Employers from all over the world work with virtual assistants. Usually located from home, virtual assistants are a perfect solution for replacing expensive local admin employees.
Virtual assistants may do both generic and specialized duties; for example, you can hire a social media virtual assistant. Managers may utilize virtual assistants to help their local employees execute more job-specific activities by setting up defined procedures and standards.
Many virtual assistants are highly qualified and technologically adaptable, which increases overall productivity for a small company or a self-employed business owner.
What are the duties of a virtual assistant? Here are the numerous responsibilities and functions of a virtual assistant:
Email Management
To ensure that lead information does not fall between the cracks, a VA can answer every email within minutes, guaranteeing that everyone receives timely information.
You can delegate the following tasks to your virtual email assistant:
- Cleaning and sorting inbox
- Deleting old emails
- Managing contact list
- Responding to emails and creating drafts for approval
- Email marketing tasks
- Setting auto-responders
- Scheduling appointments
- Calendar management
Data Entry
Data entry is a non-strategic activity that often requires a significant amount of time to complete. Entrepreneurs lack the time necessary to turn their findings into data work effectively.
A virtual assistant may be of assistance since they are adept at doing different data entry jobs. They stick to the most recent data entry advances in standards, quality management, data security, cost reduction, and confidentiality.
They also adhere to all applicable laws and regulations, and customer satisfaction is their primary objective. They work for insurance companies, government agencies, and other organizations that use a standardized coding system.
Admin Support
When you run a successful or expanding company, you will be inundated with many administrative duties that must be completed daily, including the following:
- Timesheet management
- Human Resource Management responsibilities
- Calendar management
These duties are doable by any company owner on their own, but they are time-intensive and not the best use of your time as an entrepreneur. To reclaim much more precious time, you'd need to employ a cost-effective administrative virtual assistant who could optimize the value of your time and allow you to concentrate on other essential business requirements.
Social Media Management
Promoting your company and engaging with customers and prospects needs a consistent presence on social media channels. People tweet, post their Facebook status and browse Pinterest at all hours of the day and night.
Your virtual assistant for social media would be in charge of scheduling posts, creating banners, and repurposing website content for social media platforms. Their objective is to grow your followers and promote your company.
Marketing Assistance
Your virtual assistant may assist you with marketing activities such as social media management, content creation, email marketing, graphic design, website design, and listing management.
Sales Assistance
A busy company owner may not always have time to input sales data into customer relationship management (CRM) software meticulously. Due to the frantic pace of work, some mistakes may lose leads and potential future revenue. Engage virtual assistants to help you split the effort and ensure that sales revenue does not slip through the gaps.
Customer Service
Human-to-human conversation and conversion are things that VAs are particularly good at. Their call volume is high, and they're compensated well for closing deals.
Internet Research
Often, extensive study is required to operate a business correctly and boost performance to the next level. There are always more research tasks to do —- determining your target market, conducting competitive intelligence, and establishing industry standards.
Fortunately, your virtual assistant can gather information from the Internet, organize it, and deliver it in an easily digestible manner.
Data Collection
VAs can manage large-scale research, data collection, and supply chain management projects that need a variety of customizations, including phone calls, online forms, and emails.
Electronic Filing
Even in a "paperless" workplace, there would still be paper documents that need to be filed digitally. A virtual assistant can archive email effectively, manage a complicated electronic folder system, and serve as the primary repository of essential documents and critical information received in the workplace.
Presentations and Spreadsheet Report
Collaboration features allow numerous virtual assistants to access presentation and word processing tools. Sharing access will enable VAs to assist in finishing presentations and reports. They may produce data visualizations such as reports, charts, and graphs. A virtual assistant may also prepare a digital slideshow presentation for his client.
Database Building and Management
Someone has to input all data for new prospects and customers, filter and update all data for current contacts, analyze data based on your client's demographic location, update product inventories, update the amount of business produced by each client, outstanding orders etc. It would be best to have a VA to file, organize, preserve, and retrieve critical business information to run a successful company. If your information database is current, well-organized, and simple to analyze, you will have a goldmine of data in your hands.
Bookkeeping and other specialized tasks
Some virtual assistants may have a background in accounting and finance. You can hire a bookkeeping virtual assistant. If you need assistance in handling your financial records or maintaining your business' books of accounts, a VA specializing in bookkeeping would be a good idea.
There are also several specialized and technical tasks that virtual assistants can come in handy. They could be graphic designers who can assist you in making posters and publication materials. Other specialized tasks may include e-commerce website management, lead generation, and website design.
Takeaway
A virtual assistant relieves your burden with other tasks and allows you to concentrate on the essential part of your business. If you feel as if you're drowning in your company and can't seem to get things done, consider hiring a virtual assistant to help you out. Gone are the days when assistants are only doing general admin tasks. You can outsource VA with expertise in your field. That way, you can focus on what you do best and grow your company to its full potential.
The great thing is that on a Philippines outsourcing marketplace such as VirtualStaff.ph, you can easily find virtual assistants, with hundreds of thousands to choose from and hourly salary rates ranging from $2.00 to $20.00 per hour. The ball is well and truly in your court!
