Sales and marketing are common challenges for MSPs. In fact, say acquiring new clients is their number one problem. 29% say it鈥檚 competition. As an MSP, getting your name out there and differentiating yourself is a constant challenge.
Most MSPs start out with word-of-mouth marketing, which works great 鈥� until it doesn鈥檛. Referral-based marketing is limited in scope. Before long, you鈥檒l find yourself faced with diminishing returns.
So, what鈥檚 next?
When you aren鈥檛 equipped with entire departments devoted to sales and marketing, it can be hard to know how to expand.
This blog will cover a few foundational things you can do to kick off your marketing, as well as some more in-depth tactics you can try when you鈥檙e ready.
Start by Thinking Like a Marketer
Thinking like a marketer probably doesn鈥檛 fall in your job description, and it will likely feel a bit foreign at first. That鈥檚 totally normal and okay. But one of the most impactful things you can do for your MSP鈥檚 marketing is adjust your mindset and view your tasks at hand through a marketing lens. The easiest way to do that is by answering two critical questions:
- Who are you? When it comes to defining your MSP, you鈥檒l need a strong, consistent message. If you describe yourself in different ways at different times, you鈥檒l create an inconsistent message that doesn鈥檛 stick.
- Who is your audience? Knowing your audience is critical to successful marketing. This includes:
- The people you usually work with (Is it the CEO? The office manager? An IT admin?)
- The types of businesses you usually serve (law firms, call centers, companies with fewer than 50 people etc.)
Marketing magic happens when you combine the answers to the two questions above. When you know your business鈥檚 core message and who your audience is, you can accurately communicate your company鈥檚 benefits to your audience in a way that will resonate with them.
Whenever you鈥檙e communicating with your audience, put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself how they might understand and respond to what you say. Learning to do this is easy, free, and will make a HUGE impact on your marketing.
Case in point: Your clients most likely don鈥檛 refer to you as 鈥淢SPs.鈥� Referring to yourself this way in your marketing will immediately create distance from your audience rather than build rapport. Try phrases like 鈥淚T support鈥� and 鈥渘etwork support鈥� instead.
Accessible and Affordable Tactics to Try
The following steps will help you build a strong marketing foundation. They鈥檙e designed to be easy and actionable, and they can deliver huge returns on your marketing efforts.
Leverage Content Marketing
Content marketing builds trust and awareness by providing valuable, relevant information to your audience. As people engage with this content, they get to know your company. When it comes time for members of this audience to consider working with an MSP or switching providers, your company is top-of-mind as knowledgeable, familiar, and trustworthy.
In short, content marketing is a method of building relationships with potential customers 鈥� and it鈥檚 something you can do yourself at little to no cost.
Try Your Hand at Social Media
It鈥檚 okay if you鈥檙e not a big social media user in your personal life, but many customers expect to interact with brands on social platforms. Establishing your company鈥檚 presence on social media is critical to making a good impression on prospective buyers. It will help position your company as legitimate, trusted, and personable. It also provides prospects with another, possibly easier channel for them to learn about you and connect with you directly.
Advertising on Social Media
Social media is a great way to get your feet wet in advertising.
Most social media platforms allow you to set your budget, which gives you control over how much you spend. You can set timeframes for your budget and adjust them based on performance and campaign needs. Playing around with ads can also help you widen your audience and reach new prospects.
Compile Your Efforts With a Campaign
Campaigns are integrated sales and marketing efforts that center around a key message and a shared set of goals. They help put strategy and numbers behind one-off marketing endeavors (like creating a piece of content) and close the loop between marketing and sales.
Campaigns act as a structure within which you can define a target audience and appropriate message for them, outline your total 鈥渂ill of materials鈥� (or BOM as marketers like to say), plan out the sequence of events in terms of publication, email sends, and follow up procedures, and track progress. This gives you something a bit more tangible to measure ROI against and tweak and tune for future campaigns.
If this feels like a lot, don鈥檛 forget to get in touch with your vendors. Vendors can offer more support than many MSPs realize. Read on to learn more.
Work With Your Vendors
Did you know vendors often offer funding to support your marketing? Not only that, but they can also help you with things like finding campaign management software that fits your budget, developing marketing materials, and helping you get started with event marketing.
Your vendors鈥� success is intricately tied to yours, so they鈥檙e highly motivated to help you. MSPs often underutilize their vendors as a resource 鈥� if you鈥檙e looking for support, start by contacting your vendors.
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