What Is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is the business practice of hiring a party outside a company to perform services and create goods that traditionally were performed in-house by the company’s own employees and staff. Outsourcing is a practice usually undertaken by companies as a cost-cutting measure. As such, it can affect a wide range of jobs, ranging from customer support to manufacturing to the back office.
Background of Outsourcing
Outsourcing was first recognized as a business strategy in 1989 and became an integral part of business economics throughout the 1990s. The practice of outsourcing is subject to considerable controversy in many countries. Those opposed argue it has caused the loss of domestic jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Supporters say it creates an incentive for businesses and companies to allocate resources where they are most effective, and that outsourcing helps maintain the nature of free-market economies on a global scale.
How Does Outsourcing Work in Bangladesh
Nowadays all businesses have crossed local boundaries. You can choose to hire and lend jobs over geographical boundaries and increase more possibilities. Outsourcing to remote workers can provide great benefits for SMEs and also there are many competent individuals as well as companies who can be reliable sources to make sure the work’s getting done.
However, if you are thinking of starting a business in Bangladesh you should start considering outsourcing right now.
According to BASIS (Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services), there are more than 5.5 lacs freelancers from Bangladesh are working in through different freelance marketplaces.
These skilled freelancers are outsourcing their skills to the whole world and are also transforming skills They are creating new hope for Bangladesh to stand among the other powerful tech-skill exporting countries.
If you’re just getting started as an entrepreneur in Bangladesh, it can be hard to justify hiring any help if finances are tight. But as you grow revenue and your time becomes increasingly more valuable, you’ll find benefits that come with outsourcing business tasks that you don’t need to be involved with.
Some business tasks can be outsourced completely. Others are components of a bigger task or project that you still need to complete. Either way, having someone else shoulder some of your work helps you reduce stress, be more productive and make more money (because you’ll be able to focus on what you’re best at). Who can argue with those perks?
In some cases, the proper help can keep your business running without much intervention on your part. But even if you still have to be present some of the time, it’s hard to argue against the benefits of hiring specialized help to take your business to the next level.
Let’s take a look at how to start outsourcing business tasks, including some options you may not have considered.
1. Administrative tasks & hiring
Whether or not your business operates online, virtual assistants are some of the most common, introductory-level staff members that you can add to your team. They are online-based workers who do administrative tasks to support your business, and many have a specialty focus, like social media management.
A virtual assistant can help you with a number of other administrative tasks, such as:
- Coordinating meetings
- Organizing your email
- Answering customer service emails
- Document management & data entry
As your business starts to take on a life of its own, your virtual assistant can also help you with hiring additional support by:
- Putting together various job descriptions
- Identifying job boards and other recruitment methods for finding new hires
- Evaluating incoming applications and identifying those with high potential
- Scheduling interviews and pre-employment tests
Hiring should actually be one of the last tasks you decide to outsource because it requires placing a significant amount of trust in your virtual assistant. After all, you’re giving them the keys to growing your business! To be effective, your virtual assistant must have a good understanding of your business and its needs so they can help identify the best possible candidates.
To find a virtual assistant, consider looking for freelancers on Upwork and Fiverr. Price is not always indicative of quality; virtual assistants in areas with a lower cost of living can produce excellent work with very favorable payment terms.
The more you work with your virtual assistant, the easier and more intuitive this process will become for both of you. Encourage your new teammate to ask as many questions as they need before diving into the project. And don’t forget to set expectations (like time or amount of information) so you’re not surprised if they go overboard with their research (and their invoice!).
2. Research tasks
One of the most useful business tasks to outsource if you’re building a team is research, which can have broad implications for your business. Think about hiring a researcher for things like:
- Finding expert links and statistics for an upcoming blog post
- Creating a report comparing pros/cons, pricing and other data for a tool you’re considering
- Culling through industry news to find the best information to post on your company’s social media channels
- Finding the best deals on flights and accommodations for an upcoming business trip
Think of your research assistant as a concierge of information. When you’re ready to start outsourcing business tasks, consider upcoming research projects that may otherwise take up a big chunk of your time, but don’t require a high level of expertise to complete. Then, make sure to put together basic guidelines for the information you need, any helpful sources and your preferred format of delivery.
3. Design and imagery tasks
If you have little or no experience with graphic or web design, don’t try to teach yourself from scratch when you’re already profitable focusing on what you do best. It’s great to know design basics, but leave the hard stuff to the professionals who will do a better job, faster.
The design may refer to several different things, depending on your business and specific needs. Here are a few types of design work that you’ll deal with, regardless of your industry:
- Graphic design: branding assets (like logos, style guide, letterhead), print materials (like brochures, flyers, door hang tags), social media images, etc.
- Website design: The look, feel, and structure of your website.
Besides graphic design and website design, there are additional design-related business tasks you should outsource, such as:
- Photography: Custom photos like headshots and stock photos for your website
- Videography: Everything from shooting video content for various business needs. Video marketing is trending as one of the best ways to grab attention.
- Editing: Depending on your needs, your business may require additional photography/video edits.
Any of these deliverables can certainly be cobbled together by an amateur, but as you grow and seek to be associated with a more professional image and more premium customer, you’ll want to invest in higher quality branding and visual assets.
For custom photography and videography needs, you’ll likely need to work with someone in person. You can work with a filmmaker to produce a custom video, or hire a photographer to shoot you on-location.
4. Marketing tasks
Without marketing, how will anyone know that your product or service even exists? When marketing is turned to as a last-ditch effort, it tends to be more expensive and less effective. So instead of waiting until it’s almost too late, start a consistent marketing strategy now.
Marketing encompasses a wide range of business tasks you can outsource, including:
- Email marketing: Engage with customers over email.
- Search engine optimization (SEO): Channel organic search traffic to your website.
- Content marketing: Use content to convert customers.
- Social media marketing: Use social networks to build relationships and sales.
- Marketing automation: Automate follow-ups based on customer behavior across multiple touchpoints.
- Pay per click (PPC) marketing: Reach relevant searchers with ads in search engines.
- Public relations (PR): Use press mentions and influencer relationships to reach a new audience.
- Website and blog management: Maintain up-to-date information on this communication channel.
Don’t be tempted to find one person to do all of these things.
Specialized marketers will be more effective in their efforts, so consider attacking one of these verticals at a time, slowly adding to your team based on your business growth.
Since each role is so different, there’s no single place to seek out people to help with each of these tasks. That said, LinkedIn Profinder provides access to some of the top freelancers and agencies on the platform who must have a LinkedIn Premium account. Consider taking advantage of LinkedIn Jobs if you’re seeking full-time help.
5. Writing tasks
You have a solid vision for your company, so find the perfect person to sell it using the written word. Effective writing requires significant attention to detail, an eye for grammar and a technical understanding of the subject matter.
Consider outsourcing writing tasks like:
- Copywriting for print and digital
- Content marketing
- Blog posts
- Editing
- eBooks and whitepapers
- Social media posts
- Advertisements
- Audio transcriptions
While it’s certainly possible to outsource these tasks to a writer on the cheap, the best writers know their value in terms of the power their words command for business and charge accordingly.
To find your writer, consider specialized writing job boards like these:
When creating an ad to attract a writer, make sure to be clear about expectations and compensation so only the most qualified applicants respond.
Check out this info graphic we made to showcase the current state of outsourcing in Bangladesh. It’s potential, success stories and statistics in 2020.
Go virtual, go-getter!
If you do it right, outsourcing business tasks can lead to a fully automated business with enough revenue to make sure everyone gets paid (including yourself!). For best results, start small and scale up as your business grows and you need additional sets of hands and expertise.
Looking for similar marketing articles that can help your business grow faster? Read other blogs.
if you’re looking for the best freelancing expert and team in Bangladesh for outsourcing your marketing works, knock us for a process demo.
