Outsourcing online store management: pros and cons
Online store management:
complex of technical works related to maintenance and development of the resource
a set of marketing activities aimed at increasing sales and expanding customer base
optimization of existing business processes to improve efficiency and reduce transaction costs
Immediately it should be noted that if the online store is the main business of the customer, the consideration of outsourcing in this case is not a topic, since the outsourcing of strategic competence is not a good approach to doing business ( at the initial stage clearly).
To make a decision “for” or “against” outsourcing, it is necessary to analyze the cost of options. After comparing the costs, determining the risks, the final decision is made.
The main elements of the analysis of the cost of the option in the organization of support within its structure:
cost of organization and debugging of own process (selection of specialists, debugging of business processes, development of motivational policy, etc.).);
direct expenses (salary);
the increase in overheads;
increase in management costs
Key elements of option cost analysis when transferring online store support:
cost of purchase;
cost of communications;
costs associated with quality control;
increase the purchase price.
When selecting a customer should rely on the competence of the contractor in:
website promotion
optimizations
social media support, viral marketing
PR and event marketing
development of sites (the need for improvements will arise in any case)
organization of additional business processes: customer support (call-center, consultations), management of logistics flows, etc.
If a decision is made “for outsourcing”, there may be threats to the company
loss of control;
loss of customer orientation;
loss of control over costs;
inefficient management;
loss of privacy.
The development of an organization is always a transition from one state to another. A transition is a change that needs to be managed. Otherwise, you can not go to what was planned. And one of the forms of management can be outsourcing of organizational development, which includes:
transfer to third-party contractors of all or several functions related to the implementation of the company’s development and management of this process. In the case of online store management-it can be marketing companies, improvement of site functionality, integration with accounting systems
providing business with the degree of organization that is necessary. This can be both a plus and a minus in the outsourcing approach. In particular, in the case of outsourcing, it may threaten to increase costs in the selection of the contractor.
