The top 10% are comfortable. They must have some competitive advantage and at least provide decent service – or compete like Microsoft and Google. The other 90% are struggling to survive. If you don’t want to be in that 90% you need to figure out at least what the 10% are doing. If you’re going to do that you may as well aim for exceptional and join the top 1-2%!

I’ve been surprised at just how well-spoken some of the India-based vendors I’ve worked with have been. Their communication skills often exceed some of the U.S.-based vendors I’ve worked with.

That said, your point about culture is a good one – creative services that are geared for an audience (and they always are in marketing) require providers who are in-tune with the culture of that audience. That’s one thing global outsourcing will never be able to effectively replace.

It truly depends on what you’re looking to outsource and what your expectations are. But I am certainly not one to discount outsourcing entirely – I think under the right circumstances it can be a huge cost saver, and some of the overseas service providers do great work.

Of course, you can’t get Mike Tekula’s level of permance. Perish the thought! ;)

You truly do get what you pay for – especially when it comes to RESULTS – and results are all that matters. Any business that desires maximum success should hire the most outstanding experts in design, usability, analytics, copywriting, ecommerce – every skill necessary. A business is limited by their weakest links.

The primary reason outsourced work is less expensive is the disparity in the exchange rate between currencies. The last time I asked someone in India their company charged $2 USD per hour which equated to roughly $96 in their currency.

Communicating clearly and setting expectations is the most challenging issue facing any consultant. Imagine how having to learn another language and culture could complicate that. Yes, you might find an exceptional person in another country, communicate your needs to that one person (and possibly teach them), and then have them teach others they directly supervise. It can be done and can be useful for routine repetitive tasks.

When it comes to complex skills and creative work, paying for the best is well worth it. Can you hire work done cheaply? Yes. Can you get Mike Tekula’s level of performance? Almost impossible.

I think if you’re very careful about what you’re asking an outsourced vendor to handle and give explicit instructions you can have a successful experience.

But the moment you’re leaving marketing communications and strategy development up to someone you found via eLance or a similar service you’ve taken some serious risks.