19 Common Outsourcing Mistakes to Avoid
Outsourcing is a necessity for agencies that want to be ahead of their competitors. However, decision-makers can make mistakes when outsourcing their services to a white label agency. It is, therefore, important to understand the common mistakes to avoid when outsourcing. Read on to learn more about the different types of outsourcing mistakes and how you can avoid them.

Outsourcing services that should not be outsourced
It may seem enticing to send your work to a white label agency, however, you need to be careful when making such decisions. Tasks that need creative thinking and experience should be handled in-house.
Hence, the following tasks should be outsourced:
- Social media marketing, SEO link building, and other aspects of your online marketing strategy
- Software development
- Data entry
- Research and development
- Graphic design
Not scrutinizing your staff sufficiently
Not paying attention to the prerequisites

Not considering the risks
Companies are usually driven by cost and quality of service to outsource to a white label agency. This is because companies assume that when they outsource, these two factors will be improved. This assumption is risky. Your decision to outsource your services must be done with the understanding that anything can happen. For instance, there could be a rise in cost, and service delivery may decline.
It is important to understand that there are risks associated with outsourcing. Ensure you assess the risk while you’re making your decision.

Not achieving internal consensus
Most service provider relationships lack internal consensus. If your whole team does not agree with your goals and outcomes, then your outsourcing program cannot be effective and an ineffective outsourcing program can make the outsourcing process challenging. It is, therefore, important to make your team (especially the senior executives) see things the way you see them.
Outsourcing for technical skills over communication expertise
The cohesion between a team depends on the level of communication that exists between the members. Hard skills are important, but effective virtual teams communicate effectively and extensively. Team members must be comfortable working together, deliver information effectively, and work on accomplishing the same goals.
Your virtual employees need to have skills like being able to pass a message across in a clear manner, discuss issues, and provide feedback amongst others. When you have these in mind, then you will realize that it is a mistake to choose an outsourcing partner based on their hard skills. Solid communication skill is an important factor when looking for a partner to outsource your services to.
Carrying out a one-sided recruitment
Not paying attention to the retention rate of the vendor
Not figuring out your strategy before outsourcing
Getting rid of an outsourcer from the process
Having wrong expectations from the white label agency

Not choosing an agency that specializes in white label services
Outsourcing to multiple agencies
The best approach to outsourcing is to outsource to a specialized company for each type of service. However, depending on your outsourcing strategy, you need to consider cost-effectiveness after manageability. It takes time, reduces the pace of project development, and leads to a loss of focus on the outsourced service when you have to deal with many agencies.
Hence, it is ideal to outsource to 2 or 3 agencies in every service area, depending on the size of your company.
Lack of established survey systems
Not awarding responsibility and rewarding good work
Choosing the cheapest offer
Going for the cheapest offer may end up being more expensive in the long run. There is always a catch when a white label agency offers its services cheaper than the market rates. An experienced company that specializes in offering white label services has no business with offering services that are cheaper than the market rates.
Although there may be regional differences in the market rates, the cheapest service is usually not the best. If the rate offered by the prospective agency is cheaper than those in the market, it may be a means of covering up lack of specialization or experience. In this case, the agency may not deliver.
Not providing guidance
Outsourcing can only be effective when a task is defined with guidelines, rules, and procedures. The problem that most companies have with outsourcing is that they don’t focus on creating comprehensive guidelines, rules, and procedures. If you already have guidelines for an internal process, then you need to assume that you will provide nothing less than double the documentation to the agency you outsource to. Many guidelines and practices are not written in most businesses. When outsourcing, ensure that you have everything in writing.
Lack of clear objectives
As stated earlier, a good relationship with an outsourced partner must start with clear communication. Your partner cannot deliver excellent work if you don’t provide the instruction and expectations for the task. Many businesses usually end up being disappointed by their outsourcing partners since there is no transparent communication right from the outset.Before you outsource your services to a white label agency, both of you need to agree on:
- Means of reporting progress and how feedback will be given.
- Payment plan and schedule.
- Productivity and deadline schedules, and
- Communication expectations.
Lack of exit strategy
What happens if the white label agency you outsource to is not what you thought it would be? Maybe you overestimated the cost they would save you or they are not able to deliver all you agreed on. It’s even possible they go out of business, thereby putting you at a serious disadvantage, and you will need to replace them as quickly as possible.
Whenever you are outsourcing to a white label agency, you need to have an exit strategy in case the partnership stops working. Outsourcing can be beneficial to your business when you outsource to the right partner with a clear goal. However, it is hard to find the right resources, especially when you want to outsource overseas.
Wrapping Up
When it comes to outsourcing your services to a white label agency, it is important to focus on your objectives and also take the right actions so that you don’t commit outsourcing mistakes. I hope the tips discussed in this guide will help you avoid the common outsourcing mistakes; thereby helping you get the most of your digital marketing budget.