Managing an eCommerce business often comes with multiple responsibilites – updating product listings, responding to customer queries, managing inventory, tracking orders, maintaining the website, and more. You might be tempted to do everything yourself in the initial stages, but the same approach becomes unsustainable as your business grows. This can lead to frequent burnout, higher risks of errors and delays, and limited time for strategy and innovation.
Hiring an eCommerce virtual assistant can help as they take up such repetitive and time-consuming tasks. As a result, you can focus on more strategic aspects of the business, such as product development and building customer relationships.
However, hiring a VA comes with its own set of considerations – Is it truly cost-effective? What benefits can you expect? What key skills should you look for? In this blog, we will answer all these critical questions so that you can make the right decision.
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Indicators You Need to Hire an eCommerce Virtual Assistant
1. Customer Messages/Calls Go Unanswered
One bad experience can cause more than 50% of customers to turn to a competitor. This means that a delayed response can increase customer churn for eCommerce businesses, which can lead to a loss of revenue and a long-term brand reputation.
How can hiring eCommerce VAs help?
They are skilled in managing multi-channel communication (calls, messages, emails) simultaneously and providing round-the-clock support to customers.
The other benefit of hiring eCommerce VAs is that they can offer personalized product recommendations, address customer concerns, and provide updates regarding new product launches and order statuses. This improves the likelihood of conversion as customers get quick and tailored responses.
2. Product Listings Are Inconsistent or Poorly Optimized
Incomplete product descriptions, irrelevant keywords, formatting errors, and the use of low-quality images lead to poor visibility or rankings. In this case, buyers can hardly find your products on relevant search queries. Even if they somehow reach you, poor product description can make customers hesitant, leading to abandoned carts.
How can hiring eCommerce VAs help?
Utilizing eCommerce virtual assistant services allows you to tap into a team of experts who are well-versed in the best use of SEO practices. They can create and optimize your product listings across multiple marketplaces.
Using their years of experience and latest tools, they can even conduct keyword and competitor research and incorporate their findings to improve your product listings. Moreover, they write cohesive product descriptions and incorporate relevant backend search terms and intent-based phrases, improving organic visibility and rankings.
3. Website Issues Keep Coming Up
Are issues like broken links, slow loading pages, and checkout glitches recurring in your business? These minor issues can frustrate customers and drive them away from your website.
How can hiring eCommerce VAs help?
By hiring virtual assistants for your eCommerce store, you can delegate the task of website maintenance and management to professionals. The VAs monitor and report website problems in real time.
They perform regular audits, flag bugs, update product details, and coordinate with technical teams to ensure everything runs smoothly. This faster identification and resolution of issues reduces website downtime and optimizes load times.
4. Orders and Returns Are Getting Hard to Manage
Delayed orders, shipping update gaps, and mishandled returns can hamper customer experience, which may lead to negative reviews and low customer retention.
How can hiring eCommerce VAs help?
eCommerce VAs can ensure streamlined inventory management, which reduces the risk of understocking. This helps to minimize complaints due to delayed or canceled orders.
Moreover, by monitoring stock levels in real time, they ensure that you are prepared for peak seasons like Cyber Monday, Black Friday, etc.
These challenges are a clear signal: Invest in an eCommerce VA.
Key Traits to Look for Before Hiring an eCommerce Virtual Assistant
By hiring the right virtual assistant for your eCommerce store, you can optimize everyday operations. Here are some factors you must consider before onboarding them:
• Platform-Centric Experience
Every eCommerce marketplace/platform – Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Shopify, and WooCommerce has its rules. A virtual assistant should have hands-on experience with your desired platform so that they already understand how that marketplace works.
For example, if you are operating on Amazon, look for a VA who has prior experience with Amazon store management and can handle your requirements related to Seller Central and Vendor Central account management.
• Adaptability to the Tools You Use
If you rely on tools for inventory management, order tracking, email marketing, or customer support, look for an eCommerce VA who is familiar with those tools. They should also be ready to adapt to new tools later on if required. This reduces the friction that comes from switching tools or scaling your business.
• Compatibility with your Timezone
eCommerce virtual assistant tasks such as customer support and order tracking require real-time responsiveness. When you hire an eCommerce virtual assistant, make sure their schedule aligns with your business needs. They should be open to flexible/split shifts to provide customer support according to your time zone demands.
• Seamless Scalability
As your eCommerce business grows (increased order volumes, new product launches, expansion in existing categories, or entry into new marketplaces), you will need scalable support. Make sure that an eCommerce VA is capable of taking up new tasks without affecting operational efficiency. If you hire through an eCommerce virtual assistant agency, ensure they offer the ability to scale the team up or down as per your needs.
• Cost-Effectiveness
Talk to the VAs or hiring agencies and see if they provide custom or flexible engagement models based on your project’s needs. Hiring an eCommerce VA on flexible pricing models can be more cost-effective than building an in-house team as you don’t have to invest in office space, equipment, employee benefits, training, and other overheads.
Below is a quick comparison of the costs involved in hiring an eCommerce virtual assistant versus building an in-house team to help you make a decision:
Need Help Finding the Right eCommerce VA?
Where to Find Qualified eCommerce Virtual Assistants?
You can leverage dedicated eCommerce VA services from:
Freelancing Platforms: Websites like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr Pro, and PeoplePerHour offer access to thousands of freelance VAs with varying expertise and engagement models. You can either post your requirements or browse individual profiles and portfolios to find your fit. While this approach works well for short-term or project-based support, it demands a significant time investment for candidate screening and selection.
LinkedIn and Professional Networks: Many skilled eCommerce VAs promote their services on LinkedIn and other professional networks, allowing you to access a wide pool of candidates directly. However, the large number of applicants requires careful screening, which can be time-consuming and may need someone dedicated to the process.
VA Agencies: They specialize in providing assistants to manage your eCommerce operations. These agencies pre-screen candidates and hire professionals with platform-specific expertise. Also, they can easily adjust the VAs up or down as your business grows. This makes them an excellent choice for long-term support without the hassle of managing the recruitment process on your own.
Scale Smarter With The Right eCommerce VA
Whether you are managing thousands of SKUs or scaling your business to a new marketplace, an eCommerce virtual assistant can ensure all the processes are handled smoothly. When hiring a VA, it is crucial to find the balance between skills, benefits, and costs. For that, you can:
- Ask for a free trial to test the VA’s skills and fit for your business needs
- Request client testimonials or case studies to assess their work quality and reliability.
- Define the tasks and expectations clearly to ensure they align with your business goals.
Remember, the right VA can provide valuable support for the growth and success of your eCommerce business.