Marketing teams often look to outsource digital services, and while outsourcing is an effective option, many agencies struggle with the selection process. Recently, a growing number of companies have been looking to Costa Rica for nearshore outsourcing. With rich culture, and marketing expertise, Costa Rica provides a reliable, prompt, and cost-effective digital marketing convenience.
This rich Latin American country is a great alternative to offshoring to Asia for North America. Costa Rica is an increasingly popular attraction for successful companies looking to expand their marketing operations and services through outsourcing, because it offers large and growing competitive benefits for the marketing industry and shows no signs of slowing down.
Come along with us in this article as we review all the things that make Costa Rica the best option for an outsourcing destination.
In this article we will cover:
Costa Rica offers tremendous resources to companies with a highly skilled and diverse workforce. The government places priority on their education system and encourages multilingual learning. Availability of the talent pool is higher every year as reforms are made to the education system.
It’s calculated that over 66% of people in the age group of 20 to 34 years old receive higher education. Aside from that, the educational system actively promotes the certification of its professionals and has one of the best vocational training systems in the world, making it easy to find experienced talent that’s familiar with state-of-the-art technology for the development of digital media products.
The high level of education translates into a demanding market, which makes UX / UI design, graphic media production, and digital marketing all the more relevant for the creative industry. In fact, the Costa Rican workforce is one of the most technologically savvy in the world, made evident by the presence of multinational tech companies in the country, staffed almost entirely by nationals.
The Costa Rican workforce is known for its fluency in the English language. This is achieved because the government emphasizes learning English as part of the curriculum. According to the EF English Proficiency Index, the country ranks 44, making it the top in the region.
Latin America has recently become a technology hub, with multinational companies pouring in from all around the world, a testament to the level of resources found here. Countries are in a constant competition to present more and better resources for foreign investment and local development.
As for Costa Rica, it is a country known for its wide arrange of resources. Here are some of the most relevant to outsourcing.
Costa Rica's most important asset is its people. Costa Ricans are dedicated, hard-working individuals, used to creative processes and demanding projects. The country ranks first in the region for ease of finding skilled workers in the WEF Global Competitive Index (2019), and 27 in the world.
Workers have a high understanding of North American business culture and share many similarities with it, which is ideal considering the importance of a team with whom you understand each other on more than a linguistic level.
Not only are human resources made largely available because of a large talent pool, but infrastructure is well developed, and innovation a priority. Costa Rica ranks 3rd in the Latin America and the Caribbean region in the Global Innovation Index (2021), making it the ideal place to take your digital production. This is where your campaigns will be developed with high-end technologies by the most creative minds.
Connectivity ensures successful outsourcing, and Costa Rica has widely designated resources to develop its telecommunications structure, which has led to internet penetration of 88% in the country. This poses a great advantage since it means excellent and affordable access to quality networks and high-speed internet that promote seamless communication.
One of the key factors when choosing an outsourcing destination is the stability that exists in the country's environment, including in the economy, society and industry. Stability in the economy and reliability in society favor the construction of an environment suitable for investment and development, encouraging job creation, specialization, and causing increases in productivity.
Unfortunately, not all Latin American countries can say they enjoy general stability. In fact, few economies continue to grow and are projected to continue like this, including Chile, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and of course, Costa Rica. These are some of the indicators that show Costa Rica’s steadiness in development.
Costa Rica ranks 4th in Latin America and 1st in Central America for ease of doing business according to The World Bank (2019), which indicates that its policies and regulations favor the local business environment and collaboration with foreign companies.
This financial stability allows it to offer better business opportunities and excellent benefits to foreign investment as well as to the national companies that promote it. This translates into tax benefits and growth opportunities for the industry, strengthening outsourcing partnerships. Costa Rica exhibits an accommodating business ecosystem, providing the stimulus creative industries need to thrive.
Costa Rica offers high-quality of life as the safest country in Central America. Moreover, its stable political climate has led to demonstrable sustained growth in all major social aspects making it an attractive destination for foreign investment and outsourcing.
This same factor maintains governance and gives security in compliance with regulations and laws that protect both private citizens and businesses.
Not only is it located in a close and strategic area that provides ease of logistics and communications, but Costa Rica shares cultural affinity with the US in work ethics and commitment to innovation and quality.
A similar or shared time-zone allowing internal and external teams to operate unhindered during shared working hours. Being able to work simultaneously allows for increased productivity and the assurance that your digital products are delivered on time, every time.
Continuous communication is key when hiring any type of external collaboration, and sharing time zones allows optimal exchange between teams. This is the way to avoid disruptions in communication that could otherwise be costly and stressful.
In the marketing industry, demand is ever-changing, and businesses are working to achieve more through digital outsourcing. As you have seen, the creative and service industry in Costa Rica is thriving at an accelerated pace as it has been doing for decades. The environment is conducive to innovation and top performance.
There is no way around it—Costa Rica is a paradise for outsourcing, with a large and extremely skilled workforce, accustomed to working under North American standards of quality, timeliness and innovation.
Those who make up the creative industry have extensive experience in marketing and brand strategy and social media processes, as well as development of video games and animation through cutting-edge technology, VFX, conceptualization, post-production and production services.
Companies in the digital marketing industry in Costa Rica offer:
One of these companies is WAM Digital Studio. WAM offers the ideal digital outsourcing partnership to help your business grow. We seek to make sure that outsourcing presents a world-class experience to our international partners by offering a full range of digital production services delivered by experienced, skilled professionals.
You have the opportunity to start outsourcing your digital marketing to Costa Rica and taking advantage of all the benefits it has to offer with WAM’s team of digital specialists.
If you are interested in boosting your digital production with an outsourced partner in Costa Rica, make sure to reach out to us. We are eager and ready to take on your project!