Author: OneVirtual Solutions

Ever since it started in the early 1990s, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry of the Philippines has been a key player in its modernization. It generated jobs and enabled the development of the local IT and financial services sectors. By 2011, the gross revenue from the BPO industry was at least 4.9% of the country’s GDP, according to the Oxford Business Group.

Local and foreign industry players and policymakers are confident that the Philippine BPO superstructure is too big to fail. However, uncertainties in the business climate are creating serious challenges for companies that provide virtual assistant services and call center services, among others.

In 2017, the BPO industry suffered a major setback brought on by local political instability and calls for tighter controls on the outsourcing market for North American companies.

Investment pledges were on a freefall, with a significant decrease of at least 34%. In fact, analysts have projected dismal growth figures for both the industry and the national economy as a whole. No doubt, the current situation can have a significant impact, particularly on providers of IT, customer relations, and virtual assistant services.

So, is it still a great time to hire a virtual workforce in the Philippines? Yes, it is. Here are the main reasons.

The US has a share of at least 70% in the country’s billion-dollar BPO industry. And despite calls to limit outsourcing,  American companies continue to transact with capable service providers in the Philippines.

This reliance is due partly to rising wages and employment costs in the US, and partly to the quality of work that Filipino BPO companies and virtual assistant services companies are capable of producing.

Reforms in the Philippines’ tax policies under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law has spurred fears of an increase in the cost of doing business in the country.

However, the second round of tax reforms will provide the industry with larger incentives. This is in response to the threat of AI, the need to invest in new infrastructure, and the demand for quality skills that are at par with global standards.

With the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities Bill, the Philippine government is expected to spend at least $500 million to stimulate the BPO industry within a five-year period.

The Philippines continues to pride itself as an economy that favors outsourcing. Citing the English-language proficiency of the country’s virtual workforce, industry experts are quick to say that quality is a significant factor in the BPO industry’s continuing success.

Despite political developments within and outside the country, the BPO sector remains as “one of the world’s most vibrant and flourishing industries” according to an article published in news website ASEANBriefing.com. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi even said that the Philippines has become a “powerhouse” in the services sector during a business summit with members of the ASEAN.

A high concentration of BPO companies is found in Manila, which is the country’s capital and seat of power. In fact, at least 80% of prime office spaces are occupied by IT-BPO, making up about 3.8 million square meters of commercial property. This comes as a drawback since it has caused a surge in property prices amid a shortage of supply. Along with Cebu, Manila’s BPO saturation will cause investors to look for emerging markets elsewhere in the country.

With the Duterte administration’s drive to decentralize the political and economic structure of the country, cities like Davao, Baguio, Dumaguete, and Iloilo will end up as the biggest winners.

Iloilo, for one, is sought for its business environment where work-life balance is central to building an empowered workforce. And with the influx of capital and the rise of residential and commercial developments, Iloilo is becoming an ideal breeding ground for a globally competitive virtual workforce.

Are you thinking of outsourcing your business operations to Iloilo? Why not start with OneVirtual Solutions to see what Ilonggos can bring to the table.

Set an appointment with us today.

Content is king, and there’s nothing that a real estate business can do but submit to its rule. Whether you are targeting property sellers, buyers, or investors, you will always need content to generate interest and leads. However, in getting the best results, quality matters a lot.

Unlike writing for other mediums, writing for the web makes use of a specific set of formulas. It’s how you understand and apply these formulas that enables you to create content that’s intended for your real estate audience.

Here’s a guide to help you write great content for the web.

Nowadays, people read an article and pick out only the information they need without sifting through the entire piece. In fact, according to research by Nielsen, at least 79% of internet users scan web pages. This only goes to show that, in this fast-paced world, people want instant information.

When writing content for your audience, it has to be:

• Concise. Shorter and more straightforward content is essential. It makes it easier to provide your target audience with value and, eventually, increase conversions.
• Simple. There’s always a right place and time for replacing the word “bad” with “execrable,” but not when you’re reaching out to real estate clients. If you want to attract more leads, you need to write copy that’s easy to digest.
• Logical. Great writing is anchored on sound logic inasmuch as compelling style. You need to write content that flows smoothly from point A to point B. You also need to make sure your paragraphs are properly structured so as to deliver your main point.

If your aim is to attract potential real estate clients, you will have to write content that answers the question, “How is this important to me.” Remember: You are writing for an audience and you need content that helps them understand topics such as underwriting and capitalization rate.

What should I look for in a real estate broker? How can I increase my home’s market price? What is due diligence? Answering these questions yourself will help you write with a purpose. If you are not sure where to get ideas for valuable content, use tools like Twitter Advanced Search and Buzzsumo for examples of articles and marketing collaterals that generate a lot of engagement.

You can’t have an effective content strategy without keywords. After all, your real estate business needs exposure, so you need to structure your content based on the most searched terms and phrases within your niche.

Search engine optimization or SEO is crucial to the success of your real estate business, so you will have to invest time and resources in keyword research and planning. To bring out the best results, you can hire a real estate virtual assistant with a digital marketing background to help you improve your SEO.

Aside from being informative, effective web copy should also be persuasive. It should compel users into taking action. An engaging call-to-action or CTA can serve this very purpose.

When composing a CTA at the end of a blog article or as part of your PPC ads, your choice of words is critical. In just a few characters, the CTA should catch the attention of your audience and show your audience a way forward through the sales cycle.

You can run an A/B test using with different versions of the CTA. That way, you can select a CTA variation that complements your content marketing.

Words are powerful when used the right way. With effective and carefully structured web content, you can definitely give your real estate business a good boost online.

Need more expert help with digital marketing? You may want to hire a real estate virtual assistant to write stellar web copies.

Contact us today and see if our expertise matches the needs of your company.

As the business landscape continues to evolve, entrepreneurs will have to adapt to each new trend that comes along. They may go the easier route by planning their outsourcing budget for specific projects or campaigns.

However, getting the most out of virtual assistant services will depend entirely on how you are able to manage your outsourcing budget. You will need to get the most value out of every dollar you invest and see improvements to your bottom line.

That being said, you can follow these tips when drafting out your outsourcing budget, especially when you’re considering a virtual assistant for your business:

The primary aim of outsourcing is to increase business efficiency. This is best approached by identifying repetitive yet crucial tasks that can be handled by a capable service provider.

Managing a sales and marketing database, prospecting for leads, and creating social media content are important to your business. Still, you wouldn’t want your in-house staff to spend too much time on these tasks. By allowing virtual assistants to handle these activities, you will be able to let your employees focus more on growing your business.

Not all virtual assistant services are created equal. Prices may differ depending on factors such as location, level of expertise, and competition in the outsourcing market.

Research is still crucial, so you will have to spend ample time comparing service packages and prices. This makes it easier for you to choose a service provider that fits your budget.

Before onboarding a virtual assistant, you will need to arrange a payment plan that allows for better controls in spending.

You can discuss available payment methods and billing cycles with a service provider. If you have set a limit to your budget, you can ask if a prepaid plan is available.

Virtual assistants normally charge by the hour. You can have a virtual assistant work for you for a set number of hours under a prepaid plan. This helps you to avoid spending beyond what your budget allows. In other words, the bill will only cover the hours of work you have purchased.  

Even though your virtual assistants will be working remotely, you will still need to be in full control of the workflow.

Transparency should be prioritized throughout the service relationship. For this, you can set meetings with your team of virtual assistants at any time of the day. Aside from that, you can also ask if there are reporting mechanisms. These are helpful in that they to inform you of the actual work performed by your virtual assistants.

You can choose to receive progress reports on a daily basis. However, it’s still best to receive both a Start of Day report and an End of Day report. This gives you full transparency over the activities of your virtual assistants. It also allows you to modify the scope of the work that they do and align these activities with your business’ goals.

Once you know how to maximize your outsourcing budget, it’s only a matter of finding the right service provider for your business.

Hire a VA today and see your outsourcing budget put to good use.

If there’s something your business can’t live without, it’s digital marketing.

As marketing budgets have gone up the past two years, building a strong brand presence online remains an all important business goal. In a 2017 report published on Forbes, digital marketing expenditures will reach $120 billion by 2021, with companies creating valuable messages for driving more leads and enhancing conversions.

With that in mind, you will need to use a healthy mix of email, social media, blogging and targeted ads to secure a better market position for your brand. No doubt, outsourcing your digital marketing campaign can give you an added boost if you opt to rise above the competition. More than that, it also provides valuable benefits that drive your business forward:

Digital marketing is a complex area to begin with, so it’s important to have all the expert help you can get from a capable service provider. If you have issues with technical aspects such  as search engine optimization or SEO, for example, you can outsource these to an offshore company that already has the right people for the job. This allows you to build high quality messages that reap the best possible results.

Another advantage of outsourcing is that it enables you to cut costs. Delegating technical tasks to a team of virtual assistants can help you save time and money in training your in-house staff to handle the same tasks. Other than that, you can also save resources in purchasing new equipment and infrastructure for a specific project. For example, if you want to produce a series of infographics for your insurance business, you can hire a fully equipped graphic design team to prepare the materials for you.

Let’s face it. Digital marketing demands a great deal of your attention, so you will have to put off other important business activities in order to meet your promotional targets. With outsourcing, you won’t have to switch your focus from marketing to your core business operations. The team you hired will be handling your online campaigns. You retain full control of your digital marketing activities and, at the same time, have all the time you need to focus on expanding your business and developing new products and services.

To make the most out of your digital marketing expenses, you will need to find an outsourcing service that’s right for your goals. Obviously, you would want your online campaigns to be handled by people who can create and implement strategies that result in higher engagements, lead acquisitions, and conversions.

At OneVirtual Solutions, we are highly capable of handling tasks that will drive your business’ success. Whether it’s running a newsletter campaign or creating highly relevant blogs for your target audience, our team of skilled digital marketers (coupled with the latest technology) can help you grow your business.

Let us handle your digital marketing tasks. Hire a team of virtual assistants today and see if you can unlock even more benefits from outsourcing.

Personalized marketing has become crucial in building a solid brand. Considering all the online noise that’s existing at the moment, potential customers are more likely to respond to messages that “talk” to them at a more personal level.

In fact, Statista reported that at least 90 percent of consumers in the United States view personalization as appealing. In addition, 63 percent of businesses say that it helps them increase conversion rates.

Personalized marketing brings consumers and vendors closer together, hence explaining its wider adoption by brands across crucial industries such as real estate and healthcare.

Sure enough, companies are already investing heavily in automated marketing software in personalizing their brand message. However, relying too much on marketing automation won’t deliver consistent results. AI-powered CRM tools, for example, can’t perform beyond what they are specifically programmed to handle, hence lacking a creative capacity that is essential to a personalized marketing campaign.

For this reason, companies will have to rely on virtual assistant services or VAs to support their marketing efforts across the following activities:

While AI is better suited for email campaigns, there’s still no replacing the human voice in handling inbound calls. If you want your customer service to connect better with your clients, it’s always best to have an actual person engage queries in ways no auto-response software can. Empathy after all is an ingredient to building stronger and more meaningful relationships with clients.

Acquiring insights from your target market will determine the effectiveness of your marketing campaign. It’s only a matter of using such data to generate content that’s relatable. VAs are helpful in this sense because they can put customer biases and emotions into account when they produce blogs and other digital materials. This would allow your business to engage and understand the needs of your audience at a deeper level.

When you purchase a marketing automation package for your in-house staff, you are only provided with specific features you have paid for. Without a doubt, these features would become obsolete, requiring you to invest in an upgrade. On the other hand, VAs can provide greater scalability since they can adapt effectively to new trends. You only need to provide them with the tools and they can work towards improving your marketing numbers right away.

Are you ready to enhance your personalized marketing campaign? You can start by getting virtual assistant services from a trusted company. OneVirtual Solutions has the expertise and tools you need to form closer relationships with your target market.

Hire a VA today and begin nurturing valuable relationships with your audience.

Outsourcing continues to be a valuable approach for businesses to cut costs and access skills that are unavailable locally. With this, the demand for better quality services has led to the emergence of important trends that outsourcing companies should follow.

As business owners want to focus on core operations and resolve capacity issues, outsourcing companies will have to use new business practices and technologies to better meet these goals for their clients.

Innovation is unavoidable, so it’s imperative for key players in the outsourcing industry to invest their time and resources in understanding and adopting these trends for this year and the next:

The realm of robotics is slowly taking hold of the outsourcing industry. Robotic process automation or RPA can help service providers cut costs and enhance efficiency. However, investing in such technology comes at a very high cost. You will need to have a large amount of resources in order to acquire and maintain an RPA system.

For sure, AI will cease to be a trend and, instead, become an industry staple. Outsourcing companies will find an ever increasing need to use AI hand in hand with a human workforce. In this sense, it’s important to rationalize the relationship between AI-driven tools and the employees that utilize them.

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica in the early part of 2018, an atmosphere of increased vigilance has emerged. Outsourcing companies will have to update their current security structures and data protection mechanisms to meet the security requirements of their clients.

Along the lines of productivity, cloud services continue to be a viable solution for businesses wanting to streamline their workflow processes. Outsourcing companies will have to rely on cloud computing to collaborate more closely with their clients. They can use Google Apps for creating shareable documents online and services such as Salesforce for managing the CRM activities of their clients.

Considering the emergence of new technologies such as cloud computing and blockchain, it’s essential to find the right skills for handling them. Outsourcing companies will need to nurture their staff and increase their capacities in handling new tools and methodologies. Organizational training programs delivered by LinkedIn Learning and Udemy are becoming more popular as they allow for a quicker way to learn new skills and improve current capabilities.

Conclusion

By leveraging current trends, providers of outsourced services are able to improve client experiences in significant ways. It’s only a matter of using the right approaches and strategies. OneVirtual Solutions has done so and it has improved how its virtual assistants perform the tasks sent by clients. As a result, it has already nurtured a strong base for its services, particularly in digital marketing and real estate-related tasks.

Want to know what we’re capable of? Contact us today and find out.

Across the globe, communities are being devastated by extreme weather phenomena. Japan and Canada are suffering from a freak heat wave, while cities in the Mid-Atlantic section of the United States are inundated by severe flooding. These events only prove one thing: climate change continues to be an inconvenient truth we all have to face.

The environmental damages and the loss of life that climate change causes must not go unnoticed. Moreover, we can never deny the fact that extreme weather conditions caused by climate change are also transforming the way we work and the way we do business. They also set conditions that are forcing companies to innovate and adapt to greater demands for environmental protection and disaster risk reduction.

Apart from that, here are the most important ways climate change can transform businesses in the long run.

Noting the long-term economic and social effects of climate change, governments are creating policies that keep their industrial carbon footprint at a minimal. Despite the Trump administration’s plans to roll back important air and water regulations, there is still international clamor for minimizing carbon emissions and demanding stricter compliance of policies and treaties that are being enforced.

With this in mind, businesses should be wary of new developments in environmental legislation. In this sense, it’s important for them to learn about these new rules so they can undergo the proper procedures of compliance.

Weather alterations caused by climate change are giving rise to new needs. People are adapting to the erratic and often extreme weather conditions. They seek new technologies that can help them cope with excessive heat and devastating blizzards. For one instance, most people nowadays want to design their homes with a solar heating system. The technology allows them to save power by eschewing traditional thermostats.

Beyond looking at this situation as an opportunity for generating larger profits, businesses should see the rise of new markets as a way for them to take part in the discourse on climate change adaptation. Through these new markets, businesses can, in fact, become a part of the solution. Partnerships with advocacy groups and the public sector can substantially address the needs of these emerging markets.

As climate change continues to gain traction, it has become essential for businesses to think about their reputations in relation to the environment. Ample literature about capitalism’s impact on environmental science and global warming is readily available online. This wealth of open information will no doubt influence the way people see businesses. No doubt, much of the sentiment is negative.

With that said, businesses will have to make sure they are operating in line with environmental laws. This means that companies will need to conduct outreach initiatives on climate change adaptation. This allows them to transform themselves into reliable partners for environmental advocacy.

If you want your business to adapt to these effects, a team of virtual assistants can definitely help you out in terms of environmental compliance and reputation management.