So, you’ve decided it’s time to invest in marketing for your Managed Service Provider (MSP) business. You’re picturing leads flooding in, phones ringing off the hook, and your inbox full of people begging for your services. But reality check: marketing isn’t a magic trick. It’s more like trying to bake a cake without knowing how long it’ll take to rise. To get that delicious ROI cake, there are a few key ingredients you need to focus on—before you end up with a sad, flat pancake. Let’s get into it!
Picture this: You’re driving a car with no dashboard. No speedometer, no gas gauge, no GPS. How do you know if you’re headed in the right direction or if you’re about to run out of gas? Well, marketing without KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) is exactly like that—except now your gas is your money, and you’re burning through it. Let’s talk about the KPIs that will keep your MSP’s marketing engine running smoothly:
Without these KPIs, you’re just throwing money at marketing and hoping it sticks. And, spoiler alert: hope is not a strategy.
Let’s be honest—most of us expect marketing to be some sort of miracle worker. You set up a campaign and BAM! Clients come knocking, rightaway, right? Sorry to break it to you, but marketing doesn’t work like that (unless you know a secret wizard, in which case, please share). For MSPs especially, marketing is more of a slow-cooking crockpot situation than a microwave. You’ll start to see some results after a year (yes, 12 whole months), and by year two, you’ll finally be able to sit back and say, “Ah, there it is!”
This is where a lot of MSPs go wrong—they expect marketing to be like a fast-food drive-thru, but really, it’s more like farming. You plant the seeds (spend money), water them (spend more money), and then wait (resist the urge to dig up the seeds in frustration). The payoff will come, but you need to stick with it. Pull out too early, and you’ll be left with a barren field of wasted potential.
You’re awesome. Your MSP is awesome. But—and I hate to be the one to tell you this—you’re not for everyone. And that’s actually a good thing! When it comes to marketing, the key is to laser-focus on the right audience. You don’t want to throw your message out to the entire world and hope it sticks. You want to zero in on the people who actually need your MSP services and are willing to pay for them.
This is where your ideal client profile (ICP) comes into play. Picture your perfect client—what industry are they in? What keeps them awake at night? What are they Googling at 2 a.m. in a panic (hopefully “best MSP to save my IT systems”)? Tailor your messaging to speak directly to their needs. If you specialize in cybersecurity for law firms, talk about how you keep them compliant and out of the headlines. If you’re all about cloud services for small businesses, show them how you’ll make their lives easier.
Bottom line: Speak to the right people. Your MSP doesn’t need to be loved by everyone—just the ones who will sign the contract.
Let me guess—you’re running Google Ads, sitting back, and waiting for the leads to roll in. That’s cute, but here’s the thing: relying on just one marketing channel is like putting all your eggs in one basket, and that basket is balanced on a wobbly chair. When it falls, so do your hopes and dreams.
For MSPs, diversification is the name of the game. You need to be everywhere your clients are, which means mixing it up across multiple platforms. Here’s a quick guide to spreading out your efforts:
Diversify your efforts so that if one channel isn’t performing, the others can pick up the slack. Think of it like having multiple streams of leads, so you’re never reliant on just one.
So, your marketing worked and leads are pouring in. The phone’s ringing, emails are coming in hot… but wait, why aren’t you closing any deals? Ah, this is the part where many MSPs drop the ball: the sales and onboarding process.
Let’s face it—no matter how brilliant your marketing is, if your sales process is clunky, slow, or confusing, all those leads will vanish faster than free donuts in the breakroom. MSPs need to ensure that when a lead comes in, they’re ready to act—quickly and smoothly. Have your pricing, service offerings, and sales pitch dialed in so you can close deals without making potential clients feel like they’re lost in a maze.
And once they’re in? Your onboarding process needs to be smooth as silk. If signing up with your MSP feels like trying to assemble IKEA furniture with no instructions, you’re doing it wrong. The faster and more seamless the onboarding, the happier your clients will be—and the less chance they’ll jump ship.