Outsourcing some of your business operations offshore can help maintain production despite coronavirus. With the Philippines being one of the best outsourcing countries in the world, you can expect safe, secure, and proven-effective service from their BPO companies.
However, with over 800 BPO companies in the Philippines, choosing one can be overwhelming. So to help you decide, we’ve listed down ten services to outsource and the best BPO companies that cater to each one.
Filipinos are long known for their hospitality, English proficiency, and a strong connection to western culture. These may be the reasons why their customer service outsourcing has taken the lead over India and Brazil. Some of the services they offer for call center services include customer support, tech support, inbound and outbound sales, telemarketing, and lead generation. The leading call center companies in the Philippines are the following.
Teletech is one of the largest BPO companies in the Philippines that specializes in customer experience. They offer numerous services for customer support, including omnichannel, contact center training, and fraud prevention.
Magellan Solutions is an outsourcing company that specializes in inbound and outbound call center services. Some of their main services include customer support, omnichannel, and multilingual support.
Global Sky is a call center company that specializes in inbound call support, outbound telemarketing, and back office support. The industries they cater to include travel, insurance, healthcare, and consumer industry.
With the consistent rise of Ecommerce businesses all over the world, you wouldn’t be surprised to see BPO companies offering Ecommerce outsourcing. In general, these services are for businesses who want to expand their reach through digital media, retail businesses, and startups. These BPO companies are the best options to outsource work for your Ecommerce business:
With 20 years of experience, KDCI Outsourcing can handle everything Ecommerce. You can choose to hire them for a full-service Ecommerce support or try out their ala carte services so you only pay for what you need. Check out their Ecommerce outsourcing service page for more.
Microsourcing is a large outsourcing company that offers numerous services that may still fit Ecommerce businesses. While they don’t have an all-you-need Ecommerce support, they specialize in Ecommerce customer service.
Outsourced is a BPO company that specializes in offshore staffing. While they don’t have an Ecommerce team to help you, they provide services that can help you build an offshore Ecommerce staff.
Modern strategies have allowed BPO companies in the Philippines to handle marketing services even if they’re on the other side of the planet from their clients. With Marketing as one of the most popular college courses in the country, Filipinos are more than capable of the challenges marketing your brand. Moreover, there are already quite a lot of BPO companies that offer digital marketing services in the Philippines. These companies can handle SEO, Social Media, PPC, Email, and more.
Propelrr is a full-service digital marketing company in the Philippines that specializes in all digital disciplines. They’ve been in service since 2008, and have been featured in numerous companies in the digital marketing industry, including HubSpot, Ahrefs, and Moz.
PurpleClick is a digital marketing services company that specializes in Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Display Advertising, and Mobile Advertising. They offer marketing services for even the most unlikely platforms like Spotify. Check out their pricing page for info.
iManila is a BPO company that specializes in web development and digital marketing. Their main services include website and app development, hosting, technical support, and digital marketing. Find out more about their digital marketing services here.
Recruiting, screening, and hiring the perfect employee to fill job roles for your company can be time-consuming and difficult. It becomes even more challenging if you’re trying to build an offshore team. Luckily, you can hire human resource services through an outsourcing company. They can handle talent acquisition, employee management, and even payroll services. With their help, you will be able to have time and focus on growing your business. The best outsourcing companies that provide human resource services are:
Loft is an HR services company that specializes in leasing support for startups who want an office in the Philippines. They also offer business registration services and other administrative support. Visit their website to find out more.
SuperStaff is a BPO call center company that specializes in recruitment process outsourcing. They offer Sourcing Specialist RPO and Dedicated Recruiter RPO. Learn more about their RPO process here.
SourceFit is a BPO company in the Philippines that specializes in offshore staff leasing services. They offer project- and output-based staffing, staff leasing, virtual captive, and transitional managed services.
Almost all businesses today need an efficient IT infrastructure to conduct their operations and enhance their data security. Luckily, there are numerous IT outsourcing services in the Philippines that can help you from data center management to server administration. Some of the best BPO companies for IT outsourcing services are:
Flexisource IT is an IT company with more than 20 years of knowledge in business, making them capable of offering numerous IT services and staff augmentation, including application development, maintenance and support, and more. Visit their website for more.
Main Source 365 Tech is a full-service IT outsourcing company that specializes in business and home IT solutions. Their business IT services cover server and network monitoring and maintenance, malware and virus protection, backup and disaster recovery, and more.
If you’re looking to build an offshore IT team, Outsourced can help you fill the roles you need. They have a long list of roles they can fill, which includes game development, technical counseling, AI developer, and more. Check out their services page for more.
Outsourced accounting services are often hired by middle and high-growth companies because of its cost-effectiveness. With business and accounting as one of the most saturated workforce in the Philippines, there will also be a lot of BPO companies offering the service. To help you choose which company to work with, here are the three best options:
The Outsourced Accountant is one of the leading providers of outsourced accounting services. They can help you with numerous accounting and finance roles, including accountants, bookkeepers, corporate secretaries, financial planning assistants, and more.
D&V is an accounting and finance firm based in the Philippines. They specialize in accounting or bookkeeping, management accounting, audit and assurance, financial planning and analysis, statutory reporting and compliance, and payroll. Check out their website for more.
If you want to build an offshore accounting and finance team, KDCI Outsourcing is the best option for you. Their strict confidence policies and high-level security software guarantee safe, secure, and private financial data. Learn more about the roles they can find here.
Virtual assistant services have long been available for as long as outsourcing began. This service can help you with administrative tasks, organizing your schedule, and minimizing repetitive tasks. However, there are numerous BPO companies in the Philippines that offer virtual assistant services, so choosing the best one can be tough. So, to help you decide, here are the three best companies you can hire:
TaskBullet specializes providing VA services for real estate, admin support, sales, lead generation, marketing, and more. They have three pricing models: Starter Bucket ($220.00 for 20 hours), Light Bucket ($540.00 for 60 hours), and Expert Bucket ($1560.00 for 240 hours).
OVA Virtual prides itself on being a female-dominated company that offers top-notch VA services. They also have three pricing options: Starter (20 Hours for $120.00/Week), Professional (30 Hours for $180.00/Week), and Executive (40 Hours for $240.00/Week).
Pepper Virtual Assistant is a B2B BPO company in the Philippines. They’ve been in business since 2009, offering three pricing models: Executive Admin (starts at $550/month), Social Media VA (starts at $550/month), and Customer Support (starts at $750/month).
Creative services cover almost everything under graphic design services and marketing collateral production. With BPO companies, you can expect creative services like website design, logo and branding, print graphics, video post-production, and more. These companies can handle high-volume production and fast turnaround time, which are both essential for creating creative assets. Here are the best choices for creative services outsourcing.
KDCI Outsourcing started as a creative agency that grew into a full-service digital agency. Their extremely meticulous QA process for creative services ensures fewer revisions and faster turnaround. They handle anything graphic design, print graphics, web design, and more.
7th Media Digital is a digital agency that specializes in mobile-friendly websites, graphic design, and animation. Some of their services include eLearning materials production, explainer videos, and branding.
Rocketship Designs is a creative agency in the Philippines that specializes in creating designs for marketing your business. They offer numerous services, including motion graphics, corporate branding, and PR.
For online businesses, web development is one of the most important services they look for in BPO companies in the Philippines. Luckily, the country also has a surplus of developers, and web development is typically offered by outsourcing companies. Here are the three best choices for web development services in the Philippines:
While iManila is a digital marketing agency, they also provide web development services for their clients. They offer web development, app development, and hosting solutions. Find out more about their company here.
Being a full-service outsourcing company, KDCI Outsourcing can also handle any web development work — with even more specialized development services for Ecommerce. They can help you with Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and custom website development.
Marvill is a web development service company that specializes in WordPress, Bootstrap, Joomla, and more. They have three pricing models: Basic Information Website (starts at PHP 85,000 or $1706.36), CRM/Web Application (starts at PHP 250,000 or $5018.72), and Ecommerce Website (starts at PHP 140,000 or $2810.48).
Property management services have become increasingly popular as rental properties are on the rise. With the Philippines' lower cost of labor and long held reputation for excellent call center services, it's easily become a top outsourcing destination for property management, which needs heavy communication, coordination, and problem solving, similar to that of customer service. Here are three best choices for top-notch property management services:
KDCI Outsourcing is a leading business process outsourcing company in the Philippines, known for their long standing property management services, supporting HOAs, rental owners, and homeowners. They offer end-to-end property management services, from omnichannel support services and virtual concierge, to property accounting and mortgage processing. Having worked with multiple real estate businesses, they have a strong track record of customizing their services and building excellent property management teams in the Philippines, with focus on finding staff that integrate well with clients in the United States.
KMC Solutions offers comprehensive property management services, including property maintenance, tenant management, lease administration, and financial reporting. Their team of experts ensures that properties are well-maintained, tenants are satisfied, and all financial aspects are meticulously managed. KMC Solutions also provides customized solutions to meet the unique needs of each property owner.
Santos Knight Frank is a leading real estate services company in the Philippines, offering extensive property management services. They specialize in residential, commercial, and retail property management, focusing on enhancing the value of the properties they manage. Their services include maintenance, tenant relations, financial management, and sustainability practices to ensure long-term property value and tenant satisfaction.
With the continuously growing BPO industry in the Philippines, the country becomes one of the top choices when it comes to outsourcing. So, should you choose to outsource operations to BPO companies in the Philippines, you can expect full satisfaction and support. Published: May 13, 2019Updated: July 1, 2020
Establishing your brand online is only the first step to growing your business. Figuring out how to increase online sales comes next. You'll need Ecommerce strategies that can help you improve your bottom line and support your business in the long-run.
For a business owner, getting on top of Ecommerce trends is as crucial as managing your online store. Before we dive into sales growth strategies, let's take a look at the current state of Ecommerce. Every year, the industry keeps on growing. More brick-and-mortars are populating the online market. In 2019, Ecommerce sales made up 14% of global retail sales, and it's estimated to hit 18% in 2021.This year, the size of the global market can reach 2 billion digital shoppers. It will continue to increase next year as more businesses are learning to adapt to consumers' needs, offering benefits such as convenience and cost-efficiency. With its steady rise, the total value of Ecommerce can achieve $4.13 trillion this year and $4.88 trillion in 2021.Who wouldn't want to have a share of that?
Attracting site visitors and converting them into customers has become more difficult. The key lies in figuring out strategies that will work for you, which can pave the way for your business to become a successful venture. At first, it can be daunting—you might not know where and how you can start to increase online sales. But we got you covered. Here are seven proven Ecommerce strategies that you can try and customize for your business.
Nowadays, you have more ways to reach your audience. However, you won't reach anybody if you try to talk to every consumer through every digital and print marketing channel available. Choosing your marketing channels is an essential step in growing your business. Audience targeting helps you determine which of these channels are worth the investment. With this, you segment a market to focus on a specific group you want to target. In doing so, you can reach people who are interested in your products. Even better, putting your budget on the right channels will prevent you from wasting money on uninterested consumers. Speaking directly to your target audience brings better chances of resonating with them. It can create long-lasting and valuable customer relationships that will lead to more repurchases in the future. The owners of Bushwick Kitchen knew that creating awareness for their product was the key to sales. MixedMade is a combination of raw honey with chili peppers, but more importantly, it's in an entirely new category in the market. Because of this, Bushwick Kitchen implemented the following channel strategies:
The results were impressive. Within ten months, they reached $170,000 in sales. For the 30 days up to Christmas that year, they had a 2,200% growth over the previous months' average. They also had TV appearances on CNBC and Today Show and features on Bon Appetit, Esquire, and Vanity Fair. Bushwick Kitchen has shown that when you target the right channels to communicate your products to your audience, you can create a long-term investment whose returns you can keep harvesting in the long-run.
The way we do content marketing is evolving. In the old days, it used to focus on your audience only. The downside is that since everyone is doing this, you might start to sound like your competitors. With that, now's the best time to create unique content and stand out. The same old posts show up on consumers' feeds and search engine results pages. With unique content, you'll have better chances of capturing your potential buyers' interest and curiosity. To achieve this, you need to lose the fear of creating something that no one has done before. When you deliver unique content, you show your audience that you have expertise in your niche—enough to put twists in the typical content and excite them into building a relationship with your Ecommerce business. Beer Cartel created unique content with their annual Australian Craft Beer Survey. For its second year, it ran from June to July 2017.
Photo credited to Beer Cartel
Their objective was to develop a report to change how consumers, suppliers, and their industry think of beer cartel as a business. In doing so, they wanted to generate publicity for their business, grow their mailing list, and boost their sales. To encourage mass participation, they provided incentives for both businesses and consumers: a free copy of the industry report for the former and a $10 coupon code and a chance to win $500 of craft beer for the latter. The result? Their online revenue increased by 34% from the previous year. Their unique site visitors more than doubled to 128,000, and their email list grew to 30,000 subscribers. The power of unique content knows no bounds. Content that no one has done before is now one of the best ways to turn heads and drive more sales.
For every 7 out of 10 businesses, a multi-channel sales strategy has helped increase their sales. Compared to a single-channel approach, it can drive at least twice the revenue. Aside from that, a multi-channel strategy can have a positive impact on customer loyalty. What's stopping you from bringing your products out of your site and making them available on other platforms? To start, you can choose among online platforms where you can sell to consumers who are not yet aware of your Ecommerce business. From social media to general marketplaces, each has a strength that you can utilize to meet your audience's demands. In general, online shops use social media sites to communicate new products to consumers. You can also use Facebook to accommodate impulse buys—customers can get a transaction done within 30 seconds. On the other hand, consumers who frequent marketplaces like Amazon and eBay have a higher purchase intent. However, products sold through these platforms are made to look like they carry the marketplace's brand. If you're just starting and you want to establish your brand, this can be a disadvantage. Think Crucial found the right sales channels that worked best for them. As an online shop for replacement household items, they knew they needed to be everywhere. This strategy has led to product listings on multiple online retailers and marketplaces like Sears, eBay, Walmart, and Amazon.
As a result, Think Crucial grew into an eight-figure brand. By taking advantage of multiple sales channels, they met consumers where they like to shop. Once you choose to expand to other sales channels, full-service Ecommerce agencies can help you construct attractive product descriptions suited to your choice of platforms. Help Me with Product Uploading
Consumers' attention span is short; it's no surprise that on average, readers only spend 15 seconds on a page. This interaction won't do any good to your bottom line. ZooShoo had the typical problem of customers passing through their site without making any purchase. The solution? They promoted a coupon giveaway using a pop-up. Any site visitor who signs up to their email list would receive a 10% off coupon, applicable to their next purchase. After two months, the online shop's revenue had a 7% growth. Moreover, their subscription list increased by 5,000, with more than a thousand later purchasing from their site. Pop-ups are used not just to collect emails, but also to deliver a message, whether it's a prompt or an offer. On average, pop-ups can generate up to 10% conversion rate (CVR). However, if you execute them well, you can reach beyond a 50% CVR. Don't know which type of pop-up can serve you best? ReferralCandy made a list of pop-ups you can use to increase your sales:
In exchange for their email, customers can receive a treat, from free ebooks to free shipping promo codes.
When customers show intent to leave the site, a pop-up will show up to entice them into completing their transaction.
A pop-up will appear to offer alternative or more items when customers show interest in a particular product.
They are used to drive urgency, whether for a sale that's ending soon or a coupon that will expire in a few hours.
They let the customers know that your business can ship to their location.
Pop-ups generally have a bad rep due to being poorly executed. To prevent yours from getting undeserved hate, you can partner up with a full-service Ecommerce support agency. These companies have web designers that can develop pop-ups that capture the right kind of attention and encourage more site visitors to become your customers.
A crucial part of an Ecommerce business is your checkout process. However, more than half of site visitors leave their carts without buying. A bad checkout process with too many steps can contribute to a decrease in sales and a higher cart abandonment rate. For your checkout process to be effective, include only a few steps and guide customers through a hassle-free transaction. If possible, the whole shopping experience from landing on your page to checkout has to take a minute or less. NatoMounts achieved this when they prioritized an optimal checkout experience. The tech accessory store learned that most of their traffic comes from mobile. Recognizing an opportunity, they devised a 43-second shopping experience, with one-touch payment integration with well-known platforms like PayPal and Amazon. After optimizing for the device that brought the most customers to them, NatoMounts saw their mobile conversion rate increase to 5%, and over 80% of sales were attributed to the mobile visits. Here are some tips you can use for an optimal checkout process:
After applying these techniques, you're on your way to a fully optimized checkout process.
Most Ecommerce businesses face cart abandonment challenges. But don't worry—you can still regain shoppers who left their cart with a cart abandonment email campaign. It's a conversion optimization technique to recover lost sales. Customers who left their carts receive an email, which will remind them about their incomplete purchase. On average, cart abandonment emails have an 8% conversion rate (CVR) with an open rate of 41%.Envolopes.com saw better results when they started to send follow-up emails to customers who didn't complete their purchase. Seeing their opportunity to increase their sales, the online store first tested sending the emails at two alternate time lapses after the cart abandonment. Eventually, Envelopes.com figured out the best time to send the follow-up emails—48 hours after cart abandonment. The emails delivered based on this time lapse had a 38% open rate and a 40% CVR. Now, how do you successfully deliver a cart abandonment email? You can send two to three emails after a customer has left their cart. The first can go out as soon as a customer abandons his cart. One to three days later, you can send the second email. The last email is crucial to driving urgency—it can deliver messages such as that the product they added to their cart will run out of stock soon. You can send this third email four to seven days after the cart abandonment. To execute a cart abandonment email campaign, you can use any of the tools below:
Remember, when sending emails, you have to showcase trust and credibility to bring back your lost sales. You can even include coupon codes to entice your customers to finish their purchase.
What makes customers loyal to your business? High-quality products, great customer service, and on-time delivery are just a few factors that contribute to their loyalty. In turn, they'll become more willing to buy repeatedly from a business they trust. Because of this, loyal customers are more profitable. A customer loyalty program can strengthen their loyalty by providing rewards to customers that often put your products first when they need it. These repeat customers have a higher lifetime value, and retaining them costs five times less than acquiring new prospects. With these, your ROI can increase if you foster your relationship with your existing customers. When creating a customer loyalty program, determine first for what kind of actions you'll reward your customers. These can range from referring their friends to your business or purchasing five items from your shop within a month. Next is to devise a way for your customers to redeem their rewards and to identify which kinds of rewards you'll offer. You can go for free shipping, store discount, or even a free item that they can avail through a promo code. The last step is to set the rules for your customer loyalty program. You can limit the program's members to only customers who made one purchase in the past or provide a disclaimer right from the start that the rewards are non-transferrable. Doing so will protect your program from abuse. A great example of a business with a well-executed loyalty program is The North Face.
With their VIPeak, customers receive a free membership once they sign up. Every dollar spent can get them ten peak points, which they can earn in The North Face's online and offline stores. In the long-run, a customer can use his peak points to get discounts from the store.
The competitive online industry has strengthened the need for Ecommerce strategies. Once you figure out the best ways to increase your online sales, you're on your way to sustaining your business's growth. Should you need any help in developing the right strategies, KDCI Outsourcing has the right expertise to help your Ecommerce business grow. We have services for Customer Support, Digital Marketing, Graphic Design, and Web Design and Development that our experts can tailor to your strategic needs. Partner with Us
The Philippines has recently entered more than 100 days of quarantine, making it the longest quarantine period in the world. People are now experiencing a profound burden of extreme self-isolation that can lead to what experts call “Quarantine Fatigue.”Quarantine fatigue leaves us with a growing sense of non-productivity, repetitiveness, loss of many things in our old life, and loss of excitement and newness in our day.Despite being faced with uncertainty, learning to cope with it is possible. Here are some things you can do:
These uncertain times could result in the feeling of being out of control. To prevent this, identify an activity that's within your control. You can set short-term goals such as cleaning out your closet, doing ten push-ups per day, or reading a non-COVID-19 related article. These can provide a sense of accomplishment that can help you deal with uncertainty.
Sometimes in our efforts to cope, we tend to cover it up with positivity and ignore our frustrations and sadness. If you acknowledge and validate these feelings, it will provide relief and reduce the power these feelings have over you.Now is also an excellent time to practice journaling. By the end of the week, take 15 to 20 minutes to read each entry. You can also take time to vent out to a friend or family member to avoid feeling alone.
Being stuck at home on your phone or computer every day gives you way too much time to absorb information — both positive and negative. This can lead to information overload and can fuel your negative emotions, as most things on the internet are lately filled with bad news.Schedule some time off the internet, especially social media. You can uninstall the apps to prevent temptation. During your downtime, you can do something else, like watch a movie or series, clean your room, or get some sunlight by a window.
Working from home might blur the boundaries between work and life. As you continue with the remote work setup, remember to keep a personal time for yourself. It can help you avoid experiencing job burnout or losing quality time with your friends and family.You can try meditating, exercising, or reading a book if you want to shut off from the digital world for a little while. If you're feeling a little social, you can organize a game night with your friends or have a Netflix binge party with your family.
Because of the uncertainty of the duration of the quarantine period, it has become a necessity to form a new routine to help you get through each day. But following a routine is not as easy as it sounds. It needs acceptance, discipline, and determination.For a task to become a routine, you have to successfully do it for 90 days (approx. 3 months) without fail. The best way to achieve this is to plan out your days and commit to a schedule. This includes sleeping and waking up at the same time so that your body can adjust quickly.With these tips, you can prevent experiencing quarantine fatigue. Let's continue to hope that we'll soon get through this pandemic and return to our normal lives.
At first, standing out sounds easy—you give your audience what they want, and they'll love your business. However, the online market becomes more saturated every day. Your online branding can help you push your way up from the crowd and stand out against your competitors.
Branding shapes how your audience sees you. It's more than logos or packaging—it's storytelling to influence the perception of your brand.
In the Ecommerce world, great branding is a powerful tool to have in a congested market. It starts from the look of your product line, your social media activities, and up to the shopping experience you provide. Effective branding can turn your Ecommerce business into a success, with easier marketing, higher customer retention, and stronger brand loyalty.
Nowadays, consumers are overwhelmed with various online shopping options. The number of Ecommerce platforms is growing, paving the way for every aspiring entrepreneur to open their store. With more people jumping in the online store bandwagon, how do you stand out and gain your audience's interest? The key is your brand .In a marketplace wherein businesses look virtually the same, your brand is your competitive advantage. It serves as the safety net that can shape your customers' expectations and form a relationship beyond the typical buy-and-sell transaction.
What makes you stand out in your market? A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) can help you further enhance your brand. It's a benefit that can differentiate your business and guide your audience into choosing your products over your competitors'. Reliable USPs must show that you value what your customers care about, for them to appreciate what you're offering. It should be integrated across all areas of your Ecommerce business to show that you're walking the talk with your promises. A perfect example of this is FedEx's, with their old USP "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight." The slogan stated two promises that the company guarantees: safe and on-time delivery. Once you find a strong USP that embodies your business like FedEx's does, you'll have a stance that your competitors can't copy. Plus, you'll get a solid audience base that knows your brand and trusts you well enough to keep coming back to your business.
After identifying the right USP for your online store, what comes next? You need to leave a mark in your audience's mind. That means having more consumers aware of you and how you operate and getting more customers to keep coming back to you. With that said, here are eight tips to help you boost your Ecommerce brand online.
A lot of your competitors offer similar products at similar prices. Your branding can help you define your brand design online and prevent your business from becoming another typical store. Most consumers value consistent branding across brick-and-mortars and their online shops. Brand design shapes the aesthetics of your brand, making it easier for your audience to see if you have visual consistency and coordinated graphics. Brand design goes beyond your logo—it's also the color swatches, fonts, and images you use on your Ecommerce site and marketing collaterals. These visually represent your brand online to help you resonate with your audience. Take Zendesk, for example.
"Keep it beautifully simple." is their branding philosophy. It's evident when you browse through their website. By putting this philosophy into play, Zendesk has established their brand without the need for words—just visual consistency and coordinated graphics. Your Ecommerce business can achieve this level of online branding with the help of a full-service brand design agency. Good design can help you whet your consumers' visual appetite and ensure that your brand design is consistent across all your platforms.
It sounds like a basic tip from Marketing 101.However, consumers' habits have been transforming over the years—you'll need to adapt to the changes in the online market. In the Ecommerce business, getting to know your audience means going to where they are, digitally. Just pick the social media platforms relevant to your audience and suited to your branding. Consumers' social media posts are mostly dedicated to themselves, so they post personal opinions, beliefs, likes, and dislikes publicly. Using social listening, you can understand what they're saying about your brand and even your industry. It's the life-saver of market research in the online market. As an Ecommerce business, you get to see what they're saying, allowing you to find a way to meet their needs, solve their problems, and leave a lasting impression of your brand in their minds. Who knows, you might even find a new market while doing this.
You see them everywhere—from YouTube to Instagram, influencers are all over your social media feeds. Influencer marketing involves social media personalities or well-known industry figures promoting your brand online. First, they establish trust and authority in their field. Once they gain a larger following, they soon move on to advertising. This is where you come in as an Ecommerce business. Influencers give your brand exposure. When they promote your business, they add credibility and project authenticity. On top of that, consumers trust opinion leaders more than they do branded content. They buy something when someone they follow recommends it. Partnering with an influencer involves making sure that their fans are similar to your audience. Better yet, their values must match with yours to prevent your brand from getting tainted by a malicious act by an influencer whose background you didn't check. The influencers you usually see on your feed are social media personalities, but you can also take your pick among actors and other celebrities. Alcoholic beverages company Diageo went down this road with their My Tales of Whiskey Yule Log, starring comedian Nick Offerman.
With fresh content and the actor's trademark dead-pan, Diageo successfully introduced the brand to younger single malt whiskey consumers. The video reached 175 news stories nationally, earned 1.1 million YouTube views in two days, and boosted Diageo's YouTube channel subscribers from 5,500 to 23,000.
As your Ecommerce business grows, exploring beyond the confines of your site becomes a necessity. One way to do this is by guest posting—publishing your article on sites or blogs other than your own. You might be wondering, how can blogging for other sites help my online branding? Guest posting can increase brand awareness for your business. Publishing your content on blogs relevant to your industry can help you reach new potential customers similar to what you currently have. Moreover, it allows you to add backlinks that will drive traffic to your site. With guest posting, you represent your brand. So, your content must be high-quality to help strengthen your brand image and show your audience that you have authority and credibility over your subject-matter. Great content will appeal to your new audience and attract them into making business with you. Here are blogs that accept guest posts. Each has its guest posting guidelines. Think of it as visiting another house—it has rules that you must follow unless you want to get kicked out. In this case, you must keep them in mind to prevent your content from not getting published.
Lack of physical connection is the main problem of online shopping. However, you shouldn't allow this to prevent your Ecommerce business from putting your customers first. You can turn this into an opportunity to develop an exceptional shopping experience. Your customers can't touch, feel, smell, and see your products, so it's up to you to take their buying experience up a notch and therefore strengthen your online branding. Warby Parker is a great example of a customer-first business.
As an online retailer, they found a way to get around the lack of physical connection. With their Home Try-On, their customers can test out five frames for five days, all delivered for free. It allows them to see the products for themselves and try them out before purchasing. You can also create a positive buying experience for your customers. Start by providing at least three photos of your products, so they can see and understand what you're offering. Add more convenience by removing the friction in the checkout process. You wouldn't want them to abandon their carts and look for another store just because you're asking them to fill up too many form fields. These are necessities to create a great customer journey. You can develop it further by crafting a shopping experience unique to your brand with the help of Ecommerce web designers, who can transform your site into a highly-optimized and fully functional user experience.
Almost every consumer reads reviews while online window shopping, and most agree that reviews influence their purchasing decisions. By providing reviews, customers can show that your business is trustworthy. They help other consumers by letting them know about their shopping experience with you. And by seeing these reviews, new customers can feel more comfortable with your business. It doesn't matter if it's a positive or negative review—positive reviews can build more trust for your brand, while negative reviews can establish credibility for your products. In fact, negative reviews are better than no reviews at all. Treat your customers well, and they'll do the same to your brand. They can become your brand ambassadors as long as you make them satisfied with your business. In turn, the more your business will grow. After all, a satisfied customer can lead to a glowing review, which can then result in strong word-of-mouth marketing that can support your Ecommerce brand in the long-run.
With the prevailing lack of physical connection, building customer relationships online sounds challenging at first. How can you connect with your customers without seeing them? A high-quality customer support service can make up for the lack of face-to-face interaction. Through this, you can show your customers that you care. Show them that you value them, so they'll appreciate your business in return. Consumers want instant gratification. On Facebook alone, they expect a response from you within six hours, and on Twitter, it's even shorter—all you have is 60 minutes to answer them. A stellar customer support service can ensure that their messages aren't buried in your inbox or that their comments aren't lost in your sea of notifications. It builds your brand's credibility and shows that you have quality service dedicated just for them. In turn, your customers will see your brand in the best light. Spotify understands the value of great customer support service. They have a dedicated Twitter account for customers' queries, with trained agents that provide specific details to solve their problems.
Consumers have more ways than ever to share their opinions on products they bought. With that, most trust the opinions of other customers online instead of branded content. Here's your opportunity to take advantage of user-generated content. Sharing photos from your satisfied customers can help build trust and authenticity for your brand. Long-term, it can also help your bottom line as most user-generated contents are unpaid. Consumers can see how your product works and how it can meet their needs. Even better, since customers like them created the content, they see themselves in what you post. User-generated content can show them that what you're offering can do the job, thereby helping your Ecommerce brand stand out. Social media is the best medium to encourage user-generated content. Customers tend to post about their new purchases, and you can leverage this with a hashtag that will further push them to show off online. Sperry did this, by starting #SperryMyWay on Instagram. Online window shoppers search the hashtag to see photos of customers with their Sperry shoes, allowing them to see the product in action, "from sea to shore."
You can shape your online branding by fulfilling your customers' needs, from their visual appetite to their user experience. But with the volatility of today's market, you can't foresee which strategies will keep working in the future and which will not. One thing's for sure—if you keep focusing on your customers, you can keep the spotlight shining on your brand and stand out against any competition. Navigating the Ecommerce world for the first time can be challenging. So, it's best to partner with an experienced full-service Ecommerce agency, who has the right services and experts to make your brand stand out online. Partner with Us
Over the years, remote work has seen a steady rise around the world. It has become even more necessary as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. With that said, here's your guide to choosing the right remote team that will suit your work setup.
Before anything else, let's look at some stats. The pandemic appears to have brought remote working to the spotlight. But this setup has been seeing an upward trend over the years. In 2017, remote workers around the world reached 3.7 million. And based on Upwork's Future Workforce Report, this trend shows no signs of stopping: by 2028, 73% of all teams will have remote workers. Buffer's survey also shows that remote work is becoming the new normal. 99% of the respondents said they would pick working remotely, even part-time, for the rest of their careers. These figures show that remote work is here to stay. You'll have little to no regrets in choosing a working setup that won't die out anytime soon—it will also benefit you, your business, and your future team.
Every business owner knows it's critical to hire the right people. Your team will be crucial in helping you grow from a small startup to a multi-channel business. However, screening candidates for a remote team comes with challenges. You need to find people who are independent and self-motivated and take the initiative. They must have these soft skills to work effectively, even when you're not physically present to manage your team. Plus, depending on your target countries, you'll need to find these individuals out of hundreds or even thousands of resumes. It can make your screening process more difficult and time-consuming. Don't worry, though. We'll share a simple screening process as well as an alternative solution for your hiring needs. I Want the Alternative Solution
The goal of screening applicants is to find the best candidates suited to work in a remote environment. Aside from embodying the right experiences, skills, and qualities, they must also be comfortable in your work setup.
To help you get started, here are five steps you can follow to filter the right people for a remote job role.
Diving right into talent pools without a comprehensive job description is asking for tons of work. Before posting anything online about the job role, make sure you know everything you need to find in a job applicant. Here's a checklist of some essential information that need to be in a job description for a remote role:
Fully remote is when employees do all work outside the company premises, and semi-remote is when they can work from different offices. On the other hand, a flexible work-from-home schedule is when they'll be required to report onsite if necessary.
If you're building a remote team from scratch, it's best to hire individuals who have remote work experience. They would face fewer challenges when adapting to your setup.
For offshore applicants, it's helpful to show them from the get-go if they would need to adjust their schedule according to your timezone.
Aside from these items, you also need to cover the general information in job descriptions. It includes:
Check out this example of company benefits found in all our job listings:
With these items, when a job seeker sees your job description, they can do a self-evaluation first before sending their application. Pro Tip: Ask for a cover letter! It would show you how a candidate communicates in written form, which you'll soon see is a crucial skill in a remote work setup.
After going through the applications you received, conducting initial interviews is the next step. It's where you assess your job applicants if they are culturally fit in your company. Plus, here's your chance to ask them about the information they stated in their resume. On top of the typical interview questions like "Tell me about yourself" and "What are your strengths and weaknesses," you can also ask them about their capabilities to work in a remote environment:
The bare necessities are a laptop or a desktop computer and a stable internet connection.
It's another way to help you prepare in case you hire them and you would need to fund their equipment upgrade.
In case you hire them, their answer will help you determine how much training they would need for your tools.
An initial interview for a remote role is usually done via email or audio call. With email, you can see if your applicants can write coherently and respond in a timely way. On the other hand, an audio call would allow you to assess their verbal ability and listen if they can coherently speak out their ideas. Either way, an initial interview is usually short. But with the right questions, you can further filter your job candidates and take them to the third step.
Job seekers tend to falsify or exaggerate the contents of their resume. To avoid falling victim to exaggerations or false claims, you can assess your job candidates' skills with online tests and test projects. You can instruct your potential employees to take online tests that will assess soft skills like self-motivation, self-confidence, and communication—some of the competencies necessary in a remote work setup, according to a study from Cornell University. MindTools has a free index of self-tests that you can use. Another way to assess soft skills is by reviewing a job candidate's cover letter. You can see how a job candidate writes, which can be a reliable indicator of their communication skills. Plus, a cover letter can also show you how well they know your business and the role they want to fill. For hard skills, you can give your applicants a test project. Since it's close to the real-world scenario of a remote setup, it can indicate how they would perform as part of your remote team. When you do this, make sure they have a deadline relevant to the job role's day-to-day tasks. And since you're looking for an independent employee, you'd want to give them space unless they ask you questions. Remember, for both hard and soft skills tests, you'll need to have a benchmark to determine easily which among the candidates have met your standards.
When you're hiring remotely, the closest thing you can have to a personal interaction is a video interview. It helps you build a fuller picture of a candidate. Even with your screens getting in the way, a video interview allows you to check their body language. Whenever an applicant answers your question, you can see from their facial expressions if they're honest and genuine. Plus, you can see how they work under pressure, considering the stress that applicants usually experience in this part of the screening process. Moreover, it's your opportunity to ask them questions more relevant to the position. Compared to the initial interview, a video interview lets you dive into the job role's nitty-gritty. Aside from that, here's another chance to ask more questions relevant to the remote work setup:
You can check out Skillcrush's article for more questions that you can use.
At first, doing a background check sounds like cyber-stalking. However, we live in the digital era, where most people regularly update their feeds and timelines. With that said, you can't just ignore your potential employee's social presence. Their activities in their social media accounts are a hint of their behavior outside work. Their LinkedIn account has more valuable information about work—it usually contains past work experiences. But aside from that, you can also see their references, to whom you can reach out should you need to confirm details on their resume. On top of that, you can also read recommendations about them. This section on LinkedIn allows you to see what their colleagues think of them, which can give you further insights into your candidate. On the other hand, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram can become your sources of more candid activities. In these sites, individuals usually hold no filter and post whatever they want. These can pave the way for you to assess their behavior and personality and determine how they would fit your work culture. After this step, you're a job offer away from hiring your first remote employees.
Now, here's the alternative solution. Your business is only starting. It's hard to keep track of everything, from human resources to operations. Having an outsourcing partner can help you take your hands off building the right team—we'll help you focus on growing your business. From building a customized offshore strategy to managing an operations team for you, KDCI Outsourcing follows a streamlined process to ensure that you'll get the best remote workers. You can outsource job roles for the following departments:
Even better, we have access to a large talent pool of qualified professionals in the Philippines, so we can guarantee that you'll only get the best team suited to your remote work setup. Partner with Us Published: January 31, 2019Updated: June 18, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased numerous risks around the world—one of these is cyber security risk. As an online business owner, you have to know how to effectively secure your online space.With most employees working from home, cyber criminals have taken this opportunity to conduct cyber attacks. You must always be on the lookout for online threats that can bring danger to you and your company.In this article, we'll give you some tips on how to secure your online space, as well as the threats that you have to be aware of.
To help you better secure your online space, here are the reasons why cyber criminals are taking advantage of the pandemic for their gain:
Watch out for these cyber attacks that hackers conduct during the pandemic:
These days, a phishing email from a cyber criminal looks like it's about COVID-19. They'll want to generate a reaction from you and get you to click malicious links contained in the email body.
Hand-in-hand with hackers' phishing scams, a watering hole attack will try to lead you to an infected website. It will look like a legitimate source of information about COVID-19, but it's actually a site created or hacked to deploy malware.ProTip: Watch out for domains with "covid-19" or "corona virus" in them. These might be used to plant a cybercrime attack.
Taking precautionary measures is the first step to securing your online space. Here are five tips to help you avoid being on the receiving end of a cyber attack:
Anti-virus and malware software updates are necessary to keep protecting you from new threats to your system. Whatever software you're using, it's best to enable automatic updates so you won't have to constantly check for updates.
Having one password for all your accounts puts them more at risk of becoming compromised. If a hacker finds out your password, every account becomes vulnerable.To prevent this, a password manager like LastPass and Bitwarden can help you generate a long and complex password for every account.
Hackers also use downloadable files to deploy malware in your system. Should you receive a download link in your email, ask yourself first if you signed up for it or if you were expecting it. You must also check the sender of the email if they look legitimate.
Before you click any link, provide login credentials, or download questionable files, take a look at their URL. A good sign is having HTTPS instead of HTTP, as this shows that the URL is safe and secure.
Another way to verify a URL is to run it through Google's Safe Browsing.
A username and a password are no longer enough to secure your accounts. Use multi-factor verification to add an extra layer of security.For your Google Account, you can choose among voice or text messages, security key, Google prompt, and authenticator app.
With these tips, you can protect yourself and your company from any looming cyber security threats.Should you need help avoiding becoming a victim of cyber attacks while working from home, you can reach out to your IT team to have a safer and more secure online space.
Ecommerce tools simplify and automate tasks needed to start and run an online business. Whether you’re starting from scratch or expanding your brick-and-mortar to the digital scene, these tools will help maximize time and complete your online store sooner.In this article, we’ll list down and explain all the best Ecommerce tools you need for a domain name, Ecommerce platforms, product management, customer support, marketing, and graphic design.
A domain name is the identity or name of your website that serves as the door your customers use to enter your online store.If you already have a physical store, you can simply use your business name. However, sometimes the domain may have already been used by someone else. You will need to play around your business name or use a domain name generator to help you out.
GoDaddy is a domain name registration and web hosting service provider. It is one of the most popular web hosting companies, with over 18 million users.One of their online tools is a domain name generator that lets you choose based on keywords related to your business. After choosing the keywords, they will populate all the possible domain names, availability, and price.Check out GoDaddy’s domain name generator here.
Name Mesh is a smart domain name suggestion tool that lets you find available names depending on keywords, web hosting, and Top Level Domain or TLD (e.g. “.com,” “.net,” “.co,” etc.)What’s unique about this tool is that they sort names based on different factors like Common, New, Short, Extra, Similar, SEO, Fun, and Mix. These factors give you more options and can help you choose which one easily.Find your domain name with Name Mesh here.
Lean Domain Search is a website that allows you to search for domain names based on keywords you choose. However, they only check “.com” TLD, because they believe that nontechnical people will have “.com” at the top of their head for websites.After choosing a keyword, they almost instantly populate all possible domains. You can sort them based on popularity, length, or alphabetical order. Once you’ve found the name you want, they let you register directly through WordPress or Bluehost.Try out Lean Domain Search here.
Ecommerce platforms are Ecommerce tools that let you create and manage your website, manage products, streamline marketing efforts, and conduct sales operations. Choosing a platform is crucial as it can affect the efficiency and profitability of your business.Here are the top three Ecommerce platforms you can choose:
Shopify is one of the easiest platforms to use, making it great for startups and small businesses. It provides a wide selection of website designs and applications that can help boost your marketing and sales efforts.One disadvantage of using Shopify is that they charge a transaction fee on top of payment gateway fees. That is unless you use Shopify Payments, which isn’t available everywhere.Check out our blog if you want to learn more about how Shopify works and its pricing.
If you’re looking for customizability, Magento is a great Ecommerce platform to use. You can choose the free Open Source for some of the most basic functionalities or Magento Commerce for powerful capabilities.However, the biggest downside of Magento is it’s complicated to use if you don’t know how to code. Plus, they don’t have customer support. Although, you can outsource a Magento developer to help so that you’ll have someone to apply all the features and functionalities you want.
WooCommerce is an Ecommerce tool that allows you to turn a WordPress website into an online store. It’s highly customizable, and the best thing about it is it’s free. However, you will have to pay for additional features and themes.Although, like Magento, WooCommerce also requires knowledge about coding or website development. Because it’s also self-hosted, you have to perform maintenance and updates on your own. Luckily, it’s easy to outsource this to a WooCommerce developer.
Regardless of the number of products you’re going to sell, product management requires Ecommerce tools that can help streamline your process.Product management tools help you organize your current products, find potential areas for development, forecast inventory, and more. Here are three must-have product management Ecommerce tools:
Akeneo boasts a user-friendly and highly customizable system that can quickly measure product data and provide improvement suggestions. On top of that, Akeneo PIM is an open-source software, making it practically free.They also have an annual subscription for their enterprise edition if you want more features and cloud distribution. However, their prices are on a quote basis, so visit their website for more info.Here's a preview of viewing and searching products on Akeneo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekMTmTPptlc
Salsify is one of the most feature-rich product management Ecommerce tools you can use. It can simplify processes through fast data imports from multiple data domains paired with a drag-and-drop UI. Learn more about Salsify’s PIM here.As for pricing, Salsify is also on a quote basis that will probably vary based on the size of your business. Check out their pricing page for more information.Here's a preview of Salsify's dashboard:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwolHbdvSps
inFlow is a powerful inventory management software that lets you track sales, manage products, review reports, and restock on time. You can install their software on your desktop or use their cloud application. Find out more about inFlow Inventory’s features here.inFlow Inventory has three pricing models: Light ($71/month, up to 100 monthly orders), Standard ($179/month, up to 1000 monthly orders), and Plus ($359/month, up to 5000 monthly orders). See the breakdown of each model on their pricing page.Here's a quick video about navigating inFlow:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgqxPwO1RGQ
An Ecommerce business has a broader range of customer support channels compared to traditional customer service methods. There’s email, live chat, voice, omnichannel, and more.If you want to keep your customers satisfied, you have to be on every channel your customers want you to be. With Ecommerce tools for customer support, you can cover multiple channels and customers at once.
Zendesk is a support and sales software that features a help desk that can be customized specifically for what you need. It can handle multi-channel communication, including live chat and email. However, their email communications platform can be overwhelming with all the information on the page.They offer three pricing models: Support (from $5 per agent per month), Support Suite (from $89 per agent per month, and Custom-built (for personalized pricing). You can check out their pricing page to know more about the features included in each model.
HelpScout is the best Ecommerce tool for customer service when it comes to nurturing existing customers.With their Customer Management feature, you can find, sort, and manage all the customers you’ve identified. They also offer live chat, in-app messaging, and smooth integration with other Ecommerce tools you already have.They have three pricing models, which can be paid annually or monthly:
Find out more about the inclusions of each plan on their website. Here's a product demo of HelpScout's help desk:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqifFwyGvoQ
SalesForce Essentials is a powerful customer service Ecommerce tool that features multi-channel support, including email, chat, phone, social, and self-service help. The platform is doesn’t overwhelm you with data and is easy to use. However, they don’t offer custom plans.You get all of their features for $300 billed annually (comes down to $25 per user per month) or $35 per user billed monthly.Check out this quick overview of SalesForce's platform:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxO49kFkl0Q
Ecommerce marketing is more extensive than traditional marketing. Therefore, you will need numerous Ecommerce tools to help you handle each marketing strategy. Some of the main marketing methods include email, social media, pay-per-click, SEO, and content marketing.
Email marketing stands as the most budget-friendly and effective marketing strategy for Ecommerce businesses. In choosing an email marketing tool, you need something that can do the following:
Mailchimp is one of the most user-friendly email marketing tools available. Their email editor is pretty straightforward and doesn’t overwhelm you with too many features.They have a free subscription for small subscriber lists, but you will have to switch to a paid version once your list grows more than 2,000 subs. Unfortunately, their paid subscription is a bit pricey compared to other email marketing tools, and their automation capabilities are limited.Their pricing models are: Essentials (starts at $15/month), Standard (starts at $25/month), and Premium (starts at $420/month). Get the breakdown of each subscription on their pricing page.
Sender is one of the best email marketing Ecommerce tools for creating automated campaigns, without breaking the bank. It can easily integrate with Ecommerce platforms so you can streamline your email marketing and transaction process.This Ecommerce tool is free for up to 2,500 subs and 15,000 emails per month. As for their paid subscriptions, you can choose a monthly plan or pay for prepaid credits. The monthly plan charges depending on the number of subs, while prepaid credits charge per email.Their pricing varies greatly, but it ranges from 9€ to 990€ ($10.07 to $1107.99, conversions may vary). You can visit their pricing page for more information.
OptinMonster is a lead generation Ecommerce tool that can be used to grow your email list through advanced targeting and automation. It can personalize your opt-in messaging and design based on a user’s behavior so that you can have higher conversion rates.While it isn’t exactly an email sender tool, it has the lead generation, automation, and targeting capabilities that can’t be found in other email marketing tools.Their pricing models are annual subscriptions: Basic ($108/year), Plus ($228/year), Pro ($348/year), and Growth ($588/year). Find out more about the inclusions of each plan here.
Growing your social media requires a lot of repetition and content curation. With social media marketing tools, you can organize, create, and schedule your social media campaigns. On top of that, they allow you to measure the effectiveness of each campaign.Here, we will give you the best Ecommerce tools for data aggregation, social media content creation, and graphic post creation.
Hootsuite is a platform that gathers data from over 35 social media networks to easily publish, monitor, and analyze campaigns. One of its best features is its ability to create and manage paid social campaigns to see all data in one place.They have four pricing models, which are: Professional ($19/month), Team ($99/month), Business ($599/month), and Enterprise (custom pricing). Check out their pricing page for more info.Here's a quick tour of the HootSuite dashboard:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVFNmBWAjC4
Coming up with recurring or trending content can be difficult if you don’t know where to look. BuzzSumo answers this problem by giving you content insights to help you come up with ideas, create timely content, monitor performance, and find relevant influencers.You can get BuzzSumo in four pricing models: Pro ($99/month or $948/year), Plus ($179/month or $1668/year), Large ($299/month or $2868/year), and Enterprise (custom pricing, starts at $499/month). See the breakdown of each plan here.
Some social media campaigns require minimal graphic design skills, and Canva is the best Ecommerce tool for that. It lets you design numerous marketing assets like social posts, flyers, brochures, and a whole lot more. Best of all, you can get a long way with its free subscription.However, if you want more customization, they have two more pricing models: Pro ($12.95/month or $119.4/year) and Enterprise ($360/year, or contact their sales team for custom pricing). Find out more about the features included in each plan here.
Some social media campaigns require minimal graphic design skills, and Canva is the best Ecommerce tool for that. It lets you design numerous marketing assets like social posts, flyers, brochures, and a whole lot more. Best of all, you can get a long way with its free subscription.However, if you want more customization, they have two more pricing models: Pro ($12.95/month or $119.4/year) and Enterprise ($360/year, or contact their sales team for custom pricing). Find out more about the features included in each plan here.
Ahrefs is a complete set of SEO tools that let you optimize your website, analyze competitors, research great keywords, explore top-performing content, and track your ranking. On top of that, they have extensive content about SEO on their website and Youtube channel, which is excellent for new businesses.They have four pricing models: Lite ($99/month or $990/year), Standard ($179/month or $1,790/year), Advanced ($399/month or $3990/year), and Agency ($999/month or $9,990/year). Check out their pricing page for more info about inclusions.
In a nutshell, Google Analytics helps you determine what’s wrong and what’s working on your website by providing real-time data. With this tool, you can maximize ad spend, analyze visitor behavior, and optimize pages for better user experience and SEO. Best of all, it’s free.However, if you’re not into analyzing a bunch of numbers, graphs, and other data, Google Analytics can be extremely overwhelming. It prioritizes functionality over user-friendliness, as it immediately shows you an overview of your site data as soon as you open it.
Search Console is another Google web tool that measures your website traffic and performance. It also lets you disavow or deny bad links, which is essential for healthy link building. Search Console also shows you the keywords each page on your website is ranking for, making it easy to target and optimize.Although, like Google Analytics, Search Console also shows an overwhelming amount of data. It’s also limited to only showing if your page is indexed in Google, but it doesn’t give you recommendations to improve.
Graphic design is essential to attract visitors and provide excellent customer experience through your Ecommerce website. On top of that, it’s a graphic designer’s responsibility to create a design that will entice your customers to shop.In Ecommerce, graphic design covers all aspects of the business that needs design or photo editing, including email design, landing page design, website design, product photo editing, and more. Here are the top three tools necessary for graphic design.
One of the most popular design tools, Photoshop can handle photo editing, compositing, digital painting, graphic design, and animation. All of these features are necessary for Ecommerce, because almost all of your assets need to have imagery to be effective.If you already have a background in using Photoshop, then you can probably fit designing your website into your schedule. Otherwise, you’re going to need to outsource a graphic designer. Because studying Photoshop from scratch will slow down your entire operations.Adobe Photoshop has three payment models: Annual plan paid monthly ($20.99), annual plan paid yearly ($239.88), and monthly plan ($31.49).
Another essential Ecommerce design tool, InDesign lets you create graphics for print and digital media. It’s great for creating typography, ebooks, digital magazines, interactive PDFs, brochures, catalogs, and more.Just like Photoshop, however, it requires you to have an existing skill in graphic design to maximize all its features. Plans and pricing are also the same as Photoshop.If you want to find the best value, you can check out their Creative Cloud Plans and Pricing page for bundles.
Shakr is a video editing tool that helps you create all types of video assets for your marketing strategies. It boasts a drag-and-drop video editing feature that allows you to create more videos faster, without sacrificing quality.Their prices start at $200, which is their basic plan. However, for more complex plans, you will have to ask for a quote. Visit their pricing page to find out more about Shakr’s features.
It can be difficult to choose from thousands of Ecommerce tool options. So hopefully, this list helped you find what you need. At the end of the day, the key is to keep your customers in mind when choosing Ecommerce tools, and you’ll always choose the right ones.All of the Ecommerce tools mentioned in this article are only some of what we use here at KDCI Outsourcing. To give you the best quality of service in design, marketing, customer service, and more — we need top-of-the-line Ecommerce tools.If you want to learn more about how we can help you start and grow your Ecommerce business, visit our Ecommerce Outsourcing page. For more questions, click or tap the button below.Contact Us
Shopify is a shopping cart solution that serves as a platform for businesses to sell their products or services online. It allows you to build your website and add and sell products. Shopify remains as the leading Ecommerce platform for all business sizes, and we’ll tell you why.In this article, we’ll show you how Shopify works, how much it costs, and why you should use it for your Ecommerce business.
Shopify works as a platform that carries all your online store’s data and provides a point of sale system so that you can sell your products. We’ll walk you through each step you need to take to build your Shopify store — from signup to shipping.
To start, Shopify gives you a 14-day free trial that already allows you to create your online store. All you need is your email address, password, store name, and you’re good to go. So, if you just wanna test the waters, you only have to set up payment details once the trial is over. If you need help with creating a store name, Shopify also has you covered. Check out their Business Name Generator!
After filling out the form, you will be taken to the admin page with shortcuts in the middle of the page that lets you add products, customize your theme, and add a domain.
Depending on the number of products you want to sell, adding products can be the easiest or toughest part of building your online store. In general, however, adding products to Shopify is easy. All you need is to add a product name, description, and upload an image of the product. One of the difficult parts of this stage is writing product descriptions. Your descriptions should be written in such a way that it entices readers to buy the product, and it needs to be SEO-friendly. You can learn more about product descriptions here. Aside from those, you can also add other product information like barcodes and product variants.
Shopify has numerous free and paid design themes and templates you can use for your online store. They also use a drag-and-drop editing feature, which makes customizing design more user-friendly, especially for beginners. If you want a fully-customized website and more control, Shopify also allows you to edit the code of your website. However, you will need someone to design your website and build it into Shopify. While it sounds like an extra cost, an experienced graphic designer can help you create all your website design and marketing collaterals. On the other hand, a Shopify developer can build your store with the features and all functionalities that you want, whenever you want. Having both can save you an awful lot of time and effort if you think about it. Luckily, you can easily outsource these roles to an Ecommerce service provider. Find out more about outsourcing Ecommerce graphic design and website development.
Since you already have a name for your store, especially if you have an existing brick-and-mortar store, choosing a domain name or URL is easy. In Shopify, you can choose to have a free subdomain, buy a new domain, or connect an existing domain to Shopify. The free subdomain will have “.myshopify.com” after your store name. On the upside, it’s free. However, it doesn’t look professional, which matters if you want to make a good first impression on your customers. In buying a new domain, you can purchase one directly from Shopify in the search bar. You can choose other URL extensions, like .net, .co, or .shop. Prices vary, but it usually starts at $14 per year. If you want to connect an existing domain, go to Online Store > Domains in your admin page. After that, click Connect existing domain > transfer in your domain. For a more comprehensive walkthrough, check out Shopify’s help center for transferring domains.
A payment gateway authorizes the processing of payments through an Ecommerce store. You can integrate your Shopify store with numerous gateways so that your customers have more payment options. Shopify has its own payment gateway called Shopify Payments, which doesn’t charge any transaction fees. Third-party gateways, however, charge per transaction or a monthly subscription. Some of the commonly used payment gateways for Shopify stores include:
Gives you two options: Payflow Link (free) and Payflow Pro ($25/month). The paid version gives you more customization in the checkout experience. PayPal also offers optional, paid features like fraud protection, recurring billing, and buyer authentication. Find out more about PayPal’s payment gateway here.
Offers two payment options: Pay as you go (2.75% + £2.0 or $2.50 per transaction for both credit and debit cards, and Pay monthly (£19.95 or $24.97 per month plus 2.75% for credit cards and 0.75% for debit cards).Note: Pound to USD conversions are as of 06/15/2020The best thing about Worldpay is that they don’t charge for anything else. You get all of their features, and they don’t charge extra for international fees. Check out more of Worldpay’s payment gateway here.
Only provides a per transaction fee of 1.95%, plus service tax or other applicable taxes. These tax charges will reflect on successful transactions. They don’t charge any other fees for setup or maintenance. The main benefit of having Amazon Pay is that you can target customers who don’t want to add their card details in their purchases. Find out more about Amazon Pay here.
Offers a basic pricing method for 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction, and a customizable solution for larger payment volumes. Stripe doesn’t charge other fees like setup, monthly, or hidden costs. Learn more about Stripe’s customizable payment gateway here.
Offers three pricing options: All-in-one (2.9% + 30¢), Payment Gateway Only (10¢ per transaction, with 10¢ daily batch fee), and Enterprise Solutions (custom pricing). No extra charges for other features like fraud prevention, customer information manager, and invoicing. See more details about Authorize.Net’s payment gateway here.
Shopify has a shipping module that lets you integrate your website with shipping carriers so that you can provide real-time shipping rates for your customers. Additionally, they also let you integrate with dropshipping applications like AfterShip, Oberlo, and ShipWorks.
Shopify charges every month, which rates will depend on the plan you want for your online store .A Basic Shopify plan costs only $13/month, which includes all the necessary stuff you need for your business. The Shopify plan costs $54/month, which will consist of features that you will need to grow your business. Lastly, an Advanced Shopify plan costs $107/month, which is recommended for scaling your business.
Visit this link to learn more about Shopify's pricing plans.
Managing products on a website is challenging. However, Shopify makes product management easier through features like product administration, inventory management, and stock control. On top of that, Shopify can handle large inventory without the complicated techy stuff.
With social media being one of the most used marketing channels, Shopify makes it easy to integrate with all social media websites. Additionally, they have 90+ apps that you can download into your website specifically for social media marketing.
Performance and site load speed are both essential in retaining customers as they deliver positive and rewarding user experience when shopping online. With Shopify, loading speeds are always as fast as your connection allows. Moreover, hosting from Shopify includes regular security updates that are automatically passed on to every merchant. You can stress way less because this all happens in the background.
Fast and responsive support is available for Shopify and its communities through multiple platforms. Even the smallest merchants have access to the help they often need to troubleshoot and improve their website. You can post in their slack channel and forums where you’ll find a dynamic and engaged community that is ready to help solve your Ecommerce challenges.
For many businesses, customization is an essential part of the way they sell products online because it brings out their brand identity. Luckily, Shopify is well built to work with custom design interfaces. The base-level options for Shopify are already extensive and can accommodate most business needs, but it is also flexible enough that it can also handle custom product services. Shopify can push boundaries, and more often than not, custom interfaces are the best option.
With all of its user-friendly features, Shopify stands as the best place to start an Ecommerce website. Although — however use — you still have to focus on other essential parts of your business like product development, marketing, and sales. Luckily, you can hire a Shopify developer to help. Regardless of whether you’re starting an online store from scratch or improving an existing Shopify store, our Shopify developers are ready to apply all the capabilities you want to see on your website. Find out more about our Ecommerce Outsourcing Services here, or click the button below to ask for a quote for a Shopify developer. Get a quote Posted: August 26, 2019Updated: June 10, 2020
Developing a business plan before venturing into Ecommerce will give you a smooth and financially secure transition to the digital market. This will serve as the map that tells you how to turn your business idea into reality. That is if you know what your Ecommerce business plan should cover.
An Ecommerce business plan covers five significant components that branch out to more equally essential elements. You can download our checklist for a winning Ecommerce business plan.Download our Business Plan Checklist
Every business plan must start with research. This can include looking for a problem to target or finding the customers you want to target.Additionally, you must also know about the due diligence that encompasses your business idea. This may include an investigation of legal, financial, or workforce requirements to run your business smoothly. Your research and due diligence process must cover the following:
Market research helps you understand your target customers, including demographics, behavior, and other factors that can influence their buying decisions. It answers the following questions:
To begin your market research, find out where your potential customers are lurking. Social media is one of the major tools you can use to gather information. You can also look for statistical data about your target market.
A competitive analysis will help you know who you will be going against. This will tell you the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, and how you can adjust your strategy to surpass them.Your competitive analysis must cover the following:
Use competitor analysis tools to make your research easier. Some of the tools we use for our clients include Ahrefs, Alexa, Moz, and the ever-reliable social media.
Technology research determines the software or online programs you need to build, run, and grow your online business. This can range from specialized Ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Magento, website builders, to Content Management Systems.Essentially, Ecommerce businesses need a web server, web tools, and database system. However, you may also need specific marketing tools, Google services, POS systems, and other technologies that improve how you communicate, store, and process data about your customers such as a CRM.
The resources and business requirements you need will depend on what you want to accomplish and sell. This may or may not include the people you need in your workforce, your order fulfillment process, legal requirements, and other due diligence.Some of the legal requirements for Ecommerce businesses in the US may include:
Products and services research will cover the changes you need to make to stand out from your competitors. One big question you can ask is, “are there product features or additional services I can include to make my brand different?”This should include due diligence or government-mandated requirements that surround the product or service you want to offer. This can help you decide whether or not your product or service is worth the effort and money.If you’re planning to sell products, you need to research manufacturing, supply chain, and dropshipping. All of these factors will affect the quality of your products and overall customer experience.
Probably the most essential part of your research process is your financial plan. You need to know where you will be getting the funds for your initial capital, your projected expenses, tax considerations, risk management, and long-term investments.Adding a financial plan into your Ecommerce business plan will determine whether or not your business is feasible. This may also be a requirement if you want to win approval from an investor or to secure a loan.Take the time to find cost-effective solutions that will cut your expenses without sacrificing the quality of your business.Having an outsourcing company to help, for example, can reduce labor and operational costs by up to 60%. Consider outsourcing companies that have Ecommerce expertise, because they have all the support you need to run your business, including:
Your Ecommerce business plan must have a brief overview of what your business is about. This will help you with two things: (1) providing a short, clear perspective about your online business, and (2) attracting people to invest in your idea.
Your business name doesn’t just define the identity of your online store. It can also affect how customers and investors perceive your business and whether or not they want to buy from you.A study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Review found that stock names that are easy to pronounce had 11% more investments than those with difficult pronunciation. Therefore, the simpler, the better.You can use Shopify’s business name generator to give you some ideas.In terms of registration, there aren’t specific licenses that you need to have to run an online business in the US. However, you have to comply with regulations as per the requirements we mentioned previously.
After conducting research, you must formally define who you want to target. Moving forward, this will serve as your guide whenever you want to strategize in targeting your ideal consumers.Of course, this comes with your total budget and its breakdown. If you want to look for investors, defining the details of your target budget will help them decide whether your business is worth their risk.
Every Ecommerce business must choose which platform to use, and include all the necessary technology needed to run the business. Knowing the platform and technology you will use is essential because it will define the capabilities and limitations of your Ecommerce website.Some of the most popular Ecommerce platforms include:
Your order fulfillment must define how you will process the orders of your customers, from inquiry up to delivery. You may hire a third-party service for order fulfillment if you don’t have your own warehouse, and you want to manage the effort you put into refunds and returns.On the other hand, if you want to sell services, determining your service fulfillment will define your customer satisfaction rates. Your service fulfillment must set standards for adequate service, value for money, and customer relationship management.
Finally, your business plan must have a quick overview of your marketing and sales strategies or campaigns.It doesn’t have to be a full-blown marketing and sales campaign yet. However, if you’re presenting your idea to an investor or potential business partner, they will want to know how you plan on selling your product or service.We will expand more on marketing and sales further into the article.
Website design and development will define the physical aspects and functionality of your website. You may choose to hire an outsourcing company to handle this part for you. However, the following are some factors that you need to consider:
Branding and corporate identity fall into the design aspect of your Ecommerce business plan.Take note of your brand promise, goals, and vision for your business. Consistently incorporate these into your logo, tagline, color palette, imagery, and tone of voice, as this will define your corporate identity.The goal is to know the distinct design you want your business to be known for.
In your Ecommerce business plan, decide on what platform you want to use. After that, look for a developer to hire to handle this for you because this will take a lot of time to execute.Some Ecommerce platforms are easy enough to use that you don’t need to know how to code to build your online store. However, Ecommerce websites require specific functionalities and requirements that only professionals can successfully execute.Hiring an outsourcing company will save you the hassle of finding and hiring an independent contractor or freelancer. Not to mention, Ecommerce development expertise can be challenging to find.Find out more about our Ecommerce Website Development Services. You can also click the button below for inquiries about our development services.Help Me Develop My Website
Essentially, website hosting services allow your website to be accessible on the internet. It’s like buying or renting a space for your business so that customers can visit your store.In your Ecommerce business plan, decide on what website hosting provider you will use. Some of the most popular hosting providers are GoDaddy, BlueHost, and InMotion.Additionally, you will need someone to handle systems administration. This will cover the management of all software and servers, and making sure that your online store is running efficiently.
UX/UI (User Experience / User Interface) is one of the most crucial aspects of website design that focuses on usability, functionality, and aesthetics. The goal of UX/UI design is to make your website as compelling and user friendly as possible.Include this in your Ecommerce business plan as one of the things you need to look for when hiring someone to design your website.You can also outsource UX/UI design to a graphic design service provider. Through an outsourcing company, you don’t have to worry about looking for someone and the quality of their work.
This is an important part of designing and developing your website because you can’t have a live site with a lot of bugs and errors. Otherwise, your customers will think your website is broken, which may leave a bad impression and cost you money in lost sales.Define how you will conduct website quality assurance in your Ecommerce business plan. This will determine your QA process in ensuring that your website is ready for launching.
The next thing that needs to be in your Ecommerce business plan is your Marketing and Sales plan. Pinpoint the strategies that you will use to market your business and your sales process.
Here are some of the most reliable marketing and sales strategies that you can use:
Ecommerce has grown to become one of the fastest-growing industries ever since the coronavirus widespread. This means that you will have a lot of competitors fighting for the top 1 of Google SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) work hand-in-hand in making your Ecommerce website known by your customers by making your website rank higher.If you don’t focus on SEO and SEM, you risk getting pushed to the lower ranks of Google SERPs, where your potential customers wouldn’t even bother looking.
PPC (Pay Per Click) is essentially a marketing strategy where you pay for every click your ads get. It’s a way for you to get website visitors without relying on organic traffic.There are a lot of PPC forms you can use for your online business. One of the most popular PPC strategies is SERPs, where you will “bid” on a particular keyword or set of keywords to rank higher on Google.Another form of PPC is through social media, where the platforms target your audience based on their recent searches or activity and feed them with relevant advertisements.PPC Marketing may or may not be an expensive investment. The prices of the bids are directly proportional to the level of competition. However, the main benefit of PPC is that the people who click on your ads are actually searching for businesses, products, or services like you.
Social Media Marketing uses social media platforms that your target customers use to build brand awareness, engage with customers, sell products or services, and drive traffic to your website.It basically involves distributing content across social media to build engagement, analyze data, and run advertising campaigns.What makes Social Media Marketing great is that it’s cost-effective, with the possibility of being totally free. However, without paid boosts, growing an audience through a social media page can be extremely difficult and time-consuming.
This type of marketing involves giving incentives or commissions to affiliates for every successful customer they brought using their marketing efforts.It’s like having a group of sales representatives to sell your products using whatever marketing and sales techniques they want to use.
Email marketing remains the most effective and cost-efficient marketing method for online businesses.You can use this to distribute advertisements, business updates, bonuses, and other relevant content to your send list. However, the most difficult part of email marketing is growing a big enough send list to produce significant sales.Some of the most popular email marketing tools include MailChimp, HubSpot, and GetResponse.
Inside sales are one of the most dominant sales models because of its reliability and effectiveness. For online businesses, they are the “human touch” that compels your customers to proceed with a purchase since speaking with a person builds stronger trust.Unlike telemarketers, an inside sales team can handle live chat, email, voice, and omnichannel tickets for faster transactions.
Business operations are the workflow you need to implement to run your store. If you’re writing your Ecommerce business plan for investors, you need to get into detail with every part of your operations.
Another thing you need to figure out is whether you will be having a third-party partner for some of these business operations. Especially now with COVID-19, you’re more likely to need more remote operations support than in-house.Here are some parts of operations that you can outsource:
If you’re planning on selling products through Ecommerce, you need to consider inventory management. It involves making sure you don’t overstock and run out of items by predicting your products’ demand.This can be time-consuming because it involves a lot of data analysis, inventory monitoring, and management. For this reason, most Ecommerce companies prefer to outsource inventory management.Inventory management outsourcing companies have the tools and expertise to do the heavy lifting for you. Their services may or may not include:
Like other outsourcing companies, you have the freedom to choose which part of inventory management you want to outsource. So, you don’t have to worry about relinquishing control over your products.
Product Information Management (PIM) involves data concerning your products, including product description writing and data entry. Therefore, this is another crucial aspect of product or retail Ecommerce.If you’re planning on selling a lot of products on multiple platforms aside from your website (e.g., Amazon, Home Depot), you’re going to need a strong workforce to distribute the data. Otherwise, PIM can be extremely time-consuming.You’ll need to make sure that all information is accurate, and that the data follows specific guidelines according to the platform you’re going to upload it to.Learn more about our PIM Services here, or click the button below and let’s talk about what you need.Help Me With Product Information Management
In the production process, decide if you want to be the one to wholesale, manufacture, or drop ship your products. If so, how long will it take to make your products? Can you handle the high-volume orders if your demand increases?To outsource your production, you can either have your partner manufacture the entire product (or products) or let them handle a part of the production process.Both of these options are more cost-effective than handling everything on your own since they already have the experience, equipment, and other assets ready.Hence, it will come down to who you choose as an outsourcing partner. Some of the questions you can ask are:
Customer support in Ecommerce can have various channels, like email and chat. Decide on the channel you will use for customer inquiries and determine your capabilities in terms of workforce.Regarding workforce capability, customer support is one of the most outsourced business operations in almost every industry. Therefore, looking for people wouldn’t be difficult. It then comes down to choosing an outsourcing company based on the following:
Another option you can do is building a customer support team overseas. The Philippines is one of the best countries to build remote staff because of their English communication skills. Plus, almost all outsourcing companies in the country are 24/7 capable so that they can work during your hours.Offshore Staffing is one of our expertise here at KDCI Outsourcing. We can handle recruitment, operations, and employee management for the job roles you want to build.For our capabilities in customer support staffing, you can check out how we reduced Wireless Emporium’s labor cost by 70%.
Previously, we focused more on the building process of website development. This time, for business operations, website development covers any need for improvement in your website’s capabilities and functionality.This will also include maintenance, which must be done regularly. Otherwise, your website can be at risk of hacking, bugs, and other errors that can interrupt your operations.
Your business plan is to serve as your guide to identifying and calculating your steps in starting and growing your online store. Creating a growth-driven Ecommerce business plan will serve as your roadmap for starting a new business idea or growing your existing business.If you need help with creating and executing your Ecommerce business plan, KDCI Outsourcing has the experience and expertise to assist you.Feel free to check out our Design and Marketing Services, Ecommerce Outsourcing Services, and Offshore Staffing Services for more information. If you have any questions, we’d be happy to help! All you have to do is contact us. After all, it’s free!Contact Us
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