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What to prefer: Chatbot V/S Virtual Assistant?

Nowadays a company can make it to the top only if it provides outstanding customer service. There are many competitors in the market, but the one with prompt customer service comes out as the winner. Companies spend a lot of money on building an efficient customer service team.

Customers do not like to wait as they want their queries to be resolved as soon as possible. To curb this challenge, companies hire customer executives to address the problems and queries of the customers. Hiring a huge team of customer service officers can be an expensive affair, therefore, only big companies could afford it. For a startup, it is not possible to invest so much money in a customer executive team.

But now the tables have turned, even small companies are able to provide amazing customer service through chatbots or Virtual assistant. But wait, aren’t chatbots or Virtual assistant, the same thing? This is a common misconception and often Online Virtual Assistants or chatbots are branded as one. They almost do similar things, but the scope and limitations are different in both. For example, an Online Virtual Assistant works with you on a more personal level as you will be hiring experts to complete a specific task. These professionals will help you and work with your side-by-side in order to achieve a particular organizational goal. On the other hand, chatbots are only pre-programmed applications that are there to only clarify the doubts and queries of the target audience.

In this article, we will point out a few major differences between an Online Virtual Assistant and Chatbot.

Limitation

Chatbots are programmed in such a way that they can only answer a set of pre-programmed questions. If a question is asked which is not programmed in the chatbot, then the chatbot will fail to answer the question. Chatbots cannot hold long and interactive communications like a human. They mostly communicate in the form of text messages. 

Online Virtual Assistant is a more interactive platform than chatbots. They can understand every word which a user conveys. These assistants learn as they interact. Unlike like chatbots, they can have long interactive conversations. This way they can also handle complex tasks and solve them.

Tasks

As discussed earlier, chatbots can complete tasks that are only programmed within them. They are fed with FAQs and if something is asked beyond these questions, then the chatbots fail to answer.

On the other hand, Virtual Assistants understand everything a customer conveys. With the use of its learning behavior, an Online Virtual Assistant can compare products as per the features wanted by the user. It can also tell you which product is the best among the lot. 

Final Result

Now we know that Online Virtual Assistant and chatbots are different. Chatbots are limited to performing only selected tasks. Whereas, a VA can solve complex tasks due to its learning ability. Hence, for a company, it is advisable to opt for Virtual Assistant, to ensure that users experience a smooth customer service experience.

Why Opt Search Engine Marketing Virtual Assistant?

It is common logic that customers will only buy products and services which are visible to them. That is the reason why companies assign the majority of their funds in marketing because if the customers are not aware of your presence in the market, then how will they buy your products? Businesses implement marketing strategies to be visible in this crowded and competitive market. 

Marketing and advertising can be of many types, from mass media marketing to small scale marketing. Depending on the scale and media of advertisement the cost varies. If you are planning to advertise through mass media like television advertisements, then it is going to be expensive. But what can be the solution to marketing your products at a more economical price?

Small business owners find it difficult to afford to advertise and marketing. Since they are low on budget and low capital, opting for mass media advertisement is out of their reach. For this reason, digital marketing and SEO is the answer to such problems. SEO is a cost-effective way of introducing your products and services to the customers.

SEO helps your website to rank higher in Google’s search engine. Since it is a cost-effective method of advertising, small business owners prefer SEO to market their products and services.

Business owners are busy looking after the operations of the business. Therefore, they hardly get time to market their products. One can either hire an SEO expert to do the SEO for the business website or opt for SEO Virtual Assistant to do the job. Most of the business owners hardly have any knowledge of SEO Virtual Assistant. By opting for this assistant, one can completely focus on their business operations and let the assistant run the SEO campaigns. 

How does it work?

First, we need to know how SEO works. Google has algorithms that are able to identify a website that matches the queries of the search. As per the relevance of the website, the sites are ranked accordingly. Now how does Google determine which site is better and more relevant to the search? This is where SEO comes in. Google identifies the keywords presented in the site. If your business site has the relevant keywords and it matches with the search, then your website will rank high in the search engine. But how do you make your website optimized and SEO friendly?

This is can be achieved if you opt for SEO Virtual Assistant. This assistant is well-versed with the norms and parameters which Google looks for in a website. This SEO VA has proper knowledge about keyword density and algorithms. The assistant will assist you to optimize your website with SEO friendly content and keyword selection.

What is the job of an SEO Virtual Assistant?

An SEO Virtual Assistant can point out the following:

  • Competitor research – An SEO Virtual Assistant will help you identify the keywords that are being used by your competitor. If you understand their marketing strategy, then you can dominate them.

  • Keyword research – SEO Virtual Assistant will continuously suggest keywords that are related to your business. The more accurate the keywords and better is the results.

  • Link building – An SEO Virtual Assistant also helps you to understand valuable websites where you can backlink your website.

These are the following ways by which an SEO Virtual Assistant can help in the search engine marketing of your website.

Office Automation with Virtual Assistant

One of the most essential aspects of initiating business is related to the management of data. When a company is involved in a monetary transaction with another firm, the relevant data with regards to the business deal is to be recorded and registered safely. This process of recording data was manually done not more than a decade ago. However, with the introduction of the internet and the evolution of technology, everything changed for the better.

Every data and information related to a business is now recorded on various digital platforms by the use of the latest technologies and software. We know this as office automation. However, the process of office automation can be complicated, especially for small businesses that lack the ideas and the expertise to shift to this module of business. So what is the solution to this problem?

The answer is straightforward. Start-ups and small businesses can rely upon the services offered by Virtual Office Assistant. These firms ensure that all your data and information related to the clients and employees are all uploaded and managed on a digital level. Hiring the services of these experts will ensure that the data processed by your firm will be managed by professionals who only utilize the most relevant technology that is present in the present corporate world. Hence, the overall risks of making mistakes significantly decrease as most of the entries are made automatically by machines.

Following are some of the benefits of availing the services of Virtual Office Assistants for the purpose of Office Automation:

  1. Increased transparency – If you want your business to reach the stratosphere of success then it is imperative that you and your employees maintain effective communication at all times. A gap in communication can cause a lot of confusion and increases the chance of errors. Office Automation improves communication as all the data is recorded on a digital level. All the employees can gain access to this information and in turn, can communicate among themselves in a better way.
  1. Track responsibilities – With an improvement in communication, the management can delegate certain responsibilities to specific employees. The changes and modifications to a project can likewise be updated with the help of Office Automation. Therefore, it becomes easier for the management to delegate and track responsibilities within the team. Consequently, the performance and the proficiency level of each candidate can be tracked in the long run as well.
  1. Increase in the efficiency of the employees – With an overall improvement in the information flow, communication is also enhanced. Simultaneously, the employees can work with a clear mindset as each individual knows their responsibilities and job role. Thus, the efficiency level of the entire corporate agency improves. The firm starts to work like a well-oiled machine and fulfills client needs and requirements in a better way. 

These are some of the benefits of Office Automation which you can avail by collaborating with some of the best Virtual Office Assistants. Consider it to be an investment that will surely give rise to long-term profits.

How Small Business Owners can use Virtual Assistant Services

One of the most difficult things to accomplish in this cut-throat corporate world is to start a new business from scratch. Starting a business requires a certain level of planning and investment, without which the small business cannot survive. The budget allocated in terms of investment is limited and hence, must be utilized adequately so that it benefits the company concerned eventually down the line. Therefore, in order to successfully establish your small business within a specific industry, it is imperative that you avail virtual assistant services.

Since finances are limited for a start-up firm, relying upon the expertise of virtual assistant service providers can be deemed as a safe bet. Following are some of the ways small businesses should look to use virtual assistant services:

  1. Use Virtual Assistants for its Skillful Labor and Experience – The experience level of virtual assistant service providers is immeasurable as the companies concerned have collaborated with hundreds of companies and have provided an effective solution. All the candidates working with virtual assistant companies expertise in various professional skill. Therefore, avail the services will minimize the risk of mistakes as you will get accurate results on a regular basis. The aspect of experience can benefit small businesses hugely as these start-ups are new in the market and do not have a defined target or goal in mind. Availing virtual assistant services will help the company to move in a particular direction.

  2. Save Time and Effort – Establishing your business in the market should be the primary goal of every small business. The level of competition is increasing in the market. Therefore, it is crucial for the start-up to get accustomed to the market trends so that it can survive in this competitive environment. Planning and strategizing can take up a lot of time. Therefore, additional duties and responsibilities should be outsourced to virtual assistant firms. It will then allow the management team to solely focus on operation and make sure that the performance of the small business meets the expectations of the target audience.

  3. Better opportunity to grow and develop – making a commitment to recruit an in-house team can be overwhelming for small businesses [especially when the true potential of the start-up has not been realized yet]. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of hiring employees but cannot maintain them as the fixed cost of salary can be difficult to fulfill, especially for companies who have limited business. Therefore, the best decision here would be to rely upon virtual assistant services as per nature and the needs of the business. This will automatically help the small business to grow and develop in the market with an immediate improvement in service quality. 

Small businesses must make smart decisions in order to minimize risks and maximize profit levels. This can only be achieved by depending upon virtual assistant services as it is not only affordable but also generates favorable results in due course of time.