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Customer Support Virtual Assistant

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Ynah Edillor

Last updated: June 21, 2024 1 min read
Definition

What is a customer support virtual assistant?

How a business cares about its customers is defined by the quality of customer service that they provide. Customer Support Virtual Assistants are remote customer service providers responsible for providing the best customer service to attract, retain, and satisfy customers. Their responsibilities range from handling customer complaints to answering queries and being brand “ambassadors.”

What is a customer support virtual assistant?

Responsibilities of a customer support virtual assistant

Customer Support Virtual Assistants are in charge of answering customer queries via phone or the company’s social media sites, handling complaints, dispatching calls, processing orders and payments, and more. While most customer service providers are outsourced to call centers in the Philippines or India, some smaller-sized companies with lesser number of customers opt to hire just one or two virtual assistants for their customer support needs.

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What are the skills needed to be a customer support virtual assistant?

Virtual assistants in general need to be tech-savvy, flexible, and fast learners. Further, to be a successful customer support virtual assistant, you need to be a people person, since you’ll be dealing with confused or irate customers. You also need to have problem-solving skills to appease customers.

Additionally, customer support virtual assistants need to posses the following skills:

– Exceptional communication skills;

– Time management skills

– Multitasking skills

– Computer and social media skills;

How much do Filipino virtual assistants make?

A virtual assistant’s pay depends on their expertise and years of experience. However, according to Payscale, an average VA makes a minimum hourly pay of $4. 

Where you find your social media virtual assistant also plays a part in determining their salary per month. Freelance VAs hired through popular job platforms like Upwork and Fiverr start at $5 per hour, while those hired through outsourcing companies’ rates start at $8 per hour. With virtual assistants, you can save a lot of money on labor costs, but not to the point of consuming cheap labor.

How do I start working as a virtual assistant?

When you feel like you have the right skills and qualifications for the job, you may start working as a virtual assistant. There are different types of virtual assistants, like social media VA, marketing VA, legal VA, and more. The first step is to find your niche, so you can market yourself better for potential clients.

Aspiring VAs can create accounts on Upwork or Freelancer to find jobs, but some small to medium-sized companies prefer hiring through business process outsourcing companies to ensure workforce quality and stability. If a company is hiring more than one VA, it would be more practical to seek the help of an outsourcing company.

Is there a demand for virtual assistants?

Virtual assistants have always been in demand. With the rising number of small to medium-sized businesses flourishing, and with the rising awareness regarding outsourcing and remote work, companies are realizing the advantages of hiring virtual assistants.

Virtual assistants are the jack of all trades of remote workers, they can offer a wide variety of talents and proficiencies that will prove beneficial to the company. From scheduling appointments to providing excellent customer service, as well as offering graphic design, social media management, content writing, and making travel arrangements, the demand for virtual assistants is now higher than ever.

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