Why is growing your managed services provider business so important? Growth is a sign of health, and it safeguards you against changes in the wind. Even if you have a few great clients, you might be in danger if you're not growing. What happens when a client decides to move on or move services in-house? An MSP that sees consistent growth will have clients moving in to take their place.
Plus, a growing MSP has the momentum--not to mention the capital--to adapt to changes in your industry. Ready to take on the AI revolution? Need to upgrade your equipment? It's easier to make changes on a growth trajectory. Learn some actionable tips for growth and how to create an MSP marketing strategy.
What is an MSP Marketing Strategy and Why is it Important?
People who are passionate about their MSP business may not want to spend time thinking about marketing it. It's common for driven doers to focus on what they do best and hope that business will come your way. But marketing is an essential part of any successful business.
A great MSP marketing strategy is about getting your services to the people who need them but may not otherwise ever hear about you. The managed service industry was around $299 billion globally in 2023. There are plenty of clients out there; your message just needs to reach them. On the other hand, MSPs that coast along without an MSP marketing strategy may get by for a while, but when clients stop approaching you, your growth will start to stagnate.
Defining your target market and identifying your niche within the MSP space, can help you focus your MSP marketing strategy efforts. Your sales team knows that a pitch is more likely to succeed if you know who you're talking to. It's the same in your MSP marketing strategy. Knowing your target audience can help you speak directly to your ideal clients in your marketing materials.
When you know who your target market is, the next step is figuring out what they need. Understand the specific needs—also called pain points—of your ideal clients. Pain points are things like complaints, problems, and challenges that your MSP business can remedy. They can further narrow down the scope of your marketing message.
There are several avenues to reaching your ideal client, but there is no need to choose just one. Digital marketing involves all marketing that takes place online like organic search engine optimization (SEO), paid search, social media marketing, and more.
Digital marketing is the newest frontier in advertising, but some of the old players are still effective. physical marketing materials like billboards, flyers, and swag are useful in certain contexts. Hosting seminars and events can also attract a lot of attention and establish your brand.
There are also ways to combine all of these options. For instance, trade shows and industry events may be an opportunity to focus all of your marketing avenues on a particular message.
Building a brand means creating a cohesive outward-facing image that remains consistent throughout your external messaging. In other words, you want your clients and potential customers to develop a consistent idea of who you are as a business.
Your brand image can be defined through countless avenues, which is why it's a big job for your marketing team or partner. Your brand comes through on web copy, website colors, advertising, blogs, billboards, newsletters, and anything else your company may produce that a client might see.
It's important to identify the sort of brand images that work best in your industry. For instance, defense lawyers often want to be seen as aggressive and tenacious, while healthcare businesses want to be seen as gentle and trustworthy. MSPs offer a variety of services, and tech industries can work with a wide variety of brand images from inventive communications innovators to stalwart IT guardians. Whatever you choose, make sure it's consistent throughout your marketing.