Following the economic downturn brought by the pandemic, businesses are looking to turn fixed costs into variable costs by establishing shared services and outsourcing to a service provider. One of many companies that started outsourcing to the Philippines is Zoom. The leading video conferencing service provider of the pandemic era outsourced its phone support in 2020 and has managed to triple its headcount in just a year.
Aside from Zoom, there are many more companies with shared service centers that started outsourcing to counter the pandemic’s negative impact on their bottom line.
Learn more about shared services and outsourcing to see how combining these two practices can help maximize your business growth and enhance your operational efficiency.
Shared services refer to an operational model that allows companies to establish a centralized point of service shared across multiple departments. The goal of shared services is to standardize the workflow across various departments.
For example, instead of assigning one IT technician for each department, a company centralizes all IT functions under one IT shared service team which supports multiple departments. By doing this, it streamlines processes, increases productivity, and reduces costs. Imagine there's a bug in your company website. Rather than relying on internal IT technicians with limited knowledge of the company website to come together and resolve the problem, it’s easier to alert a back-office IT team with a fixed standard operating procedure that cuts across all departments to fix the bug.
Not only will the single IT team be more time efficient at resolving the issue, the company will also save on costs by only staffing one team instead of providing IT staff for multiple departments. And because there is only one IT team, they are easily tapped in cases of tech problems and can share best practices amongst themselves, improving both productivity and technical expertise.
There are multiple services that can be shared among the various business units of a company. Here are examples of shared services that companies can standardize and optimize within their organizations:.
Financial activities used by numerous divisions, departments, or branches of the same corporation are consolidated and standardized under one roof as "financial shared services." It helps businesses enhance productivity, provide timely closure of books of accounts, and make system integration simple.
Shared financial services are typically used to manage low-value transactional services such as handling accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, and other data entry-intensive duties. The benefits of this service include cost optimization, standardization, ease of governance, and better control over compliances. In fact, approximately 80% of Fortune 500 companies nowadays employ financial shared service centers.
All activities affecting an employee's complete employment history, from initial recruitment to final payment at separation and submission of retirement documents, are processed under HR/Payroll shared services. Many businesses, particularly major international corporations, use a centralized payroll system to handle their payroll operations. Under this shared HR/Payroll strategy, employers and senior executives have more control over the costs and expenses of their companies. Also, they get better access to organized and secured data used across the organization in a single platform.
Every department has different needs for contemporary digital platforms, and as the organization expands, it becomes more challenging to provide seamless technology services to every department. To fully harness the potential of technology-driven innovation, businesses maintain shared IT services that support multiple departments.
The most common forms of IT shared services are voice network services like call centers and user services like a help desk. Businesses develop IT shared services for their company and classify them under more general, scalable business units like IT operations or security and compliance. It allows for a centralized troubleshooting and information system that helps fix typical issues, recommends features and tools, and recommend best practices to all departments.
When businesses expand beyond their local area, they may require additional warehouses to provide better coverage for their growing customer base. Rather than committing to acquire a new warehouse, inventory management shared services allow businesses to have centralized warehousing.
By combining operations, businesses share the burden of shipping and are able to purchase larger quantities at lower rates from local suppliers. This allows businesses to reduce inbound transport costs.
To increase operational efficiency and save costs, acquisition and procurement executives in various organizations are increasingly considering a shared services operating model. To supply back office services to a broad group of customers across geographies, back office business operations will be consolidated into a single structure. This is a model that is ideal for acquisition and procurement operations.
In fact, procurement shared services have played a critical role in supporting the stability of the supply chain amidst the peak of the pandemic. For example, they helped establish a 3D Print Farm and airfreighted PPE from China to provide more than a million items as mutual aid to more than 40 healthcare organizations.
When a company hires a service provider to handle business processes on its behalf, this practice is known as outsourcing. A BPO company is an example of a service provider that helps other companies with their non-core tasks by offering specialized services.
Companies outsource for a variety of reasons. They outsource specialized talent that isn't already in their organization, or they outsource to improve productivity for time-consuming tasks like customer support and data management. Outsourcing can also help businesses minimize labor costs.
For instance, your business may conclude that outsourcing customer service is more effective than recruiting full-time staff. Your chosen BPO provider will serve as an extension of your business, offering various services, including but not limited to back-office assistance.
Alibaba, which Jack Ma founded in 1999, is one of the companies that have offshored their operations abroad. Jack Ma and his team began outsourcing their web development requirements to the US when there was a shortage of web developers in China. Consequently, they were able to build a long-lasting eCommerce infrastructure and became an established online marketplace.
Most businesses turn to these three outsourcing models: location-based, relationship-based, and pricing-based. It pays to understand their key differences to find the most suitable for your business.
As its name suggests, it focuses on how far away or where your service provider is, as defined by their location. There are five types of location-based outsourcing models that can be distinguished based on this standard.
Onsite outsourcing entails having outsourced staff work alongside your internal employees in your office. This facilitates the speedy integration of temporary recruits into your existing staff and enables easier communication with your management team.
This refers to contracting with a company outside of one's region, especially one close by or in the same continent. For instance, US businesses that outsource to Mexico or Canada engage in nearshoring.
This method of outsourcing involves moving some components of a business to another country. Offshoring occurs when a US-based company, for instance, chooses to establish its remote team in the Philippines to reduce operating expenses.
Contrary to offshoring, this type of outsourcing enables companies to move their operations to a lower-cost area within their country. For instance, a US tech business could "onshore" its customer service by closing a call center in India and building one in California.
This outsourcing approach involves contracting services to multiple vendors. The goal is to maximize the company's efficiency by ensuring that different business processes are sourced to the finest outsourcing service providers.
This outsourcing model concentrates on how a company and its third-party outsourcing vendor handle control and accountability during their agreement. There are three types of relationship-based outsourcing models that businesses can consider.
In this model, a company hires or contracts a set number of staff from a service provider for a fixed duration. The service provider supplies the company with staff as needed or at an agreed-upon fee for the project duration.
With this approach, the client and service provider agree to divide responsibilities by clearly delineating tasks. For example, the client assigns work to their outsourced team and the service provider has a project manager to oversee the team’s progress.
For this setup, companies entrust a third party with the completion of an entire project. After the company provides specific requirements to the service provider, the service provider assembles a team and oversees project completion before handing it over to the company.
Pricing is vital in outsourcing since it defines the value you can expect from your vendor. However, the pricing structure of outsourced services evolves over time. Below are different pricing models in outsourcing you should be familiar with.
This is a method of outsourcing a project to a third party for a fixed price. The price can vary depending on duration and complexity but should be fixed prior to the start of service. Such an arrangement is perfect for small to medium projects since it allows for the detailed definition of project requirements, specifications, and timetables before the project even begins.
This approach bills companies for the money and time spent on the project. This is ideal for projects where more flexibility is needed, and the scope has not yet been fully defined. For lengthy projects with shifting requirements, this works well.
Under this model, employers can hire staff for a predetermined period. Then, following the project's demands, they can hire extra personnel as needed. This arrangement is best suited for businesses that require additional labor for a project but do not want to hire full-time workers to save on costs.
This model combines fixed pricing and time and material models. Any business can use it if they need to finish a project by a specific date but don't have any particular project requirements.
Under this approach, companies pay for the resources they use. The pricing strategy is more equitable. Instead of just paying for platform access or future service consumption, companies pay for actual usage.
In this arrangement, companies provide the service provider a portion of their earnings after the parties work together to achieve mutually beneficial business objectives like raising the company's bottom line. Prior to entering a profit-sharing agreement, companies and service providers define the terms and conditions for profit sharing such as the value increase in sales and percentage of earnings to be granted should said results be accomplished.
In this arrangement, companies give service providers a bonus for exceeding the service level agreements stated in the contract. This method places greater importance on staff performance rather than on achieving organizational goals. For instance, if a team of agents maintains a high level of customer satisfaction, a client might award them with bonuses.
With this pricing structure, the company and the service provider collaborate and co-fund a project. The client and service provider share the existing and potential threats of the project. In return, the client also shared a percentage of the benefits with the service provider for a predetermined duration.
Comparison Shared Services Outsourcing
Cost-effectiveness (Winner: Outsourcing) - Businesses are required to invest in their in-house team long term by providing them with training and a competitive benefits package. Businesses can save on their operational costs by having their service provider cover their recruitment, training, facilities, and equipment.
Work Culture (Winner: Shared Services) - Businesses have full control of the values and culture of their internal teams. Businesses are open to multiple work cultures and may encounter cultural gaps and language barriers.
Scalability (Winner: Outsourcing) - Businesses have little to no scalability as in-house staff required to scale their operations may be limited. Businesses can request additional staff from a service provider during peak seasons and can scale down during normal operations.
Quality Assurance (Winner: Shared Services) - Businesses have full control of their quality assurance and can tailor their processes according to their internal standards. Businesses can reduce internal work and give up control over their quality assurance to a trusted service provider.
Both shared services and outsourcing aim to reduce costs, streamline processes, and optimize productivity in organizations. However, the two strategies vary when it comes to how well they save on costs, boost work culture, improve work quality, and scale companies.
Check out a side-by-side comparison of shared services and outsourcing to help you decide which strategy will work best for your business.
Outsourcing has been a standard procedure for many businesses seeking to save on costs. By outsourcing, you can take advantage of a service provider's technology, systems, and working space. For example, instead of hiring a full-time graphic designer, you may opt to outsource your graphic design needs and receive it at a fast turnaround time. With a fixed price for each project, you can access their industry-leading tools, QA processes, and multifunctional expertise.
Meanwhile, having shared services requires a long-term investment. Since you're building an in-house team, you must invest in their growth and retain great employees. You need to provide them with training, and equipment, not to mention, a competitive benefits package that will help you retain your employees.
Outsourcing could be the best cost-cutting measure for you if you have short-term projects and need a specialization outside of your organization. You can save up to 70% on your labor costs by outsourcing to low-cost countries like the Philippines. However, go for shared services if you're building your internal talent pipeline. This will help you develop a workforce that is steadfast to your company's mission and values.
Positive work culture is what drives engagement, job satisfaction, and good results from a team. If you want to maintain a holistic work culture, then it’s important to hire employees and maintain a shared service system.
In shared services, you hire and train your own employees so you control the values of the company and their work environment. With a consistent work culture, it is easier to attract and retain talent.
Conversely, the work culture in outsourcing is more diverse. Employees adapt their company or team’s work culture. And when you choose to move a part of your operations outside of your own company, you open yourself to multiple work cultures beyond your control. As a result, cultural gaps, language barriers, and differing time zones may affect project delivery. One way to mitigate this problem is to outsource to a country with a strong cultural compatibility with yours, and who can work adjacent to your schedule.
Business peak seasons bring a surge in customer demand. When inquiries and sales are skyrocketing, the need to hire additional staff also rises. Hence, scalability is a key consideration for most businesses.
In terms of scalability, outsourcing works well for scaling up and down. If you wish to scale up your operations, outsourcing will provide you with backup staff; and if you wish to scale down your operations, your vendor can reduce your staff for you to save on labor costs.
Shared services are not as scalable as outsourcing. To scale up, a company must look for suitable talent when there's a new role to fill. The process of sourcing talent is laborious and costly. Meanwhile, reducing staff positions requires downsizing which can demoralize
Bigger revenue results from high-quality work. While both shared services and outsourcing can guarantee high-quality output, the difference between the two lies in how much control you wish to have over your quality standards.
Because shared services allow you to train employees in-house, you have full control of your quality standards and your QA processes. Though shared services require more time and investment, they allow you to develop standards and procedures tailored to your business needs.
Also, because quality standards may require compliance with certain requirements, shared services may offer better responsiveness as everyone is under the same company and are likely to have more seamless communication.
On the other hand, outsourcing offers more limited control when it comes to quality assurance. When you outsource and ask a service provider to take over some of your business processes, you reduce your internal work but you also give up control.
In outsourcing, the service provider uses the best technologies and best practices to deliver on their promise of quality service. This likely involves management and processes that differ from your internal standards. To help bridge this gap in quality standards, you should work with outsourcing companies who can adapt to your company culture, understand your business needs, and communicate well with you. This is critical in developing a streamlined process that can fully integrate into your business.
In essence, shared services act as internal support that keeps your business processes and systems intact and accessible to all key stakeholders. On the other hand, outsourcing serves as external support that improves these existing processes and procedures within an organization.
Businesses that have remained agile amidst market changes have combined these two approaches. While keeping their shared services center organized, they sought help externally to add expertise and improve efficiency. As a result, they were able to maximize their ROI and accelerate their digital transformation.
Build the perfect extension of your in-house team and outsource to the Philippines! The Philippines is one of the world’s top outsourcing destinations because of Filipinos’ superior English proficiency, world-renowned hospitality, and strong affinity to Western culture.
At KDCI, we've helped hundreds of online merchants become successful in top marketplaces like Amazon and eBay through our reliable and trustworthy outsourcing solutions. As an emerging leader in the Ecommerce outsourcing industry, we offer scalable offshore staffing services ranging from finance, marketing, customer support, back-office, and web development.
Learn more about offshoring your team to the Philippines, contact us today!
BPO vs KPO — these terms are often compared in terms of their scope of support, processes, and degree of complexity. But what sets them apart from each other? Most importantly, how will you know if your business needs BPO support or KPO support? Let's find out by highlighting the critical differences in this blog post.
You've probably heard of BPO before. Certainly, when you hear it, you might think of customer service operations. However, customer service is only a minor service under BPO. Let's learn more about the BPO industry and the services you may want to outsource in the future.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is simply the practice of hiring a third-party service provider to perform a critical business function or task. Meanwhile, a BPO company is a company that provides specialized services to businesses to perform their non-core activities.
For example, your company may decide that hiring customer support from another company is more efficient than hiring full-time employees. The BPO company you hire will act as an extension of your company, providing a wide range of services, including but not limited to back-office support.
When moving your operations externally, it's crucial to consider the following for a successful outsourcing venture:
Most businesses turn to these three types of BPO: nearshoring, offshoring, and onshoring. While they all refer to paying a service provider to do work for your company, it's important to know their main differences.
It refers to the practice of outsourcing to a third-party company located in a different geographic location, preferably nearby or on the same continent. For example, companies in the United States that outsource to Canada or Mexico practice nearshoring.
It is an approach to outsourcing in which certain parts of a company are relocated to another country. An example of offshoring is when a company based in the US decides to build its marketing team in the Philippines to cut operational costs.
Unlike offshoring, this type of outsourcing enables businesses to relocate their operations to a lower-cost location within the country. For example, a US tech company could "onshore" their customer support by closing a call center in India and opening one in Tennessee.
It refers to the practice of outsourcing to a third-party company located in a different geographic location, preferably nearby or on the same continent. For example, companies in the United States that outsource to Canada or Mexico practice nearshoring.
The BPO industry has a long list of services you can choose from. To sum up, these are some critical functions you should outsource as you grow your business:.
Back-office support roles are not directly related to customer service, but they improve customer experience. This service encompasses a variety of tasks such as admin support, data management, and record maintenance. Here at KDCI, we offer the following back-office support services:
It's a service that gives businesses access to a full accounting department. In general, it handles your daily transaction coding, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and management financial reporting with consultation and planning. KDCI has been providing the following finance and accounting services to our valued clients:
This service employs a variety of innovative channels to resolve customer issues promptly. In addition, it offers multichannel and omnichannel contact center services. Let's go over their main differences to grasp their customer service roles better.
Multichannel contact center services let customers interact with agents over multiple channels such as phone, email, or live chat.
Meanwhile, omnichannel contact center services cover the entire client journey. It functions on all conceivable channels, just like a multichannel contact center, but it has more advantages.
The services in a multichannel contact center do not overlap, resulting in gaps in overall operations. As a result, agents must frequently re-enter data and repeat issues while switching between channels. This isn't wholly a drawback because some processes, such as data management and financial services, would benefit from having their own workflow.
On the other hand, omnichannel means that all information is shared across many platforms. This enables agents from several channels to collaborate to resolve customer issues quickly.
It refers to a service designed to handle customer inquiries, usually relating to a company's products or services. This service has two different types: inbound call centers and outbound call centers.
An inbound call center service receives incoming calls from customers. Unlike outbound call center services, which are focused on sales, this sort of call center is focused on taking incoming customer phone calls.
While inbound call center services prioritize customer service, outbound call center services give businesses outgoing sales and marketing functions to generate leads and sales.
Outbound call center services aim to contact as many potential or existing customers as possible and sell or market a product or service within a specific time limit. Outbound agents call prospective customers to uncover greater upsell and cross-sell chances.
In general, this service provides a wide range of information technology roles businesses require. It encompasses services such as infrastructure, maintenance, support, and software development and programming. Below are some of the frequently outsourced IT functions:
This type of BPO service provides healthcare providers with intelligent health operations. Here, service providers remotely manage complex clinical workflows.
Healthcare facilities and hospitals can focus on their core competencies by outsourcing non-core tasks like medical billing and transcription. Below are some examples of in-demand healthcare BPO services:
Legal BPO refers to services that a law firm or corporation outsources to obtain information-driven legal knowledge relevant to the overall litigation process.
Rather than using dedicated internal resources, discrete legal services are outsourced to outside firms, local lawyers, or paralegals. Some of the offshore legal professional roles that law firms may hire are listed below:
Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) has been around for a long time. However, it does not receive nearly as much attention as BPO. They are, in fact, interconnected, and their differences are not as stark as you might think. Get to know more about KPO and determine if this is what your business needs today.
KPO is another type of outsourcing in which knowledge and information functions are outsourced to third-party service providers. KPO intends to provide a more focused set of expert services in areas such as research, marketing, and data analytics.
To sum up, KPO hires highly trained and professionally qualified individuals. Meanwhile, BPOs hire people with simply a high school diploma, good communication skills, and a basic understanding of computers.
Again, KPO is a subset of BPO. That means it is nothing but an extended version of BPO. While BPO focuses on the organization's low-level procedures and peripheral operations, KPO focuses on knowledge, information, and high-level processes.
Businesses that require in-depth knowledge, judgment, and subject matter expertise in their domain can choose KPO services. Services that rely on specialist expertise are stated as follows.
Businesses can use this service to understand better their assets and what they want them to accomplish for them in the future. A financial consultant, for example, can propose the sort of retirement account to use, suggest specific investments, and answer concerns about how much to save if you want to prepare for retirement but aren't sure how.
This service assists businesses in improving their performance by providing expert guidance on how to handle challenges and expand.
In simple terms, this service provides clients with an audit of current procedures, improvement recommendations, and an execution plan. For example, they might be hired by a company to advise top management on a specific project or the company's overall structure and operations.
An organization may choose to outsource if the research involves a specific experiment that cannot be carried out in-house. They will not only have access to advanced technologies. They can also save money on research-related facilities and equipment.
Here, businesses can entrust their data to a service provider in exchange for intelligent reporting. At the same time, the service provider manages infrastructure, data management, and data analysis.
This service encompasses all parts of design services, including print, graphics, web design, motion graphics, and content production. Your business should outsource this service to get a brand new perspective on your branding and marketing strategy.
If you're still on the fence about outsourcing either of these two, you need to understand what your business needs first.
Do you seek support with your non-core business tasks so that you can concentrate on your core functions? If yes, you may need to outsource services such as customer service and technical support under BPO.
Do you require a specialist's in-depth knowledge to solve complex business issues? If yes, you'll need KPO services to handle more specialized, analytical, and knowledge-based tasks.
If you want to inquire more about KPO services, such as creative design and marketing, KDCI is ready to walk you through. Do you want to learn more about our services? Then, contact us today to get your FREE consultation with one of our experts.
As we pay homage to the most inspiring women of our generation, KDCI launched a Mother’s Day Photo Essay Contest inspired by the theme “Moments with Mom.”The submission of entries ran from April 22 to May 6, 2022, with the goal of encouraging all KDCI employees to share their adorable mother-child moments.The said event captured some of the tear-jerking milestones between a Mom and a child. Also, it provided an outlet for everyone to express their love and appreciation for their best Moms in the world.Last June 3, three lucky employees emerged as winners and took home prizes worth of gift certificates. Let’s have a closer look at the winning entries of this year’s “Moments with Mom” Photo Essay Contest.
Moments with Mom - 1st place, Clark Esperanza
My mother went abroad to work when I was still in elementary school. I didn’t cry when we took her to the airport. Being the youngest among my siblings, I still had no grasp of the idea that my mother would spend years working away from us – her family. After that day, I walked through moving up and awarding ceremonies, with my dad, uncle, or another relative, who would present me my medals or certificates wherein other classmates would have their mother (and father) by their side, most of the time. She would send money for me and my family so we could eat somewhere special. For me, this was how it worked, my mom was working far away to provide for us.Academic milestones, achievements, and medals displayed on the wall are reminders of the many instances my mom would miss these events. Personal conversations were converted into Skype calls and Messenger video chats. It was our thing every Sunday and it would make me happy, albeit a little confused. That was my mom on the computer screen, and always, I would ask her when she will come home. And always, without falter, she’ll always answer, “Soon, anak.”This photo is a core memory of me and my mom. A rare occasion when she came home during my high school graduation. It felt surreal to have your mother beside you, and the reason why I tried to excel in academics. I even feel silly writing this, talking about how each moment with my mom I don’t take for granted as it is rare. She still works abroad as an OFW to help our family and here I am years after college, now working in KDCI. And I can’t wait to tell her, “Mom, it’s time to come home.”
Moments with Mom - 2nd place, Karla Fabon
A child's life becomes different when a mother passes away. However, there's a saying that when someone bids you goodbye, another person will enter your life. Actually, my grandmother has always been the scenario in my life. From changing diapers to giving advice on a long-distance call when I was studying abroad. We were reunited when my mom was suffering from cancer. I have been taking care of her for 7 years now since my mom died. She's 90 years old. Despite our age and cultural differences, she never stopped playing her role as a mother. Her brain is still sharp like a sword even though she's turning into a fragile crystal. Inevitably, we still have our mother-daughter. missions. I am glad that she's still beside me because I could share the dreams and she has been witnessing my achieved goals that I wanted to share with my mom.
Moments with Mom - 3rd place, Sharilyn Deseo
As me and my family are living outside the Philippines before, these are just a few of the moments I have with my mother. Great fun adventures and memories that will forever be cherished. We want back 2019, then the pandemic happened. Two years of not seeing each other, although just one bus ride away! The photo at the bottom was when she can finally visit. Brought food and a whole lot of stuff! What a start of a new year! And this year’s Mother’s Day, we are the ones who will visit her! Hope I can share the lovely photos with you all next year. Until then!
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Did you know the most effective way of increasing eCommerce sales? It's neither building a perfect product nor dancing on Tiktok to rake in millions of sales. The answer lies in your efforts to reduce shopping cart abandonment.Last year, shopping cart abandonment cost $4 trillion in lost revenue across all industries. If you want to avoid losing a significant amount of money due to checkout cart abandonment, read this article all the way to the end.
Shopping cart abandonment happens when customers add items to their cart but leave the eCommerce store without making a purchase. Businesses lose billions of dollars each year due to cart abandonment. The average rate of cart abandonment is about 88%. This means that just 120 customers out of 1000 who add things to their digital shopping basket convert.More than lost money is at stake when a customer abandons a shopping cart. It can have a range of different impacts on your eCommerce store. In fact, your business is vulnerable to lower customer lifetime value and greater customer acquisition expenditures.So, are you ready to resolve the biggest dilemma for all eCommerce business owners? Then, take note of these actionable tips on how to decrease cart abandonment rates effectively.
More often than not, shopping cart abandonment happens because of a lack of payment choices on a website. According to a recent study of cart abandonment reasons, 9% of US online consumers abandoned a cart in the last three months due to a lack of payment options. If your business's payment options are still confined to Credit Cards and Debit Cards, it's time to mix up. Many users are already familiar with other online payment platforms such as shopping apps or digital wallets. To dissuade clients from going elsewhere, it's in your best advantage to include as many popular payment options as possible on your website. Giving people many payment options is a great approach to reduce shopping cart abandonment immediately. Here are some of the different payment methods you should provide your online customers.
Making purchases online is simple and convenient with these methods. Both offer greater spending management and real-time purchase tracking than any other method.
When using PayPal, customers get added security and protection against fraud. If they pay for something with PayPal and it turns out to be a scam, PayPal can assist them in recovering their money.
Customers who use Google Pay to make online purchases aren't redirected to a third-party site; instead, they stay in your checkout flow throughout the transaction.
The use of Amazon Pay eliminates the need for customers to pull out their credit cards and enter payment information to finish a purchase. The service removes unnecessary friction from the checkout process by eliminating the need to set up accounts on various websites.
This online payment processing platform makes accepting online payments simple. In addition, it has over a hundred thousand businesses registered. Consumers nowadays have a variety of options for accessing and spending their money. Therefore, you will make customers feel more at ease during the checkout process if you give them the option of selecting the method that feels the most practical to them.
A customer may quit a store for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, they could be unable to locate the product they wanted. On the other hand, your store might not have the products they're looking for. Whatever the case may be, you may require a powerful weapon such as an exit-intent popup to reduce abandoned carts. But, what is an exit-intent popup? And how does it work? When a visitor chooses to leave a website, an exit-intent notification shows on their screen. Exit-intent popups detect when visitors are about to leave a site and entice them to stay by presenting tempting offers. The exit-intent technology monitors visitors' mouse movements and triggers the popup when it detects that they are approaching the exit button. When visitors move their cursor outside of a website's frame/boundaries, an exit popup containing offers such as discounts or coupon codes appears. Moreover, it's vital to notice that offers aren't always displayed in an exit popup. You can personalize it according to your objectives, such as what actions you want your customers to take after seeing it or what outcomes you want to attain. To build exit popups successfully, there are three crucial guidelines to follow. To begin, make sure it's visually appealing and built in a way that won't irritate users. Second, you must include them alongside a discount, a coupon, or other information on your product and checkout pages. Finally, use it to collect visitor feedback and get suggestions on what to improve on your product.
Providing guest checkout in your online store is one approach for encouraging customers to complete their purchases. Guest checkout allows users to check out as a guest. The advantage is that customers can purchase products without registering or logging in to an account. As a result, businesses don't retain their data entered throughout the checkout process. This may be an essential option for many customers to feel comfortable making their purchases. Also, it saves them time by expediting the first-time purchase procedure, allowing you to convert them more quickly. Furthermore, according to one study, 24% of customers who are required to create an account during the checkout process are more likely to abandon their carts. More importantly, consumers dislike filling out all of the information required to create an account. So let customers enjoy shopping while providing them convenience with a guest checkout option. Additionally, guest checkout accelerates the purchasing procedure. How? It enables customers to enter their email addresses and proceed directly to the checkout page. As a result, they can begin filling out address and payment information sooner, making the process less time-consuming.
Concerns regarding payment security are among the most common reasons for shopping cart abandonment. Customers are generally hesitant to buy from enterprises they don't know much about, no matter how awesome the product seems. This is where trust badges come in handy on how to avoid cart abandonment. They're an excellent tactic to show your customers that your company is reputable and that their data is safe with you. To address data security issues, many businesses include trust badges in their eCommerce store. A trust badge is a logo shown on a website to indicate that a brand is reputable and trustworthy. They're also known as site seals or trust seals. If you've ever shopped online, you're probably aware of those small credit card symbols at the checkout, which serve as a basic reassurance to develop customer trust. Accepted payment badges are among the many different types of trust badges available. With just a few logos, you can increase the level of trust in your website by having Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and PayPal badges as payment options. To sum up, accepted payment badges inform your customers that you accept those specific payment methods. Also, you adhere to the security criteria of those payment providers. A trust badge can be placed anywhere on your website. For example, it might appear on your homepage, site footer, and product pages. However, for most businesses, the checkout page is the most critical spot to display a trust badge. You want users to see that stamp of confidence right when deciding whether it's secure to enter credit card information.
An abandoned shopping cart does not always imply a 'lost sale.' According to a business insider report, you're likely to make three-fourths of shoppers who have abandoned shopping carts return. You can do it by sending them abandoned cart emails. Abandoned cart emails are follow-up messages sent to customers who cannot finish their checkout process. This type of email brings customers back to the website, prompting them to complete the purchase they were about to make. They usually contain a pleasant greeting along with images or descriptions of the items left in the cart. One of the most effective strategies to retrieve online sales and reduce shopping cart abandonment is to send abandoned cart emails. Users open 44.1% of abandoned cart emails, according to SaleCycle data on 500 of the world's best businesses. More importantly, nearly a third of abandoned cart email clicks (29.9%) result in a recovered cart. What are the advantages of sending abandoned cart emails? Certainly, they're all automated. You may even create a series of automated abandoned cart emails that will send out on their own and bring you back a significant amount of cash that would have otherwise been lost. An abandoned cart email is frequently issued within an hour of the cart being left. If possible, your email marketing team should also send a second and third email. Sending a second email one day after abandonment and a third email three days after abandonment will result in the greatest conversions. It's critical to get the email accounts of your customers as soon as possible. Without it, you won't be able to remind them to complete their purchase.
More likely than not, it will take you some time to reduce shopping cart abandonment rates. Working with the right team, however, can speed up the process. Consider hiring an eCommerce service provider to help you. You may benefit from their proven strategies on what to do with abandoned shopping carts. Our company, KDCI, is one of the leaders in eCommerce outsourcing in the Philippines. We employ only the best professionals to launch and manage your online business. From building an eCommerce store to designing, optimizing, and marketing your website, we're the right partner that can get the job done right!Are you interested to know more about our services? Then, click the button below and start your FREE consultation with one of our client success managers today! Contact Us
Did you know that 75% of online shoppers use product images to help them decide whether or not to make a purchase? Given these staggering figures, you now know where to focus your efforts to boost eCommerce sales. Clearly, it's eCommerce product photography, and enlisting the aid of a professional editor in assisting your business products. In this article, we'll dive deep into the role of creative editors in positioning quality product images in various marketplaces. Take this as a guide to finding the finest editing service for your product images if you have no experience with product photography.
Professional editors with expertise in business products are the masterminds behind the highly retouched images that sell for millions of dollars each year on marketplaces. They edit product images as realistic as possible, allowing customers to experience the product virtually. Do you want to know how they bring photos to life on the internet? Well, they provide the following eCommerce product photo editing services that help online retailers increase store conversions.
One of the most basic skills a creative editor possesses is the ability to remove the background from an image. Although it is the simplest, online merchants overlook its significance. They assume that an image with a noisy background will not affect their chances of increasing sales. But it's the other way around.
An editor's job in backdrop removal is to help direct the viewer's attention to the shot's main subject. After the background has been eliminated from the shot, tons of creative things can be done to make the image even more enticing. One of them is replacing the old background with a new one that matches the backdrop color of prospects.
Also, background removal eliminates any dust, grime, marks, or other undesired flaws in the background. This creates a blank canvas that you may simply alter and utilize for things like product photos, banners, ad covers, and thumbnails, among other things.
Moreover, it's advisable to have your products in neutral backdrops like plain white if you're selling on Amazon or eBay. The pure white background creates a more professional and cleaner look from an aesthetic standpoint. It also aids in the display of your product's features. As a result, prospects will be able to assess your products' color and elements more easily.
Customers are more likely to choose you over other brands offering the same product if you have polished and professional product photos. So, how can an expert editor help you clean up your product images? To make your images stand out from a sea of brands, these professional editors might employ several on-demand photo editing tools and image-altering techniques. They can reduce wrinkles, improve shape and symmetry, and even remove skin imperfections. Also, they can enhance the brightness, color, and energy of your images to make them look better in prospects' eyes.
There's a learning curve in mastering product photo retouching techniques. That is why you may be hesitant to take on the duty yourself. However, having your images enhanced by a pro is a crucial element for achieving polished, high-quality product photos. In addition, with a retouching partner, you may see more than just an increase in online sales. Also, a retouching service can help you attract your target audience's attention across multiple social media channels.
Clipping path is a technique for photo editing similar to background removal. While the latter concentrates on eliminating everything else and only keeping the center object, the former is used to erase the backdrop from an image.
A clipping path service includes removing an object from an image to make it look more appealing. It is commonly used in photo editing and manipulation. Also, it's one of the essential techniques used by creative professionals to make images appear clean and polished.
For example, vector-clipped images of drills would be ideal in a hardware catalog when you want to exhibit a dozen power drills with clean, sharp edges. More importantly, this is effective if you want to illustrate the exact features of the unique shapes of different companies' drill models. The drill photographs can be placed on top of any desired color background in a page layout application because they have been clipped off.
Clipping path services are frequently utilized for various purposes such as product promotion, advertising, and social media campaigns. It's also in demand in the jewelry and modeling industries, aside from eCommerce.
Did you know that color is the most influential aspect of online shopping for 85% of customers? Colors also play an 80% role in brand recognition. Since color catches the eyes of the prospects first, this is enough reason for you to prioritize color correction more than ever.
Color correction service is a vital part of any professional photography. It can correct a picture's unequal exposure to light or background light. Also, it can improve a photo's overall quality by boosting contrast, removing blurring, and enhancing color.
In addition, color correction comes in handy in your products' color accuracy and consistency. According to an EJM survey, nearly 11% of buyers would return their purchases due to color inaccuracies. To reduce return rates, it's wise to have creative editors at your disposal. These experts can bring instant life into your images while achieving the correct color combination.
Also, it's worth noting that during the product shoot, anything could go wrong. However, with the help of a photo editor specializing in color correcting, you can still make adjustments in post-production to capture the correct color of your product.
Do you want to elevate your product by adding some creative elements? For example, you're selling a juice drink and want to illustrate it with tropical fruits splashing in flowing juice. If this is in your mind, you probably need image compositing.
Image compositing is combining two or more images to produce a new image for your online store. It's a concept that blends fantasy and reality. Do you want a Star Wars-themed wedding photo? Image compositing can make this conceivable, even though it's ridiculous. If you want to create a whole new picture of magic, this is the editing technique for you.
Compositing images, on the other hand, is not a simple task. To create a high-quality composite image, you'll need to be familiar with digital photography, digital editing, and the ever-growing list of tools available in modern software and apps. In addition, it would take you a whole day to edit photos, blend colors, and copy-paste options to indicate that the picture is in motion.
That said, it's best for composite images to be produced by a professional photo editor. They know everything that goes into creating seamless composite images, including perspective, lighting color, direction, focal length, distance from the camera, etc.
Rather than hiring models, apparel business owners would just invest in mannequins. However, mannequins have the disadvantage of appearing amateurish on an eCommerce site. So, business owners often remove it to preserve the garment's shape and appearance. This technique of removing the mannequin from a clothing item to make it appear more fit and appropriate is called the "invisible mannequin."
One of the benefits of using this technique is that the 3D shape of the garments is preserved. This gives them a more natural appearance and allows customers to examine them from various perspectives. If you want to show off your product in a 360-degree view, you should use this technique with your apparel.
In addition, excellent product display is of utmost importance in eCommerce or online marketing. That is to say, your clothing items may appear useless if you don't use a mannequin technique.
To sum up, make sure your clothing items are taken on mannequins and then edited by a product photo editor before uploading them to your website. This will make your products appear more appealing to potential customers.
Shadows and reflections may add dimension to your online products and make them stand out. However, don't overdo it because it might be distracting. It's advisable to leave it to an expert if you're not knowledgeable in a specific type of shadow that complements your product.
There are two immutable rules for adding shadows and reflections to a photo. First and foremost, your shadows must appear realistic. Second, utilize the same type of shadow on all product images in the same category. Following these rules will not only give your photos a natural look and feel, but they will also give them a realistic vibe. It will also steer you clear of adding unnecessary effects to your images.
Shadows and reflections can also help your products stand out in print and the web. It's crucial to decide whether or not to use these effects ahead of time. If you're not sure whether to utilize it, you can get a professional photo editor to guide you in managing your business products.
When it comes to running an eCommerce business, there's more than meets the eye. Sourcing products and responding to customer inquiries eat up a lot of your time. And optimizing your store for product images on shopping channels is just one another. It's a good thing you can hire a product photo editor to take some of the workload off your shoulders.
If you're ready to outsource your product photo editing needs to an eCommerce expert, we're here to guide you every step of the way. Our company, KDCI, has been in the outsourcing industry for over ten years. With our experience of handling high-volume projects with different brands in the past, we're confident we have the expertise to drive increased revenue for your business. In addition, through our scalable solutions, we can also provide you with top-notch services such as eCommerce marketing, design, and web development.
Are you interested to learn more about our service? Then, click the button below to get your FREE consultation with our client success manager today!
It's that time of the year again — celebrating the role of our mothers in our society! While the rest are busy hunting for gifts, brands are in a frenzy of panic, looking for marketing ideas for Mother's Day! But what is the rush all about? Why is it important for brands to take advantage of Mother's Day marketing campaign ideas? Well, customer spending on Mother's Day has continuously climbed year after year. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Mother's Day spending last year was predicted to hit a new high of $28.1 billion.In 2021, consumers spent an average of $220.48 on Mother's Day presents. More likely, we can expect that number to rise this 2022. So, with the numbers in mind, now is the time to double down on marketing ideas for Mother's Day. At the same time, ensure your products will get more eyeballs while making your customers whip out their wallets.
Mother's Day offers brands an absolute goldmine of opportunities to upsell and cross-sell their products. Most importantly, this event could also help businesses hit more than two goals in their marketing campaigns.Whether it is increasing revenue, engagement, or customer value, any brand can be the talk of the town with the right marketing strategy. Below, we put together the top five marketing ideas for Mother's Day that have generated incredible results through the years. Be sure to incorporate these Mother's Day promotion ideas to save much time before the special day!
Last-minute gift buying is typical, especially as Mother's Day approaches. Well, there's a science behind this. Psychologists believe that our brains are hardwired to procrastinate. When we procrastinate, the brain releases a small amount of dopamine to compensate for not performing the less gratifying task.Moreover, dopamine also improves reward-related memory, motivating you to do it again because you enjoyed procrastinating the first time. So, if you've previously gotten great last-minute deals, your brain promotes the practice of shopping last minute furthermore.Knowing that last-minute shoppers would swarm to stores the day before the major event, your marketing campaign should cut a few hours off their present hunt. You can help them find the best gift by creating a gift guide.A gift guide assists new and existing clients in making purchasing decisions. Here, products are curated based on age, interest, and location.The primary goal of designing and disseminating a gift guide is to provide a frictionless buying experience for shoppers, allowing them to swiftly select a gift without spending too much time contemplating it.Here's how to kickstart your Mother's day gift guide.
One way of doing this is to break down your gifts based on personas. If your target audience is a bookworm, maybe she'll like to receive books as a gift. Remember that a guide should cater to several profiles (e.g., fitness enthusiasts, travelers, and cooks) and offer gift suggestions for each.
Offering a bundle of products at a single discounted price is known as product bundling. Shampoo and conditioner, for example, are frequently marketed separately. However, you could package them together in a set and sell them as a package to customers at a discounted price. This will allow you to highlight things that complement one another while discreetly upselling products.
The customer's payment credentials and shipping information are already stored and confirmed in a one-click buy system, so all the customer has to do is select an item, add it to their shopping cart, and check out. Let your customers make purchases easily so you can reduce your abandoned carts.
Spread the word out there. You can use your social media channels to promote your gift guides. Also, you may send promotional emails or consider writing a blog about it.
Take a look at this perfect gift guide from K+M Chocolate. They were able to utilize product bundling subtly, all while upselling to the right audience. It's personalized and ideal for making the special occasion even sweeter.
Running social media giveaways is among the marketing ideas for Mother's Day that are proven effective. Here, brands invite their followers to take specific activities to be eligible to win a free prize.According to a survey, 55.82% of brands host giveaways on multiple social media platforms, with Facebook and Instagram being the most popular. And the primary reason for doing so is to enhance brand exposure and increase followers.For Mother's Day social media campaign ideas, there are multiple ways to maximize engagement with the help of giveaways. For example, you can ask your followers to tag a few friends on a post or encourage them to follow your brand. You may also prompt them to sign up for a newsletter and convert them into subscribers.
Take a peek at one of BumbleZest Drinks' Mother's Day giveaway ideas. Interaction on the promotional post was required to participate in the Mother's Day contest on Twitter. This requirement helped the brand gain more followers and allowed the product and brand to become more well-known. Above all, someone was given the opportunity to taste the new drink line!
Your post about Mother's Day is more likely to garner many eyeballs when you use relevant hashtags.More importantly, your brand can increase its popularity and expand its identity by constantly adding new posts with your brand name hashtags. Always keep a brand hashtag short and sweet when choosing one.Whatever hashtag you create, always consider your target audience. Please take note that your goal is to gain their attention and engagement. You can easily collect user-generated material if you prompt them to use your brand hashtag.If you're running out of Instagram hashtag ideas for the upcoming Mother's Day, here are some effective hashtags to use that can guarantee you better engagement:
Examine Coravin, a wine gadget that extends the life of a wine. Because they use both #Mothersday and #Wine, their adorable Mother's Day posts speak directly to moms (and wine enthusiasts). However, they could have garnered more likes and engagements if they combined the above Mother's Day hashtags with many wine hashtags.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans now carry a smartphone with a camera with them at all times. Hence, taking and sharing images has never been easier. So if you want to fill your social media pages with lovely photos during Mother's Day, then a photo contest would be good for you!Photo contests are simple to organize and offer a great way to tie your brand with Mother's Day. Give your followers the chance to win a special Mother's Day gift by posting a photo and asking them to like and share it. Certainly, you'll generate much attention for your brand and product promotions.You can promote your photo contest by doing the following:
Start promoting your contest weeks before it goes live to ensure that you get a lot of attention and submissions right away.
It's critical for a photo contest to have clearly defined contest guidelines. For example, take a look at this social media artwork from Magikland. They specified how to join the contest and the number of possible winners at the end of the event.
Mother's Day sale ideas are the most obvious approach to thank moms on Mother's Day. This could entail combining things at a bargain or lowering prices on especially appealing items to mothers.Customers are sure to flock to promotions like "A Gift for Mom" or "Here's What Your Mom Will Love," which offer incredible discounts. On Mother's Day, websites will be saturated with enticing deals, so make sure yours are better than your competitors.To attract attention, make your advertising large and bold on your website or social media. Think outside the box and create a special Saturday promotion because that's when most customers will be out hunting for gifts.Offer your target clients several discounts, such as buy two, get one free, and any purchase over $50 saves the customer 10%.Whether it's increasing brand exposure, introducing new products, or lowering cart abandonment, successful promo code campaigns have a specific goal. So consider what you may provide on Mother's Day and how this promotion can help your brand grow.
In the example above, Optinmonster was able to hit two birds with one stone. That is, they managed to offer exclusive coupon codes while focusing on growing their email list.
Is your Mother's Day marketing strategy foolproof to beat the competition for the upcoming holiday? If you're uncertain, you may consider hiring marketing professionals who keep tabs on the latest and most effective marketing ideas for Mother's Day.Our company, KDCI, employs globally competitive talents with a gamut of expertise ranging from content marketing to creative design. With our team of writers, designers, and marketing experts, we ensure to infuse your holiday campaigns with creativity and data-driven strategies.Are you interested to learn more about our best digital services? Then, click the button below for a FREE consultation with one of our client success managers today!Contact Us
Outsourcing for the first time is like treading a tightrope; you have to find the balance between risks and rewards. But for first-time business owners, outsourcing mistakes are present along the way. Without any idea of what you're up against, you're likely to make such mistakes.In this blog article, we'll focus on some of the key outsourcing mistakes every first-time business owner makes. Be sure to jot down any valuable insights you see fit for your business to have a successful outsourcing venture.
When you're new to outsourcing, you're susceptible to making business decisions on a whim. And this is a perfect recipe for making outsourcing mistakes from the get-go.The tricky part about some of the biggest outsourcing mistakes is that you'll never know it's a mistake until it wreaks havoc on your financial resources. To eliminate this blind spot, it's important to note the following outsourcing mistakes you need to avoid. Certainly, these outsourcing mistakes will help you learn more about outsourcing than any advice you've ever
The number one reason why businesses outsource is to save on labor costs. You often see companies out there scrambling, looking for the cheapest vendor. But is it the best way to hit the ground running? The definite answer is NO.It's bold to assume that cheap labor may sometimes render subpar quality output. But in the world of outsourcing, this is not a shocker.Have you ever wondered why some BPO vendors offer low-cost services? Well, most of these vendors are struggling to hire and train quality agents. Thus, with a mediocre workforce, they are only capable of delivering substandard services. These cheap services are often advertised online, luring businesses ready to take the bait.So the next time you look for an outsourcing partner, you shouldn't be fixated on the price only. You may also want to consider their quality assurance and industry experience. There's nothing wrong with cheap services out there. But remember that you only get what you pay for most of the time.
When outsourcing, you've got to be smarter than your outsourcing vendor. Otherwise, you'll find yourself saying yes to services irrelevant to your business.For instance, any BPO service provider would offer you scalable solutions. In addition, they would emphasize that your business may expand very soon. Thus, you may also need to outsource your marketing and HR-related functions.Scalable solutions are as good as optimizing your business for productivity. But it only works best if you know which areas of your business need to scale. If you're a small company with no potential to grow soon, it's wise to outsource only your non-core functions.The rule of thumb is to identify your business needs first before outsourcing. Never allow any vendor to prescribe you anything that doesn't help your business grow. Should you upgrade, make sure that it will increase your revenue in line with the number of resources used.
When hiring in-house employees, most employers consider culture fit and location. You wouldn't want someone who doesn't conform to the values of your business. At the same time, you may not hire candidates whose residence may conflict with their work compliance. Thus, there's no way you would look past these essential factors in outsourcing.However, many businesses keep repeating the same mistakes when outsourcing over the years: neglecting culture fit and location. These businesses assume that they're in good hands as long as a vendor promises quality service. But what happened to those who subscribed to these faulty assumptions—they failed terribly.Before choosing a vendor, ask yourself the following questions to narrow down your choices:
If a particular vendor ticks all the boxes, you're absolutely near to choosing one of the best outsourcing providers.
Selecting the wrong pricing model is a costly mistake every business owner must avoid. Not only does it lead you to financial losses, but it also harms your relationship with your vendor.Here are different types of pricing models in outsourcing you have to be at least familiar with:
A model that establishes a single rate for a specific project, regardless of its duration or cost. This is ideal for small to medium projects, where requirements, specifications, and timelines can be explicitly defined prior to the start of a project.
Conversely, this model charges you for both the time spent on the project and the costs incurred. This is most effective for long-term projects with changing requirements. Typically, perfect for projects when the scope is not yet clearly defined, and additional flexibility is required.
This model enables businesses to hire employees for a set length of time. They can hire more people and choose who will work for them based on the project's requirements. Usually, this is best suited when a company requires more labor for a project but does not want to hire full-time employees to save money.
Essentially, this model is a hybrid of the fixed pricing and the time-material model. It's suitable for any company if they need to release a product within a given timeline but don't have specific project requirements.
Businesses only pay for what they consume under this arrangement. The pricing model appears to be a more equitable method of pricing. Here, businesses are paying for actual usage rather than just access to the platform or potential service consumption.
Meanwhile, the profit-sharing model may be contingent on the client and service provider agreeing. Clients can compensate service providers for boosting the overall value delivered to their organization using this incentive-based framework. After jointly attaining mutually beneficial business goals such as enhancing the company's bottom line, a client agrees to allocate a share of their profit to the service provider.
Here, clients pay a bonus to a service provider for exceeding the contract's service level agreements on particular performance levels. In this strategy, input is highly valued rather than meeting corporate objectives. For example, a client might reward a team of agents with bonuses if they maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.
This pricing model necessitates both the client and the vendor to brainstorm and mutually fund a project's development. Because of the project's codependency, a vendor is responsible for possible and current hazards during the project. At the same time, they also have the right to a portion of rewards for a defined period.To sum up, it's vital to know the scope of your project before deciding on the optimal price approach. In addition, you should consider your projected goals, timeline, and quality in relation to your available resources.
Fraudulent activities are common in outsourcing. If you fail to conduct your due diligence, you may work with a service provider with a bad reputation for doing business.Take India, for example, one of the world's leading outsourcing destinations. Due to the country's history of BPO scams, some businesses are hesitant about relocating their operations there. In April 2005, five employees of MsourcE in Pune were arrested for allegedly defrauding four Citibank account holders of about $425,000.So, how will you ensure that you're outsourcing to a vendor that has your best interests? Here are simple steps to find service providers that are legit and trustworthy:
There are several ways to determine whether or not a vendor is legitimate. All you have to do is invest some time in research and trust your instincts.
The benefit of outsourcing is that you may delegate all of your non-core business duties to your service provider, allowing you to focus on growing your company. However, this does not imply that you can leave them hanging and expect great results at the end of the contract.As a client, it is your responsibility to build an orderly workflow to streamline development procedures. In addition, it's critical to provide adequate direction to your offshore team if you want them to hit the proper KPIs. One way to do this is to communicate as much as possible via instant messaging and emails, audio or video calls, and video conferencing.Also, make sure you check in with your team once a week to see how they're doing and what they've accomplished so far. You are free to communicate as frequently as you see fit. But be careful not to go to the point of micromanagement, as this would make everyone feel.
Outsourcing has paved the way for businesses to access specialized skills outside their organization in infinite ways. Clearly, you can outsource any roles from your organizational chart. However, some experts say subcontracting anything related to your core business functions is one of the outsourcing mistakes to avoid.Consider human resources to be a critical company activity. If staff training is essential to your company's growth and differentiation from competitors, training your personnel by a third party could jeopardize your purpose and vision.HR-related functions, according to experts, should be kept in-house. Keeping this fundamental business activity in-house implies that any issues or conflicts within your company may be handled and resolved immediately. In addition, this provides a secure and friendly workplace for your staff, boosting productivity.On the other hand, business development should not be outsourced if a company is still in its early stages of growth. The logic behind this is that people you haven't seen face to face are less capable of identifying answers to your company's challenges.It's crucial to note that outsourcing will not fix your company's talent shortage. Instead of outsourcing, you may want to invest more in your employee development and engagement through new experiences, learning, and growth.
When selecting the best outsourcing partner, the retention rate is frequently overlooked. But don't make the same outsourcing mistakes as some other companies. The retention rate determines how successful a vendor is at acquiring and maintaining essential employees.When a service provider's retention rate is low, they're likely to have a high attrition rate. High attrition rates could suggest that employees are regularly leaving.Outsourcing companies with a high attrition rate are questionable. Its failure to keep its employees is a sign of an unhealthy company. In these organizations, processes are slowing down, and projects go undone.It's good to outsource to a vendor with a low attrition rate. You will not incur additional costs by training new agents every 6 to 8 months and coping with insufficient skills and work experience among the newbies if you do so.
While outsourcing has many advantages, it also has significant drawbacks. This is true when you send confidential personal data to a third party, such as legal, financial, or medical records. Hence, your company may suffer from data breaches if you do not work with a trusted provider.The biggest outsourcing mistakes of Wipro's data breach contain valuable lessons for managed service providers. This Indian IT outsourcing giant made headlines in 2019 when a reported data breach compromised hundreds of thousands of its clients.Wipro was hacked in mid-April 2019 due to a phishing attempt targeting Wipro workers. The attackers were able to install remote access tools on the compromised systems after gaining access to more than 100 Wipro computer systems via dozens of employee accounts.So, how can you manage such third-party risks when outsourcing your IT operations? One way is to ensure that your chosen provider has good information security policies and practices. By holding your vendor to rigorous security standards, you may keep potential threats at bay.Also, evaluate your vendor's security and privacy procedures. In addition, make sure that the vendor is legally bound to rectify data vulnerabilities in your contract with them, including alerting consumers if a breach occurs.
Entering into an outsourcing deal without a clear exit strategy is one of the mistakes of first-time outsourcing. Exiting an outsourcing deal is just as vital as signing one. Remember that every outsourcing agreement eventually comes to an end. So, to assure continuity and effective transition, a business must have a proper exit strategy.In the event of agreement expiration, a proper exit plan can help you finish the business and build good working relationships. It is difficult to transition outsourced services to the next deployment with minimal downtime if no exit strategy exists. This is especially true when a contract has been terminated owing to a breach by the vendor.Furthermore, outsourcing agreements may fail to produce the desired outcomes. Therefore, it is preferable to plan for the exit ahead of time when entering into any contract.
Outsourcing mistakes may be hard to dodge, especially for first-time business owners. However, you can have a smooth-sailing start when you choose the right outsourcing vendor. Your outsourcing partner should have a commitment to quality. Also, you must partner with a company that has been in the industry for over ten years.Consider KDCI, a Philippine-based offshore staffing company. Since then, our company has provided high-quality services ranging from creative design to eCommerce outsourcing. We've worked with some of the world's most well-known brands, including Apple, Dell, and Canon. Trusted by many SMEs, we've earned a great name in the industry and are ready to provide value to your business.Do you want to learn more about our services? Then, click the button below and get your FREE consultation today with our client success manager!Contact Us
Did you know that 75% of the human population fear presenting in public more than death itself? It sounds weird, right? But what if we tell you that a presentation designer can find an antidote to this fear?
Clearly, if we put this irrational fear into a diagnostic test, it’s the lack of preparation and confidence that triggers that fear. When you’re not confident with your spiel and presentation deck design, you set yourself up to fail.
So, how can a presentation designer help you prepare and boost your confidence for that upcoming presentation? Well, that’s what we will answer in this blog article.
Presentation designers are creative professionals who produce compelling design presentations for organizations to use. They have relevant experience and degrees in graphic design or a related visual communication field. Usually, they work in agencies that serve clients who need design services for corporate events.
Have you ever watched a TED talk before? Notice that most popular speakers attribute their successful presentations to effective slide decks. There was this TED talk facilitated by Shyam Sankar that became a hot topic at TEDGlobal in 2012. Most importantly, the presentation was so bold and engaging that TEDx even wrote an article about it.
Sankar used two characters—a robot and a human—to illustrate the rise of human-computer cooperation in tackling challenges like capturing terrorists.
You may ask, “Did he come up with that presentation all by himself?” Well, the answer is no. A former comic-book artist and presentation designer named Collin Roe-Raymond was the brain behind that presentation.
Of course, if there are presentations that exceed expectations, some also lull us into sleep.
Have you been to a conference where attendees seem to feel disinterested? It was something of a snoozefest while the speaker dragged his feet to make the presentation engaging. It may be hard to believe, but too often, it’s the presentation design that makes people lose interest.
Unfortunately, presentation designers are the ones who get the least credit. However, they can make or break someone’s credibility in just one slide. So, what else can a presentation designer do?
To sum up, presentation designers are responsible for a variety of duties, including determining the length and style of a presentation and selecting fonts, images, and other visual aspects of decks or slides. In general, they help clients on how to make a good PowerPoint presentation design.
Frequently, the duties of a presentation designer and a graphic artist overlap. Although presentation designing is a subset of graphic designing, the former takes more than creativity. To succeed in presentation design, one must have the ability to match data with the correct visualization.
Here are some specific tasks that go into a day of a presentation designer if in case you’re wondering:
Essentially, anyone who wants to feel confident with their presentation needs to hire presentation designers. When you have a presentation slide with a professional look, it’s easy to deliver your lines with finishing touches.
Whether you’re in business or academia, you’ll have presentations that need to be memorable. Here are some people who would need the help of a presentation designer to stand out among their peers in their field.
If you’re a salesperson, you’re not a stranger to a sales pitch. But for those who haven’t heard this term, this is a sales presentation explaining the nature and benefits of a service or product in less than two minutes.
We all know how cutthroat the competition is in the sales industry. After getting an appointment with a prospect, half of the battle now lies on the sales presentation to close the deal.
However, some sales presentations don’t get a yes simply because the sales deck was all over the place. The presentation might be either too detailed or not engaging at all. Take note that most people tune out of a presentation after 10 minutes. So, if you have boring slides that you made the night before the presentation, you’re bound to fail a hundred percent.
If you’re on a losing streak while your colleagues are closing deals from time to time, maybe you need to change something. That is to say, it could be your slides that fail to get your message across.
Tumblr’s deck performs a superb job of visually demonstrating their new company offering rather than relying solely on text to sell it. For salespeople, what you can learn here is to focus more on succinct and simple language.
A huge part of a manager’s job is reporting KPIs and ensuring everyone in the team is on the same page. But do you know that many managers find report presentations tedious and uninspiring?
KPI report presentations are highly critical, especially for data-driven businesses. These reports enable managers to demonstrate how a company is achieving key business objectives.
There are many ways to present KPI reports. One of which is through slide presentations. To be effective, KPI reporting must avoid the usual mistake that everyone makes: relying just on numbers.
Do you want to impress your executives the next time you present your KPIs? Then, tell a story as to what’s working and what’s not in your strategy. According to 55% of people, a captivating story is what keeps their attention during a presentation. You can add depth and clarity to your presentation by focusing on visuals.
Essentially, it’s about presenting a visually appealing story. The goal here is to make your numbers speak like a storyteller. How can you do that? Well, by inserting animations and seamless transitions to your slides. And you know right from the start who can help you with that—presentation designers!
Slide Team’s KPI Sales Metrics Pipeline Powerpoint Presentation Slide
This is yet another example of an effective presentation design for KPI reporting. The online and in-store performance of the company’s goods was highlighted here. In addition, the top revenue products, incremental sales, and cost of goods sold were also provided.
Did you know that 65.7 % of presenters prefer to create their own slide decks? These statistics speak volumes about public speakers who attend conferences and speaking engagements. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with DIY presentations. But it begs the question, “Does your presentation slide design make you credible enough?”
In public speaking, it’s not only the oral skills that gauge one’s credibility. You will also be criticized for the learning materials you present. On the other hand, if you keep everyone engaged with your presentation, chances are you get people to recommend you for more speaking engagements. Hence, the more engagements you have, the better you position yourself as a thought leader.
Moreover, attendees and organizations will probably ask for your PowerPoint presentations after the event. So, you might as well ensure that your PowerPoint slide is something to be proud of.
Remember that it takes more than an eloquent speech to become a successful presenter. You can have a commanding voice and still fall flat on your face with an underwhelming PowerPoint presentation design.
David Epstein’s Presentation at TED Conference 2014
David Epstein’s presentation uses beautiful data visualizations to give remarkable statistics and figures. He makes a visually stunning and appealing presentation by blending powerful sports images, striking colors, and a continuous design concept.
People in academia know that distance learning nowadays heavily relies on PowerPoint presentations. So if your slides do not facilitate effective learning, you’re doing an absolute disservice to learners in asynchronous classes.
Students these days study their lessons in a self-paced manner. It would be easier for them to digest topics if you present them in a concise, bite-sized fashion. Don’t follow what other instructors generally do—pasting a massive chunk of text on slides hoping it would stick like pasta on the wall. You may think of a better way to make your lessons engaging while capturing essential information that is easy to understand.
In addition, presentation designers can also be outsourced for poster presentations of research papers. Is there a research conference coming up, and you’ll be presenting your research paper? You can leave it to a presentation designer and let them create a well-designed research poster. This buys you a lot of time to prepare for your speech and anticipate questions from the research panel.
A Well-Designed Research Poster from the State University of New Jersey
The sample poster above is among the 2019 best poster winners at the 15th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Notice the consistent and clean layout and the effective use of graphics, color, and fonts.
The quality of your presentation matters in the success of your business. Whether you’re introducing a new product or educating customers about your service, a good presentation design increases your chances of forming long-term relationships. If you’re seeking a service provider for your presentation needs, we’re here to help you!
Our company, KDCI, offers full-service, on-brand design solutions perfect for SMEs worldwide. We have vetted presentation designers ready to work on various types of presentation designs your organization may require. If you need assistance with your content, we also have writers onboard to fine-tune your content structure to the highest presentation standards.
Are you interested to know more about our services? Then, hop on a call with our client success manager by clicking the button below for a FREE consultation!
Are you considering front end development outsourcing this year? Before you start looking for a service provider, you may want first to dig deep into front end development. After all, additional knowledge could help you secure the right strategy as you get off to a good start.That said, we laid out here the most commonly asked questions about front end development outsourcing that you shouldn’t miss. By reading this blog post, you’ll get fresh insights into whether your business is prepared to outsource your web development needs.
Web development has two main parts: back end and front end development. Let’s concentrate on front end development for the time being.The building of front end elements of a website is what front end development is all about. These front end elements refer to features that you may see and interact with directly. In other words, front end development guarantees a rich user experience while interacting with a website, from design to navigation.To clarify, think of a website you have recently visited. What made you stay longer on that website? Your answer would probably be that it is functional and well-designed, right? You scrolled down because you were smitten by its quality graphics, fresh content, and mobile-friendliness.To sum up, front end development puts user needs first. Most importantly, it ensures your website is attractive enough to target visitors and convert them to leads. Certainly, if your web performance is not gaining traction, you now know what to do. Your front end development needs more polishing.
Although the duties of a front end developer vary from company to company, a front end developer’s role should generally encompass any or all of the following:
Let’s just say that web development is a fusion of art and technology. That is, front end development is concerned with the artistic side of the web, whereas back end development is concerned with the technical aspect.Earlier, we talked about how a front end web developer deals with different surface-level site elements. Let’s now dive deep into the function of a back end developer.While front end developers work on the visual components of a website, back end developers focus on server-side development. They manage databases, build the framework of software applications, and design APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).APIs are a set of programming code that allows data to be exchanged between software products. So, how does this interface work? Imagine you’re booking a flight and want to access your airline’s databases to see available seats that day. It’s the API that fetches data from your airline’s systems to your mobile phone so that you can book that flight hassle-free.But how does a back end developer work with front end developers?Front end developers typically send back end developers a list of APIs they want, as well as documentation of the intended behavior. For instance, a front end developer wants to correct the color or size of a button.Now, the back end developer may start building out the backend based on the functionality outlined. Hence, if the front end developer has an idea on how to improve the UI, they would communicate it with the back end developer to update the website.
If you’re leaning towards hiring a full-time employee, you need to consider the difference between hiring locally or offshore..In the United States alone, the hourly rate of a front-end developer typically ranges between $41-$60. On average, the annual compensation for a front end developer is $86k. If you’re a start-up company, it may not be practical for you to hire local talent. It is expensive to build front end developer skills. Therefore, professionals would charge higher than you may expect.However, if your goal is to cut costs by paying lower wages, you may consider moving your business functions abroad. There are countries out there with low-cost labor that can provide you with quality service at a competitive price.The Philippines, for example, has been the outsourcing hub of many countries that opt to grow their team offshore. One of the primary reasons why other countries choose to outsource to the Philippines is labor costs and operational effectiveness.In fact, the average front end developer salary in the Philippines is ₱480,000 ($9,284.24) annually. So if you’re testing the waters of front end development outsourcing, offshoring to the Philippines is a good start.
Companies that opt to outsource are able to cushion their bottom line from the volatile market through outsourcing. If you’re torn between hiring local professionals or offshore team, here are reasonable reasons why front end development outsourcing is more of a smart move:
Do you know what comes along with hiring a local professional? You are responsible for covering their needs, such as training and recurring benefits. If you don’t fancy covering these additional costs, it’s in your best interest to outsource your web development needs.When you outsource to a low-cost country like the Philippines, you gain access to high-quality services at a much cheaper cost. Without a doubt, you may save up to 70% on labor expenditures.
Moreover, you’re not only cutting costs by outsourcing. You’re also taking advantage of the multidisciplinary expertise that your offshore team may have.Remember that outsourced professionals have worked in various industries. Hence, they can help you navigate the competition and advise you on what has worked with their previous clients.
The front end is just a minor aspect of web development. When your web development needs require you to scale up, a service provider can help you hire back end developers, graphic designers, and even content writers. They can ensure that you have all the expertise you need in one place.
Furthermore, outsourcing companies follow a strict timeline while delivering outputs at faster turnaround times. If you hate micromanaging your teams and ask for updates from time to time, it means working with a service provider best suits your business.Also, outsourcing provides you with specialists for every stage of the development cycle. These experts play unique roles in executing a specific project on time.
Terminating a contract with a service provider is easier than dealing with an employee leaving your company. It will cost you approximately $12,000 to replace an entry-level employee earning $36,000 per year.So if you don’t want a hefty sum of money to go down the drain, you should consider outsourcing. This is true, especially if employee turnover is a major concern in your business.
Are you looking for experts ready to take on your front end development needs? Look no further! We are here to help you assemble the perfect extension of your team in the Philippines.Our company, KDCI, is one of the leading offshore staffing companies in the Philippines that is at the forefront of outsourcing. We offer scalable service solutions ideal for businesses with rapidly changing needs. Let us optimize your website performance with the help of our top-notch professionals in the realm of web development, graphic designing, and eCommerce.Are you interested to learn more about our services? Then, click the button below to get your FREE consultation with one of our client success managers today!Contact Us
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