E-Commerce Virtual Assistant
An ecommerce virtual assistant (VA) is becoming a more integral part of online business that can help not only buyer to select online products but also online stores with products and analysis-based tasks, fine communication and writing skills, proficiency in MS Office, confidence in handling calls, product listing and optimization, product images editing, managing inventory, handling customer support, thereby keeping your store up to date and running round the clock.
When it comes to one of the leading ecommerce Companies Amazon and Alibaba are dominating players. Both are multinational technology companies specializing in ecommerce but there is considerable distinction between them.
Amazon
Amazon is B2B and B2C that sell products to a person as well as business. Amazon sells its own products along with its partner products. Amazon sells products directly to customers while also serving as an intermediary for other sellers, getting a commission of the sale. It is massive retailer for both new and used goods.
Alibaba
Alibaba is B2B that sells products in bulk and can place your company labeling on these products. It charges merchants ads fees for appearing higher on its search rankings. Alibaba connects peoples like buyers and sellers and play middleman role.
Amazon Business Model VS Alibaba Business Model:
| Amazon | Alibaba |
| Behaves like an online retailer | Functions like a pure-play market place |
| Dominates the American shopping space | Dominates the Chinese shopping space |
| Follows Asset-Heavy model | Follows Asset-Light model |
| Buyers have to agree to terms of Amazon | Buyers have to agree to terms of seller like days of shipment and customer services etc. |
| Earns revenue mostly from seller commission | Generates its revenue from seller ads |
| Revenue = 469.8 billion USD
Valuation = $1.6 trillion |
Revenue =
Valuation = $251.14 Billion |
Ecommerce virtual assistant skills
An ecommerce Virtual Assistant is a person working remotely working who can-
- Helps in managing online store
- Handles a multiple tasks
- Works remotely across the globe
Ecommerce virtual assistant can be hired for different tasks depending upon their skills.
Tasks performed by e-commerce VIRTUAL ASSISTANT for online business
VAs are an extension to any business on-site employees. Ideally, they can perform any task that a normal employee of a similar capacity can. It includes:
- ORDER HANDLING
Order Handling is the process of receiving, processing, and shipping orders to the customer. It’s a burdensome and time-taken process that involves many steps like drop shipping, third party fulfillment, self-fulfillment etc.
- SOURCING
Sourcing is a process of acquiring suppliers for the desired goods and services. As the name suggests, sourcing aims on obtaining sources through which an organization can get its supplies
- PRODUCT LISTING and OPTIMIZATION
Through SEO product listings can be manipulated to
- Upgrading search rankings
- Appealing more buyers to store
- Increasing visitor count and conversion rates
Five major components in any product listing include– Title, Description, Images, Features, and Reviews.
To sum it up, product listing will perform well by focusing on-
- Keyword integration
- Good quality of images
- Well written content for product title and description
- Appealing layout of product page
- Highlighting the best reviews and focusing on the best ones
Hiring a virtual assistant who have expertise in listing, product optimization and Amazon SEO, will help companies to save time and enhance sales.
- MARKET RESEARCH AND COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Ecommerce is all about finding potential customers and their demands. In order to market products and increase reach and conversion rates effectively market research and competitor analysis should be performed cautiously.
Competitor analysis and Market research may resulting-
- competitor’s gains and loses
- Product pages quality
- Reviews and rankings
- Competitor’s target keywords, ad campaigns, and marketing efforts, etc.
Market research helps to find out competitors’ actions to affect their profits. These insights can help to optimize own product listings and create more profitable campaigns.
- CUSTOMER SUPPORT
This is one of the most pay off areas for ecommerce virtual assistants. In order to get reviewed by customers and replying to queries VA can be helpful.
- Efficiently sending email responses to customers
- Monitoring customers messages across seller account and social media
- Replying to user queries in real-time
- Reviewing customer feedback and responding to them
- Bringing negative feedback to team
- Updating the FAQ section on product page
- VA will not only help in maintaining a long-term relationship with customers but enhance brand image as well.
Pros of Alibaba
- Advantage to design custom-made products.
- Advantage to buy wholesale products in bulk directly from manufacturers.
- Affordable prices.
- Controlled product packaging.
- Lower manufacturing costs.
- A large number of manufacturers and suppliers available.
- One-stop shopping option.
Cons of Alibaba
- Upfront cost is high.
- Delivered products may differ from display images on the website.
- Discounted pricing needs purchasing in bulk.
Pros of Alibaba
- Higher level of customer trust
- Worldwide renown
- Large number of items
- Trillion dollar company
Cons of Amazon
- Loyalty of customers. …
- Sellers has no data access. …
- Limits your brand. …
- Business is controlled by Amazon FBA. …
- Advantage of business success could be taken by Amazon.
Earning of ecommerce Virtual Assistant
The e-commerce Virtual Assistants are getting paid for $3,299. Including bonuses and additional compensation, a Virtual Assistant at Amazon can get an average total pay of $3,299.
Conclusion
If virtual assistant services are compared on different freelancing platforms, amazon VAs are charging more than Alibaba.
Even though Amazon is providing a wide variety of products to deal with, Alibaba’s main concern is to promote Chinese sellers.
