The virtual assistant industry has grown incredibly much in the past few years, but especially during the pandemic when remote working has become the norm. Since everyone seems to be getting a VA, you may be asking yourself if your business could also benefit from a little extra help.
A virtual assistant does nearly the same tasks a traditional assistant does; only they do so from a remote location. They are usually self-employed or working with a VA business, and they can do anything from responding to emails and keeping an eye on your social media to managing your schedule and bookkeeping.
To help you decide whether it’s time to hire a virtual personal assistant or not, we have put together a small list of reasons why a VA can help improve your business operations.
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Reduce overhead costs
Hiring a virtual assistant is much cheaper than hiring an in-office assistant, and they can do almost the same tasks. For starters, a virtual PA works on an hourly or task basis, meaning you only pay them for the amount of work they do instead of playing a full salary. Plus, because they work remotely, you won’t need to worry about costs such as internet subscriptions, laptop, phone, and so on.
Another cost-related advantage has to do with training, as virtual assistants are usually professionals that have been doing this type of job for a while now and don’t need to be trained in how to perform their tasks.
Save time on non-core tasks
If you are running a business, you need to focus all your resources on helping this business grow. Still, how can you do that if you keep wasting important hours on tedious, time-consuming tasks? Here’s where a virtual assistant can come to help.
By outsourcing some of your non-essential tasks to a virtual assistant, you will free up your schedule and have plenty of time to focus on the more important aspects of running a business. A virtual assistant can manage your emails, handle customer queries, schedule meetings, or help you with data entry.
Increase business flexibility
A virtual assistant is a great way to increase the flexibility of your schedule and gives you time to focus on other things besides your business. However, you can take even more advantage of this aspect. Because they work on a flexible schedule, a virtual assistant can help improve business flexibility as well. Let’s say you are in the office and can take calls from 10 AM to 3 PM. You can delegate your assistant to take calls while you are not in the office, to increase availability hours and provide better support for your clients.
Get help with marketing
Almost all virtual assistants today have at least some basic knowledge on digital marketing. If you don’t have the time to handle your social media accounts but don’t have the budget to hire a social media manager either, you can ask for help from your VA.
They can manage your social media accounts, write email marketing content, send emails, keep an eye on your website, or carry out marketing and competitor research.