Just because you are self-employed doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself! If you are starting to feel overwelmed by your business it could be time to outsource but what kind of things could a Virtual Assistant help you with?
Social Media Accounts
Like it or not, and some people don’t, businesses, however small, really need a profile on one or more of the popular social media platforms. That isn’t to say you need to use these to hard sell, in fact it’s best not to, but customers do expect to engage now with the businesses they are interested in. Clients want to read reviews, enter competitions, watch videos and see photos of the products or services they may buy. They want to get to know you and you need to get to know them. Setting up a Facebook business page, a Twitter account, your Linked In profile, or Instagram takes a bit of time. Monitoring it, populating it with photos and articles, replying to comments and questions takes even longer. This is one of the most popular and effective tasks small and medium enterprises outsource to VA services.
Customer Relations Management (CRM)
Whether you need to give your existing clients some much needed tlc (they should be a priority!), or you have a drawer full of business cards and details of prospective contacts collected from networking events, a robust CRM system is a must. A virtual assistant can create one using those cards and your existing customer data to ensure you have all the information ready for when you need to reach out to them. A virtual assistant can also link with new contacts on your behalf via their social media.
Newsletters
Once you have that great CRM database why not utilise it and create a newsletter showcasing the great stuff you are doing. Maybe a new service or product or an award. Let your customers know you are thinking about them and remind them of the great service you provided.
Email management
Are you struggling to find the important emails amongst the junk? It might be time for an inbox detox! However, we all know that unsubscribing is fiddly and time-consuming so why not let a virtual assistant do it for you. This service may also include answering general enquiry emails – just an acknowledgement if preferred -or filtering, monitoring, triaging and filing.
Research
Whether you are a writer and need to research some facts or places, or you are a business looking to recruit staff, having the time to research thoroughly is a real luxury. A virtual assistant can look up that information for you. They can do general background checks on prospective staff or clients, research the competition or fact-find on the setting for your novel, and then collate, summarise and report the findings to you.
My services page give more examples of how I can help you.