Outsourcing: The Key to Continued Growth In Times of Economic Uncertainty

Economic uncertainties pose a massive asterisk for small and mid-sized businesses in the United States. In a survey of 500 SMB business leaders, almost half (48%) of small businesses cited economic uncertainty as a prime challenge in the coming year.

Between rising costs and shifting consumer behaviors, small businesses are in a crunch. For small businesses who may not be as well-equipped to handle rising prices, recent news about rising tariffs and fluctuations in the stock market can be particularly concerning.

Growing apprehensions of a potential recession call for smarter spending and investing, and outsourcing shows it can be a serious solution in order to ride out the storm. Navigating through a multitude of economic challenges such as inflation, supply chain disruptions, and strained trade policies will push SMBs to pivot to stay competitive — and many are turning to outsource service providers.

Of those who participated in our study, 84% of SMBs said they already outsource some of their activities, and 70% of respondents say they intend to boost their outsourcing initiatives in 2025.

For many small businesses, one of the biggest challenges is expanding operations with limited resources. Outsourcing can feel intimidating at first but the numbers don’t lie — the demand reveals how SMBs see its advantages.

Many SMBs leverage outsourcing to gain access to external expertise that can help boost productivity and efficiency. However, outsourcing isn’t just about that — it also provides businesses with additional flexibility and scalability necessary for weathering economic unpredictability.

Read more about the survey in ‘The Small Business Growth Playbook for 2025.’

Outsourcing: Strategic Advantages Amidst Trying Times 

Saying that outsourcing unlocks efficiency may not paint a clear picture of how it brings much-needed stability. Particularly when the market is volatile, outsourcing allows companies to adapt quickly. Instead of investing heavily in permanent staff, equipment, or infrastructure, businesses that outsource specific services can scale those services up or down based on demand.

This not only makes outsourcing more cost-effective, but it’s also helps companies avoid long-term commitments, enabling them to shift strategy if their plans no longer align with their goals.

Here are outsourcing’s main strategic advantages:

• Outsourcing helps businesses accurately estimate costs during financially straining economic conditions, and allows them to scale up and down as needed.
• Amidst operational risks and potential supply chain disruptions, outsourcing helps build resilience by allocating functions across different service providers.
• Since many service providers shift to tech-driven approaches, outsourcing gives SMBs access to cutting-edge solutions (e.g. automation tools and real-time dashboards) without the need to send in order to acquire such technologies.
• Economic uncertainty also impacts the labor market, and outsourcing is a practical answer to counter workforce shortages and hiring market shifts.

While it’s always a great idea to establish internal teams and systems, outsourcing is also an exceptional solution to achieving continued growth.

Top Services Outsourced by SMBs 

Nowadays, businesses can outsource almost any function from service providers, but some are more popular than others. According to our report, the primary business function that SMBs anticipate outsourcing the most in 2025 are:

• Marketing and Advertising (45%)
• IT Services (38%)
• Software Development (32%)

Let’s dissect why SMBs have these three functions on their outsourcing priority list:

Marketing 

Marketing is always a big talking point for SMBs, especially when financial turbulence hits.

Manpower can be a roadblock for SMBs. Since they often have smaller in-house teams, and marketing has evolved into a multi-disciplinary duty, it’ll be a tough task to run full-scale marketing campaigns internally.

“[A]s the marketing landscape becomes more complex with emerging technologies like AI and automation, businesses are increasingly outsourcing to agencies with specialized knowledge in these areas,” says Youssef Azmy, the founder and CEO of the boutique performance marketing company, Purple Zebra. “Clients are leveraging global talent and new tools to stay competitive without needing to overhaul their internal teams.”

Even highly experienced teams can struggle to keep up with every marketing task, especially when working with a limited budget. Outsourcing allows them to choose what marketing services they want to invest in and adjust their budgets as they need.

What SMBs gain from outsourcing marketing services:

• Outsourcing marketing services — whether it’s online or offline — gives businesses access to agency-level expertise and technologies necessary to execute modern marketing strategies.
• Agencies offer different pricing structures (e.g. per project model, value-based model, and performance-based model) that may work well for SMBs managing costs.
• Marketing service providers help SMBs keep up with rapidly evolving market demands and industry trends.
• Outsourcing gives better flexibility for short- and medium-term objectives such as launching new products, executing seasonal or promotional campaigns, and scaling up or down to meet fluctuating demand.

Uncertain times call for flexibility and resiliency. Outsourcing professional marketing services gives them room to execute cost-friendly campaigns without over-investing. 

Additional reading, ‘How to Successfully Outsource Your Marketing Efforts in 2025.’

IT Services

Information technology serves as the backbone of businesses, enabling them to facilitate communication and seamless collaboration between different teams.

Establishing an internal IT system and department costs a pretty penny, and not every SMB has the bandwidth or the budget to build an internal team. Since IT constantly advances, it's not ideal for SMBs to be spending on new technologies unless they're financially capable.

Here's why they should consider outsourcing their IT needs:

• Top IT companies allow small businesses to tap high-performing professionals who are equipped with outstanding expertise and technical proficiency.
• SMBs are often targeted by malicious cyberattacks as they are perceived as easier targets. Outsourcing IT services helps improve cybersecurity in an era of increasing cyber threats.  
• Many industries have become more bullish towards privacy and IT, imposing strict regulations to protect consumers and businesses alike. Managed IT services ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations, helping avoid legal woes.
• Technological advancements have allowed businesses to leverage data to boost growth and improve operations. Outsourcing IT services gives SMBs access to robust data management and backup solutions.

Economic uncertainty impacts many aspects of the tech landscape — cybersecurity concerns spike and demand for better scalability rises. IT partners provide heightened security, proactively helping SMBs handle unpredictable chapters.

Software Development

At first glance, software development feels like an expensive investment for small businesses. However, bespoke software can open priceless doors of opportunities for SMBs, especially considering how processes have been impacted by technology.

Essentially, modern market demands expect businesses to adopt digitalization to keep up with the competition. Outsourcing software development introduces benefits such as:

• Cuts down costs that come with managing an in-house team, eliminating overhead costs such as salaries, hardware and software expenses, and hiring fees.
• Since they won’t need to hire internal team members for the work, SMBs gain better flexibility and scalability. Partnering with an outsourced software development company means that businesses don’t need to commit to full-time employees and they can scale back and adjust the team size as needed.
• Outsourcing also allows SMBs to work with top-tier talents with specialized skills or technical expertise. This is especially important for software development projects that require specific strategies or competence that certain offshore service providers may already have.
• Partnering with an external service provider also boosts development efficiency and improves output quality. Allowing your in-house team to collaborate with diverse outsourced talent fosters new ideas.

Digital enablement shouldn’t be left on the backburner despite cut backs during times of economic uncertainty; doing so may only cause your growth momentum to slow down. Software development companies allow SMBs to build modern solutions like automation tools and internal platforms to help solve crucial problems.

Additional reading, ‘Leveraging Outsourced Talent for Competitive Edge in Development and Cybersecurity.’

Outsourcing is a Growth Lever, Not a Last Resort

While it may not be a guaranteed solution, outsourcing is all about finding the most efficient and productive way to advance your business, even during tough times. Outsourcing functions such as marketing, IT, and software development allow SMBs to stay competitive, agile, and flexible — key attributes needed for continued growth.

Clutch is here to help you match with the right service provider for your project. Find the right professionals that work for your budget and needs. 
 

About the Author

Elaine Margrethe Alcantara

Elaine Margrethe is a part of Clutch’s global team of writers. She is responsible for writing blogs, supporting blog processes, and content creation efforts.

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