Drop servicing vs drop shipping
What’s the difference between drop servicing and drop shipping? Drop servicing is very like drop shipping – but without a physical item. The main difference is that drop shippers advertise physical goods for sale on a website without actually having these items in their own inventory. Whilst drop servicing relates to the supply of actual services such as copy and content writing, backlinks, graphics, editing, animation and much more.
As a service, drop shipping has been around in one way or another since the 1960s. It began when overstocked catalog companies allowed other businesses to sell their surplus for them. It was born before the internet and because it’s such a simple yet genius idea. It’s been succesfuly modified to suit the digital age and it works extremely well.
Drop shipping continues to grow and improve as more operators adopt the model and refine the details. However, due to the current pandemic, it’s drop servicing that’s really hitting its stride.
How does drop servicing work?
The drop servicing model brings together a team of professionals who excel at specific services. Usually these professionals are led by a founder who manages the enterprise and the team members.
It’s a model which works for all concerned. You’ll find exceptionally skilled experts working for enterprises like this. Not all professionals want to work a 9-5 job and prefer the variation which freelancing brings. Equally, not all freelancers want to set up their own consultancy or agency.
The idea that a central management system is available to support freelancers is very attractive to many. It cuts out a lot of stress for already busy freelancers.
The drop servicing business brings in customers via a website and other platforms. These customers are then paired up with service providers. The owner of the drop servicing business ensures that all goes well from start to finish.
It means plenty of work for the service provider and income for the owner. It also means great results for the customer. In other words, drop servicing is a perfect chain.
In today’s marketplace with so many businesses forced to work outside of their own offices, drop servicing is experiencing a huge boom. This means that there’s a lot of competition – and for businesses in need of services that’s a very good thing. Plenty of competition means that quality is high as providers are compelled to ensure that they offer not only the best service providers but also the best systems to ensure that business run like clockwork.
Why should your business use drop servicing?
Covid-19 has brought about a lot of concern and inconvenience. But before Covid-19 arrived, drop servicing was already revving up to speed. More and more businesses were adopting the idea of working with freelancers.
Unless you’re huge, international corporation or a big business trading on a national or international level, there will be times when your team lacks the skills to carry out tasks related to your digital profile.
What we’re talking about here are those skill-sets which tend to come with specialists. Social media marketing, SEO, programming and copywriting. The list is far longer than this of course but these are the main areas in which many smaller businesses need support.
Too many hats, not enough expertise
You may be lucky enough to employ a great social media manager – but can they write copy to the exacting standard you need to showcase your brand properly? Equally, do they know SEO as well as an SEO specialist does?
If you don’t know the answer to those questions, then probably not.
There’s a trend towards employing jacks of all trade at the moment. Virtual assistants who can write quite well, social media managers who can sort of do graphics, graphic designers who kinda know SEO – it’s worrying and can also be damaging.
That’s not to say that these super-achievers don’t exist. Of course they do – but are they on your team right now?
Drop servicing allows businesses to ensure that specialist work is carried out by those qualified to do it – and do it well.
Rather than lumping extra tasks on your already busy staff, working with a drop servicing business allows you to access talented pros easily. These are people who excel in their chosen field and who adapt with ease to work with the many brands that they represent.
You can pick and choose – cherry pick the freelance support that you need and right when you need it most.
Adjust your working practices in order to excel in today’s difficult climate
All businesses have been affected by Covid-19 even if only in a minor fashion. there isn’t a single business which can confidently say that the global pandemic has not affected them.
Many have been hit hard or closed completely. If your business is still trading, then you will already fully understand the immense pressures which enterprises are under at the current time. Certain industries have taken the brunt of the fallout including the hospitality and entertainment industries.
However, businesses have adapted, fought to stay afloat by adopting new working practices and kept pushing back against the worry and the inconveniences which the pandemic has brought about.
This means that any business still trading currently is probably finding things a lot more challenging. Not only due to workforce staying at home but also due to the need for new technologies and new routines which make it simpler to work remotely.
The stats on how smaller businesses have been affected by Covid-19 are alarming; 83.5% of small businesses in the food and accommodation sector say that they experienced a negative effect from the Covid-19 pandemic and 44.9% experiencing delays in the supply chain.
By adjusting to the situation and embracing the tools and resources which are readily available, businesses can not only get through this trying time but actually succeed and grow in ways they might previously have never considered possible.
Using a drop servicing business to get ahead
There are only so many hours in the day, only so many hands to do the work. Business owners who are finding that tasks are being left undone for too long or being done to a low standard should definitely look to drop servicing sites for help.
Here at Speedlancer, we provide the ultimate drop service. Talented teams of hand-picked experts work with us to bring the right skills to businesses in need of support.
From gifted graphic designers to the most efficient of virtual assistants, we offer an extremely broad selection of professional support.
By utilizing talent that’s available, you can get your business up to speed in any number of ways. Here are just a few of the ways in which we can help.
- Website updates/security
- App development
- Video editing
- Podcasting
- Graphic design
- Blogs
- Articles
- Social media posts
- Shopify
- WordPress
- Customer support
- Sales
- Strategy
The above ideas are only some of what drop servicing businesses can offer. Many, like Speedlancer, will also undertake custom work for specialist enterprises. Working as part of your existing team, freelancers join your brand on a temporary basis. They fight your corner for the entirety of your project and then once it’s all done and dusted, that’s that.
You can find your favorite freelancers via the drop servicing business any time you need help in the future. You’re not committing to more staff though. It’s a win-win situation.
Using drop servicing is a powerful way to get your brand to the front of the race and if you’re interested in learning more, get in touch today and book a time to chat.