Running a business is no easy feat. It takes plenty of hard work and elbow grease to get all of the pieces to fit together just right. While there’s plenty of work that is done in house, at some point all businesses rely on products and services from outside companies to help keep the business running. Outsourcing is a common practice for companies to secure contracts with businesses that handle all sorts of tasks and responsibilities. From information technology support and accounting to video production, there are all sorts of tasks that can be outsourced. Let’s take a look at five services that every business should be using.
Information Technology (IT) Support
With technology becoming an integral part of so many business operations and procedures, IT support is vital to the success of companies of all sizes. The most ideal situation would be for businesses to have an onsite IT support team. For some companies, particularly small and startup businesses, it might not be feasible to have a permanent team. Business owners without the means to have an onsite staff could consider using an IT solution service. These companies typically host companies’ systems, store documents, and monitor websites online through a secure platform. Besides being a cost-effective solution, the service company will handle all server, program, and website maintenance. Should something go down or encounter a problem, they have a full-time IT team that can resolve any issues you might experience after a quick phone call. Having strong IT support is vital in this new digital age and should be one of the strategic priorities for any business.
Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Software
Every business owner is searching for the secret ingredient to reach goals and achieve key results. Many companies have found great success in using OKRs. If businesses aren’t yet using OKR software with the team, there’s plenty of reasons to start. OKR software helps businesses monitor strategic objectives and key results. OKR programs are facilitating transparency and accountability within the organization. This software can help to refocus team members by getting everyone on track towards achieving unified goals using the best practices. OKRs are used by Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other global companies. Similar to IT management, however, OKR management might be cumbersome or prohibitive for some small or startup companies. If this is the case, business owners can turn to services like WorkBoard to provide solutions for growing business with this software. Services like Workboard can help companies set goals and monitor key result metrics in real-time.
Social Media Management
A strong social network strategy can be the boost that many businesses today need. Business owners, however, often don’t realize how much time should be devoted to social media management. To maintain an effective online presence, it’s essential to launch frequent social media campaigns, reply to all comments and messages quickly, and post regularly to all social network channels. Completing these tasks effectively will take time. As a business owner, it may not be something that you want employees to spend a lot of time doing. The solution could be to hire a social media management firm to monitor, update, and interact with the company’s social media accounts. Most social media management companies will manage everything from content creation, social video marketing, writing posts, promoting business accounts with pictures and captions, and answering comments from customers. They could even help with live events and live stream feeds.
Accounting
Hiring an accountant to help manage company finances is a great way to save money and time. A business accounting service can handle all of the financial tasks that business owners must juggle. From bookkeeping and payroll to regular audits and business taxes, accountants can ensure that there are no issues. It’s often hard for some business owners to back out of this part of doing business and they may avoid using such services. However, the benefits of outsourcing accounting are numerous. The foremost reason for hiring such a service is that financial laws and procedures can be complicated and it might be best to have a specialist handle things. Bringing an accounting service onboard can free up time to focus on the workday instead of the finances.
Video Production Service
Having a high quality and reliable products, and services are important to a business brand and strategic priorities. This is why it is crucial not to skim on video production content. Depending on the video content needed, bad commercials, cheesy ads, and low-quality visuals are not the best way to attract potential clients or customers. When the goal is to showcase who an organization is or market a new line of products or services, low-quality, unprofessional product videos will not do. A video production team can produce high-quality and engaging video content for ads, social network posts, and other short videos. Hiring a professional video production service increases the likelihood of enhancing a brand’s image in the public eye.