Four Essential Business Functions You Should Consider Outsourcing

As your business grows, you will find yourself juggling multiple tasks that drag you away from the core of your business. This results in you spending more time performing tasks that distract you from activities that generate revenue. In many cases, small to medium businesses find it smarter to outsource some of their processes to ensure they are delivered effectively, efficiently and at a reduced cost.

Business process outsourcing (BPO) can help restore your focus on your core competencies and leverage your team’s unique strength and expertise. Some of the most common reasons why companies turn to outsourcing are to:

• Reduce costs and improve bottom line
• Focus on core business competencies
• Increase efficiency and effectiveness
• Improve opportunities for growth
• Access to a wider candidate pool
• Tap into the latest technological advancements

The following are key business functions that businesses are outsourcing:

1. Sales Support

   Salespeople are forced to juggle several tasks at any given time. While their main focus should be the Customer and closing sales, they are so often updating the CRM, doing follow up calls and emails, updating data lists and generally ensuring all administration tasks associated with the sale are completed. While a Sales Support team member may not stack up onshore, the business case may differ if you review offshore resources. An offshore team member can maintain the CRM, ensure all data associated with the Customer and sales are up to date, send and manage calendar invites, send follow up emails, make follow up calls, and many other tasks to assist the Salesperson. As a result, your onshore Sales team can then focus on doing what they do best – selling new and driving more business.

2. Accounting & Finance

   Outsourcing of Accounting and Finance functions continue to be a common area as it offers a cost effective, attractive, and valuable alternative to onshore resources. Tasks are often repetitive and resource intensive, making it a perfect function to start with when considering offshoring. Some Accounting and Finance roles you might consider outsourcing include, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, general accounting, bookkeeping, Tax and Compliance, and Financial Planning and Analysis.

3. Customer Service

   One of the most outsourced services is contact support. Many businesses today who are looking to provide 24/7 service through a variety of channels are choosing to outsource their customer service functions. This can also include Inside Sales and Order Processing. This type of services involves telemarketing, outbound calls, inbound calls, chat support, email support, and social media support.

4. Digital Marketing

   Digital marketing enables businesses to build their brand online, reach a broader audience, enhance their conversion rate, and save on their marketing expenses. While this is the case, marketing your brand on digital platforms can consume a lot of time. This is where outsourcing comes in to shoulder the digital marketing workload. There are plenty of experienced marketing professionals who can help your company grow your digital presence, and digital marketing often involves the role of content writing, social media management, email marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), web development, and graphic design.

Cost savings

Typically, offshore cost is 20%-30% of those in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US representing a saving of around 70-80% for a comparable skill set. While salaries differ depending on the role, experience, and capability, the following provides typical compensation expectations for different roles: