Nowadays, more and more digital marketing agencies, web design shops, and even e-commerce companies are looking to outsource parts of their business to India, and for good reason!
Sending work overseas can save you a ton of costs. Plus, you get access to an incredible pool of talented writers, designers, developers, and more. Outsourcing also makes it easier to scale up quickly when needed.
But if you go randomly into outsourcing without a plan, you might have less than stellar results. Or worse, you may end up working with the wrong partner altogether.
If you are wondering about the best strategic approach for handling this, we’ve been in your shoes, and we understand how much you stand to lose by outsourcing to an incompatible partner.
So, here are some of the most important tips when selecting an outsourcing partner.
Tips on How to Outsource to India
1. Identify the business functions
When considering outsourcing parts of your digital marketing agency, webshop, or e-commerce business to India, find out exactly what tasks you want to offshore.
Get super specific here. Do you need help with content creation – whether blog posts, social captions, or product descriptions? What about SEO to get your site ranking? Or custom software development and design? Maybe your goal is expanding customer service and support.
Clearly defining the business functions you want to outsource helps big time. It lets you zero in on Indian freelancers or agencies specializing in those areas. So, you end up with an overseas team with the niche expertise to handle your work flawlessly.
2. Determine the tasks to outsource
So you’ve decided the key functions you want to outsource to India—great start! Now, try to narrow down the actual tasks involved more.
Break each business function down into precise to-do’s. This will vary based on your needs. It could be technical work like web development, coding, or site maintenance. It could be creative tasks like graphic design, writing social posts, or producing videos.
Detailing out the nitty gritty work lets you assess if a potential provider can truly handle what you’ll throw their way. It also makes setting standards around quality, turnaround times, and communication cadences easier.
3. Know your outsourcing budget
When prepping to outsource from your digital agency or web business to an Indian firm, get clear on the budget. This will steer you towards providers who deliver quality work at your rates.
Sure, cost savings are likely a big reason you’re looking overseas in the first place. But focus on value over rock-bottom fees. Reflect both cost and the expertise/reliability the provider brings to your business.
Map out budgets for the functions and tasks you identified earlier. Your goal is to find the place between price and work quality that aligns with your business needs and margins.
As you evaluate potential partners, put all budget expectations on the table upfront. A compatible partner will assess your needs and tailor solutions and pricing accordingly.
4. Conduct your research
Consider reaching out to them and see their technological abilities, language proficiency, and cultural alignment. You can also go through their social media and read their customer reviews to get more insights into their work.
This step can be time-consuming (and sometimes tiring), but you’d be surprised by how helpful this small step can be!
5. Check out the work portfolio
When scoping out potential Indian outsourcing partners, ask them about their past work.
Evaluating an agency or freelancer’s portfolio gives excellent insight into what they can deliver for your business. Look for diversity in the types of projects shown. This conveys flexibility in adapting their skills to different needs.
See if they have samples similar in nature and scope to your project goals.
A standout portfolio conveys experience and competence to deliver quality work reliably. So feel free to ask probing questions on their case studies and samples! It previews your potential partnership and the results it can yield for your digital agency, web, or e-commerce venture.
6. Clearly define your project's scope
When outsourcing key tasks of your digital business to an Indian provider, mapping out the project scope is essential.
This means outlining the fundamental details like:
- Exact deliverables and key results you expect
- Deadlines for each milestone or phase
- Quality standards for work products
- Number of revisions or edit rounds included
- Policies if more significant changes come up
- Backup plans if obstacles pop up
Documenting all this high-level work creates guardrails for the project and partnership. It sets things up for smooth sailing between both teams.
This prevents nasty surprises like budget overages, quality issues, or delays, making it easier to be accountable to mutually agreed upon goals.
7. Set up a good working schedulee
When outsourcing to India, you can bet there will be a significant time zone gap from your home turf. That’s why getting your calendars synced up early is a must!
Use digital tools like shared calendars, video conferencing, and status reports to stay connected across time zones.
This keeps all team members looped in on the latest with no lags.
Setting expectations around online availability and meetings means no playing phone tag or delayed responses—just solid teamwork between your in-house staff and offshore talent.
8. Set clear expectations
When building an outsourcing partnership, make things crystal clear on expectations from the get-go.
Be upfront on important points like:
Quality standards – outline what grade A work looks like for each deliverable.
Turnaround times – how fast you expect turnarounds on revisions or feedback.
Communication norms – response times for messages, meeting frequencies.
Getting aligned early on these types of ground rules sets the tone. It lets your India team understand you and your working style exactly, and vice versa, so expectations stay in sync.
10. Make a checklist
Sometimes, feeling overwhelmed or letting key action items fall through the cracks is natural. But having a solid roadmap checklist can save you time.
Lay out all the essential steps needed to find, vet, and onboard the right outsourcing talent for your needs.
Your checklist could include things like:
- Business goals you want help accomplishing
- Must have skills/expertise in a provider partner
- Steps for vetting and comparing partner options
- Any legal/contract requirements
- Payment terms & rate structures
- Onboarding plan for your new team members
Having your outsourcing action plan pre-mapped gives you a bird’s eye view of what needs to happen and when. So you can methodically tick through finding and onboarding extra talent that becomes a seamless extension of your in-house crew.
11. Focus on communication
When working with an overseas outsourcing provider, rock-solid communication is non-negligible.
Make sure to establish clear communication channels upfront via:
- Chat tools
- Video conferencing platforms
Set expectations for response times to messages or questions. Lock in schedules for check-ins and progress reviews.
The goal is to maintain open information flows across geography and time zones. This lets both sides ask questions, offer feedback, and raise concerns quickly. So there’s no costly lag time.
Strong communication keeps work flowing smoothly and helps you get to know your offshore partner.
This builds trust and understanding over time. So, the relationship evolves to feel like a natural extension of your in-house crew rather than an obscure foreign entity.
12. Request a quote
Once you identify potential outsourcing partners in India that seem like a good fit, request detailed quotes from the shortlist.
The quote should outline the full scope of work, key deliverables, timelines broken into milestones, and cost structures for talent, effort, and out-of-pocket expenses.
Specify capabilities the quote should highlight based on your unique business needs, like specific technologies for projects or niche subject matter expertise around emerging marketing channels.
Paying attention to these finer points allows you to thoroughly compare bids apples-to-apples to find the ideal Indian outsourcing fit.
Choose the Best Outsourcing Partner for Your Business
The success of outsourcing to India hinges entirely on finding the right partner for your unique business needs.
Rather than just viewing prospective providers as vendors, seek ones who can become proper extensions of your team—offering strategic and execution support.
The ideal partner aligns with your values, work styles, and objectives as much as the technical abilities to deliver. We have as much skin in the game to see your projects succeed as you do.
If you need a hand navigating the process, we got your back! Here at Exact Funnel, offshore outsourcing is one of our specialties. With our skills, work ethics, and clear communication, we take care of the heavy lifting to strategically enhance digital marketing agencies, web studios, and e-commerce companies.
Interested to explore how outsourcing can amplify your service offerings and profit margins? Let’s chat!
