagement. Rather than try to master it all at once, choose a few you like and try to master those first.”
Read More: 8 Powerful Ways to Market Your Business on a Limited Budget.
#3: Create Compelling Content
Megan Marrs shares, “I don’t think I even need to say this, but it’d be neglectful not to mention the importance of kick-ass content. If you can create it yourself, all the better (isn’t free always better?). Even if writing isn’t your strong point, you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting someone on your team to crank out some articles for your blog. Try top 10 lists, tip collections, best practices for your industry, etc.”
Read More: 22 Low-Budget Marketing Ideas For Small Businesses
#4: Write Guest Posts
Ian Blair says: “Guest posting is one of the most effective ways to promote your brand online.
Guest posting is where you can write an article for another website that they then publish and promote to their audience.
While guest posting will rarely drive any significant amount of actual traffic, it can be very valuable for a number of reasons:
- Establish yourself and your brand as an authority in the space of marketing your small business
- Get backlinks to your website from popular, high-ranking websites
- Get your brand directly in front of your targets when marketing your small business
- Network with influencers in your niche (potential joint venture partners)
- Link to people who will then link to you in their own guest posts”
Read More: How To Promote Your Business: 20 Proven Strategies
#5: Marketing Your Small Business Will Create Buzz
Susan Solovic shares, “I started my corporate career in the field of public relations and the business has changed significantly because of technology.
Today, by marketing your small business you can accomplish a lot without hiring a professional firm. Subscribe to Help a Reporter Out. You can respond to reporters’ queries that are looking for story ideas and resources. Some are small media opportunities, but others are major media outlets that use this service too.”
Read More: 10 Ways to Market Your Small Business on a Shoestring Budget.
Also: How to Generate More Leads from 7 Marketing Tactics You’re Already Doing
As you can see, marketing your small business doesn’t have to be daunting. The tools you need are more accessible than ever, and with these tips (along with a little creativity), you can build an effective strategy for your business.
QUESTION: Have another Tip (or question) for marketing your small business? Share with us in the comments below!
P.S. If you want to see the best results from implementing these expert tips, it’s important that you first know who who your ideal customer is, where they are, and what they will buy. Instead of using a spreadsheet, be sure to Download our FREE Customer Avatar Template Worksheet to get clear on exactly who you’re selling to.
by Yoon Cannon | General, Build Your Dream Team, Business Growth Tips Blog, Create Your Dream Business, Management-Leadership, Management-Leadership, Success Mindset
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog
As you know, one of my goals with this blog is to help you find new, better and more efficient ways to increase website traffic, build your email list and improve conversions and sales of your products and services
That’s why I’m always on the lookout for great new tools and resources that can help accelerate your results.
A while back my friend Cary Richards over at Infostack produced an amazing bundle of resources called: “The Traffic Secrets Super Stack,”
It was hugely popular but there was one problem.
It was only available for a week and a bunch of people missed out on it…
Well… I’ve got good news today!
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Now, typically, you’d have to spend over $3,000 + to get your hands on everything packed inside the Traffic Secrets Super Stack…
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Last thing before I wrap up this offer:
As you know, I very rarely make offers to my blog.
I only share things that I feel are a tremendous value that you can’t miss.
When I learned about “The Traffic Secrets Super Stack”, I knew immediately it was a winner. Seeing the final lineup of ebooks, e-courses, and more – it’s clear that this bundle is well worth the insanely low price you pay to get access.
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Take care!
Yoon ~
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by Yoon Cannon | General, Attract More Customers, Business Growth Tips Blog
by Yoon Cannon | General, Attract More Customers, Business Growth Tips Blog, Time Management/Productivity
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