MSP Marketing: Everything You Need to Know

The landscape businesses operate in is forever changing.

13:45 07 February 2021

How people find, research and purchase goods or services have evolved over the years which means that businesses have had to adapt the way they reach their required demographic. But as time moves forward, having a strong digital footprint is pivotal for a business’s success. A managed service provider (MSP) is a company that can remotely manage different aspects of a customer's company. As the popularity of MSPs increased, the services they provide have widened. The success of MSPs began with companies hiring them for assistance with IT infrastructure. The most popular relationship companies have with any given MSP comes systems, comes in the form of a subscription-based model.

 

Starting Off on the Right Foot

 

MSPs began their upward trend in the nineties with the arrival of application service providers (ASPs), which offered remote hosting services. There has been a spike in different MSP providers so it is key for MSP companies to set themselves apart. If you’re just starting or have been in the game for a while, you should always be trying to find that next client opportunity. One of the best ways for you to increase your client base is to market the services you can provide. At the end of the day, MSP marketing is the process of creating wide-spread awareness of your business. You should be cognizant of the unique challenges that come with drawing up interest for a fully managed IT service. When it comes to marketing for MSPs, the most successful thing you can do is use a blend of traditional marketing and digital marketing techniques.

 

Setting Yourself Apart from your Competitors

 

There is no doubt we live in a digital and internet-dominated world. Leading techniques of marketing yourself in years past are slowly becoming outdated. But, there is still a benefit of utilizing them to your benefit as there are still plenty of individuals who use those avenues to gather information. The old fashion “word-of-mouth” marketing, learning about a company from a friend or a family member, is still highly important for gaining new clients. Referrals from those who have used the service are worth more than a random article on the internet. But, you would be only fooling yourself if you think relying solely on ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing is enough to take your company to the next level. To set yourself apart from your competition, you must set yourself apart by using all the tools at your disposal.

Important Tools to Utilize

 

There are lots of tools a MSP marketing firm can use to drive traffic and potential clients to your company. As outlined by the experts at Ulistic, the most commonly used tools include pay-per-click, search engine optimization, content marketing email marketing, social media marketing, online reviews, lead tracking, and search engine marketing to name a few. At the end of the day, you need to understand the aforementioned tools alone can’t bring you to the next level. To achieve your short and long-term goals you will need to utilize a specialized mix of these services that reflect the individual needs of your company.

 

Making the Right Choice for Your Individual Needs 

 

If you are leaning towards utilizing MSP marketing, you should consider several things before deciding on which firm you should use. The ideal MSP should: be flexible, have a solid relationship with you, have several people ready to assist you on staff, be able to support most time zones, provide 24/7 support, and have a reliable, single point of contact dedicated to your business, to name a few. If your MSP provider isn’t willing to consider you a partner and plans on treating you just like another client, it’s time to move on to the next one. Your success relies on the quality of service they provide you.