How Does White-Labeling Offshore Digital Marketing Services Work?

So, you have been struggling to meet your client’s expectations of full-suite digital marketing services. Many agency owners find themselves in the same spot every time they set out to juggle multiple hats single-handedly. 

The inability to focus on core areas and cost issues often encourages agency owners to outsource their non-core competencies offshore. 

If you are a digital marketing agency owner looking to invest in white-label services ready to be forwarded to your customers with your branding, this is the place to be! The blog will be covering the following topics in decent detail:

• Fundamentals of white label services and their importance for digital marketing agencies
• Understanding the working of white labeling services in offshore digital marketing agencies
• Best practices to consider when hiring an offshore white-label agency
• Benefits and challenges associated with white labeling endeavors

As an experienced offshore white-label digital marketing agency, we are here to help you with genuine answers to queries that you might have regarding the importance and working of offshore white-label agencies and how you can seek to benefit from this model.

Fundamentals of White Label Services & Their Importance in Digital Marketing

So, in simple terms, imagine a product or service ready to use, manufactured by another firm, wrapped in white packaging, all set for you to add your label and markup and serve it to your clientele in your distinct flavor and brand value. This is the essence of white-label services/products.

White-label services find great value in agencies that are looking to resell services to their client without letting the end client know that the service has been curated by someone else. 

1. Cost-effectiveness: Getting a ready-made product digital marketing service proves to be a win-win situation for the hiring agency as they don’t need to invest in hiring in-house resources and legal liabilities and save on overhead costs such as equipment and software while retaining full rights over the final deliverables.
2. Scalability factor: Investing in white-label offshore digital marketing services allows the agency to account for scope creep or any unprecedented new project requirements that their in-house team might be unable to handle. 
3. Portray the vendor deliverables as their own without investing in hiring in-house talent: This is another major consideration for agencies looking to invest in white-label vendor services, as this saves them costs and does not compromise their brand value; it might just build on it!

So tell me, how does white labeling work in offshore digital marketing agencies?

Suppose you are an agency looking to partner with a white-label digital marketing agency for your end client’s PPC campaign; let’s look at how the process might look depending on the project requirements and frequency. 

1. Get on a discovery call with your preferred white-label partner:

Use this time to clarify the white-label agency’s experience working with your industry niche, expectations from the white-label process (such as NDA, working behind the scenes without seeking credit), project brief, KPIs, budget expectations, turnaround time, etc. 

This will also help your White Label Partner (WLP) decide on the right engagement model for your needs. For instance, if a single dedicated resource will serve the project requirement best or a team of talent for managing diversified and greater workloads such as managing the PPC campaigns of ten end clients. Once this is decided, they will get their technical teams to draft their proposal, enlisting the scope of work.

They might give you a questionnaire to fill out to understand your unique needs. It is important to note that the end client is nowhere in the picture here. 

We move to the next step if the hiring agency approves the proposal.

2. Onboarding & signing contracts pertinent to the WLP process:

This step is particularly important for the seamless execution and completion of the WLP project to avoid any scope of litigation and ensure client confidentiality. Before executing a project, the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and Non-Solicitation Agreement (NSA) must be signed. 

After inking these two documents, the onboarding process may begin with inking the Master Service Agreement and the Scope of Work (SOW).

3. Execution stage:

The WLP will inform the hiring agency about the accesses required for executing the project seamlessly and hassle-free. To reiterate, the end client is not in the communication channel, and the interaction is between the hiring agency and the recruited white-label partner. 

Once the resources get the requisite access, the project execution begins according to the brief given, and updates are regularly given to the hiring agency. 

4. Submission of deliverables and KPI evaluation, renewal if applicable

Once the execution is completed and the deliverables are ready for the hiring agency to use under their brand name, the WLP evaluates the KPIs achieved or missed. If the hiring agency is happy with their work, they might want to renew the contract if the project is on a recurring basis. 

What are the best practices to consider when hiring an offshore white-label agency?

1. Check for WLP’s reputation while conducting research

As an agency looking to hire the right white-label partner for their digital marketing requirements, it is important to conduct detailed research online before zeroing down on the one that you think might be a good fit. 

While mystery shopping, check out genuine reviews and client testimonials on reliable websites like Clutch, GoodFirms, G2, AmbitionBox, etc., so that you know what to expect.

2. Look for expertise in the niche or services that you seek to white label

For instance, if you seek to white-label your end client’s SEO or PPC campaigns, find out if they have catered successfully to similar requirements in the past.  See if they have given plausible solutions to firms in the same industry niche as yours. 

3. Ensure that confidentiality is maintained through signing NSA and NDA

This should be done before signing the contract and onboarding your agency to foster a sense of trust and confidentiality. This will also ensure that the WLP doesn’t reveal their identity to the end client throughout the process. Also, look for legalities regarding exit clauses to facilitate a smooth exit if needed.

4. Carry out a thorough cost, flexibility, and scalability analysis

Once you have your project brief and KPIs in place, see if their team strength can accommodate your needs. This can be clarified on discovery calls to gather the right information on the pricing structure and other factors.

5. Gain clarity on communication channels & reporting structure

Communication between the hiring agency and the WLP can be the make-or-break factor that must be taken into account before signing the contract. Though the identity of the resources from the WLP is hidden from the end client, in special cases, the hiring agency may give them the email IDs of their agency to communicate with the end client if and when the need arises. 

However, this is quite rare and depends extensively on the reputation and reliability of the white-label partner agency. 

Also, be clear about the escalation team structure before onboarding so that you, as the hiring agency owner, know about the people to reach out to in case of any expectation mismatch or errors in execution. 

The communication should not only be transparent, honest, and crystal clear but also account for a buffer period to accommodate delays in execution owing to unforeseen circumstances. This can be clarified on the discovery call.

Interesting! Tell me more about the benefits and challenges associated with white-labeling endeavors!

In addition to the initially mentioned factors contributing to the importance of investing in white-label digital marketing services, there are some additional benefits as well.

1. Faster time to market 

To quote Michael Nemeroff, CEO and co-founder of Rush Order Tees, “The biggest advantage of white labeling is the time to market. When starting from scratch, it can take months – sometimes even years – to develop a product, find a manufacturer, and get it to market. You can shortcut that process with white labeling and have a product on the market much sooner.”

While that’s for a physical product, it also applies equally well to a digital marketing service, such as a cab aggregator or a food ordering app, that, when white sourced, can be launched sooner had it been built from scratch by the hiring agency. 

2. Less risk of losing initial investment

Every business comes with an inherent risk, but if you choose to offshore white label your service/product needs, you eliminate the capital loss involved in building the product/service from scratch.

Cost-effectiveness, scalability, and flexibility benefits, as highlighted in the earlier sections, also hold their weight.

PS: Your firm also gets all the credit for the white-label service!

Just like there are two sides to a coin, there are certain cons associated with white-labeling endeavors that should also be considered and accounted for.

1. Quality control issues

Though the hiring agency should conduct thorough research before partnering with a white label agency, still, if the quality of the deliverables is somehow not up to the mark, you risk falling short of your promise to your end client and also losing hard-earned money!

2. Errors arising due to communication challenges

With offshore white label agencies, chances of miscommunication arising due to accent mismatch or any other missed milestone may occur. Time zone mismatch and language issues should be accounted for in the discovery call itself.

Here’s a quick glance at the pros and cons of partnering with a white-label agency

The Road Ahead

Now that you are well-informed about the different aspects of offshore white-label digital marketing endeavors and how they work, you might want to explore options for niche-specific experts.

We at Mavlers are committed to educating our readers with the latest knowledge on everything related to offshore digital marketing. Would you like to know more about the factors to consider when choosing your offshore digital marketing partner? Check out our exclusive blog here.