Being cheaper and in the same time zone does not distinguish you from your competition.
SUMMARY:
- Being cost-effective may appear as considerable advantage, but it does not set you apart from the competition.
- Nearshoring isn’t a USP.
- Location-specific marketing vs location-generic marketing.
Recently, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with B2B nearshore service clients in Costa Rica, Uruguay and Argentina. A key element in their nearshoring marketing was promotion of their services to the US.
I’ve provided various services like lead magnet content, website content, and lead generation. Also, I’ve conducted competitor analysis and offered strategic advice on USPs. These strategies include identifying ideal customer profiles and crafting outreach campaign content.
I’ve interacted with many clients and conducted extensive research on their countries. I’ve also studied popular nearshoring destinations like Mexico, Colombia and Puerto Rico. This research has revealed three potential issues for businesses offering nearshoring services during their marketing efforts.
Owner, CEO or VP of marketing for a nearshoring B2B service? Here’s another article: B2B marketing strategy: using unique selling propositions
Outsourcing, offshoring and nearshoring aren’t USPs
Technical service providers (website developers, management consultants, SaaS, financial and legal advisors) often start and finish their marketing with a summary of the benefits and features of their service and the pricing.
The South and Central American region is becoming increasingly saturated with competitors offering nearshoring services. A popular go-to marketing message is the focus around lowest pricing. This strategy can lead to a shrinking profit margins. Often referred to as a ‘race to the bottom’, businesses continually focus on undercutting each other’s prices to attract clients, ultimately hurting their bottom line.
To avoid this trap and successfully market your nearshoring services, I suggest a thought experiment. Identify and communicate a unique value proposition that taps into the specific needs and preferences of your target market. Truly unique USPs are hard to create but the effort encourage my clients to think more creatively about their position.
Successful nearshoring marketing of your services lies in demonstrating how your services can grow customers’ business and provide them with a competitive edge in their respective markets.
Location-specific marketing vs location-generic marketing
Nearshoring marketing is often promoted on how well they mimic the accents, business language and business processes of the US market so that the intended audience doesn’t know the difference. Let’s call this a location-generic focus.
A location-specific focus uses the strengths of the your region/culture as a unique selling point. Does local color help market nearshore services? It can if you can also create relevancy for your customer. This might involve using the international reputation of your locality, your educational establishments or articulation in a local conference.
Promoting service features does not lead to higher fees
A list of service features in your nearshoring marketing is not effective. It’s simply detailing what is in your contract. Your client pays you to fulfil your SLAs. So that list of features (and benefits) has little argument for hiring you.
Nearshoring services have to work harder. Leads have to skirt around their local and regional marketing services, cross borders and ignore YOUR own local competition to hire you.
Many nearshore/offshore business websites aim to educate readers with basic knowledge. Blog titles such as ‘ What is a help desk?’ or ‘Offshoring pros and cons’ litter these websites. These SEO-friendly articles address an extremely early stage in the marketing funnel. They never really move the reader much further down the funnel towards a sales call or enquiry form completion.
Your marketing should illustrate more: how well your service integrates with your client’s operations, how your service has helped customers and how you are aware of your customer’s customer.
Learn about my three service options that will transform your nearshoring marketing.