Introduction
With the rapid advancement of technology, the e-commerce industry is growing at a fast pace over the last decade. Now, with the ever-increasing customer demand, every e-commerce company seeks to outsource its photo editing services. The most vital factor to achieve sales in e-commerce depends on the quality of photos listed online. Whether the requirement is for a prolific photographer or an e-commerce business, selecting a professional photo editing service provider can be a daunting task. Although product photos are not the sole reason for the sales, companies need to focus on pricing, free delivery, ratings, and many more.
According to a survey, 75% of people consider high-quality images as the most influential for their online purchase decision. On the other hand, there is also a fact that 22% of online products are returned because the real product looks different from the photo. Among other modes of content, visual content gets shared 40 times more likely with other content on social media platforms. Quality visual content has the most chances to get viral.
What is meant by Outsourcing a Photo Editing Service for E-commerce?
The product images of any e-commerce company are very important as they are targeted to the customers. The whole presentation process consists of 3 steps such as pre-production, production phase, and post-production phase. Here comes the photo editing part especially in the last phase that includes retouching and many more.
The post-production phase is the most vital because the final product directly reaches the target customers. Any company that is selling its products online relies on the quality of the image of its products. It needs to be top-notch so that customers are compelled to buy its product. Here, the importance of photo editing comes that the e-commerce companies outsource to specialists that will provide the final touch of the images that reflect the company’s reputation.
Reasons for Outsourcing Photo Editing for E-commerce Business
Traditionally photo editing is done by the in-house team of many brands or by the photo studio hired for shooting their images. But many e-commerce retailers and brands hire third-party agencies because it has immense advantages. When outsourcing works properly with a proper review, it will not only come with cost benefits but also improved image quality, faster TAT, scalability, and many more. Below is the chart that describes the pros and cons of in-house photo editing and outsourced photo editing.
| In-house Photo Editing Team | Outsourced Photo Editing Team | |
| Pros | • Better Communication • Improved Control • Predictable Quality |
• Much Faster Turnaround Time • No Overhead • Lower Price • Scalability |
| Cons | • Higher Overhead • Higher Maintenance • Slower Turnaround • Seasonal Bottlenecks • Higher Costs |
• Difficulty in Communication • Lack of Control • Delay in Delivery |
Tips to Consider Before Outsourcing Photo Editing Services
With the advancement of digitalization, the e-commerce industry is booming like anything. Since e-commerce is mostly focused online, hence any company needs to showcase their products in a way so that the potential buyers can make actual purchases from the site. For this, the photos of the products need to be clear, high quality that can be done hassle-free while outsourcing the task of photo editing to a third-party service provider. Below are a few points to consider while outsourcing photo editing services
1. Determining Service Requirements
Not all photo editing companies provide holistic services related to photo editing. For instance, few companies specialize in doing white background services whereas few offer a wide range of services like vector conversion to clipping path. The reason behind hiring a versatile service provider as the editing requirements of any business might change at any point in time. If any company is collaborating with eBay or Amazon the requirements of photo editing may vary.
2. Considering More options
It is very important to choose a company that specializes in the work as per the requirement of the e-commerce business. While few offer photo editing in specific industries like jewelry, textiles, electronics, etc. Hence, look for companies that have a good amount of experience in editing photos for e-commerce industries.
3. Checking Out Customer Reviews
The goodwill of a firm is one of the crucial factors that need to be considered. It is highly recommended for any company to check for customer reviews and testimonials. Companies that are more experienced are known to deal with market risks and deliver quality services within the stipulated time.
4. Cost-Effectiveness
Before appointing any outsourcing firm for the photo editing service, the most important thing that needs to be done is comparing the services of the shortlisted companies. After that, a budget needs to be fixed before outsourcing the task to a service provider. Well, it depends on many factors like the workload, amount of editing, frequency of results, and so on. Selecting the right company can lead to huge cost-effectiveness thus it yields improved sales.
5. The capacity of the Service Provider
Always select the companies that have the experience to handle bulk orders and deliver them within the given time. Even if the company is a small-medium business, there is a high possibility of flourishing in the market. At that moment, sticking to the same outsourcing agency is the most suitable decision rather than surfing as it is time-consuming as well as capital investment.
6. Support Availability and Turnaround Time
If the company believes in aggressive deadlines, then it is essential to find an outsourcing company that is available round the clock. Whether an e-commerce company is looking for an off-shore outsourcing agency or a local company, the availability of the third-party service provider needs to be confirmed whenever it is required. Always make sure that the communication channel should be appropriate so that it does not affect the turnaround time.
7. Security
Whenever a company is planning to hire a service provider for outsourcing the photo editing tasks, the security measures of uploading and downloading measures need to be thoroughly checked. Whether they upload using a cloud server or using an FTP site, the quality certifications like the ISO 9001 certification, a non-disclosure agreement is important. It is better to ask the companies related to their benchmark before confirming.
Wrapping Up
Although the process of searching for a reliable photo editing service company is a little tedious task, it is not impossible. Following the above processes before hiring the outsourcing company will lead to an affirmative decision that will help the e-commerce company to flourish in the market. Always choose companies that have the maximum professionals for photo editing and maintain the turnaround time.
