Give ‘Em Something to Talk About
Who are you targeting when you put your name out there?
It’s an important question. After all, there are a LOT of MSPs crowding the market right now, and the opportunities for recurring revenue from clients are getting slimmer every year with the advent of easy services like Office 365. You’ve got to think about choosing your targets wisely when you market your company – go after the companies that are going to deliver the best value for the amount of work you put into their service.
So how do you go after those companies? By speaking to the C-level executives. They’re the ones making the big decisions on who to trust with their business. But these kind of big-wigs have built up defenses against a lot of marketing tricks. It’s no surprise considering how inundated we all are with ads lurking behind every corner.
These people are stingy with their trust, so you’ve got to prove that you are worthwhile. One of the best ways to do so is to provide useful content they can actually take advantage of.
After all, you’re an expert in your field! After working with so many businesses to solve IT problems over the years, you ought to have some nifty tricks and tips up your sleeve. It’s time to pull them out, brush them off, and share them with the world.
- Start blogging! Even if you don’t do the polished final product, get your ideas out about the kind of tech information someone might find handy. Think about recent innovations in the market, new threats to be aware of, tips for faster service and saved time, or fun applications that provide useful service.
- Make point form notes and get someone to help you shine them up into a written form that you can put out there. If you work with a marketing company, tell them your ideas and get them to write a blog post for you.
- Focus on BUSINESS VALUE. If you’re giving information about a new innovative product on the market, talk about what it means for businesses in your area. Discuss how it affects their security, their convenience, and their bottom line. These are the things they actually want to know, and it’s what you always need to drive the conversation toward.
- Then SHARE your thoughts. Leverage your social media platforms and spread that information around. Tweet about your ideas, share thoughts on Facebook, and send your white paper to your LinkedIn contacts. Let people know that you have information they might find useful. Ask them to spread it around. Issue the invitation to get back in touch with you if they have questions.
The goal here is to position yourself as the helpful expert. You’re not trying to directly tap into a person’s business, but rather get them to come to you.
This advice also extends to your websites. Did you know that Google has a quality score in addition to ranking your SEO? One of the big factors that determines the quality of your site is the usefulness of the information presented there. Don’t be afraid to have white papers or little libraries of tips on your site that are free for anyone to access – you won’t drive away anyone who was serious about looking for an MSP, and you’re more likely to impress someone who was on the fence.
And remember, this is only one part of lead generation. On its own, providing useful written content isn’t enough, but combined with other techniques like an active referral system, email campaigns, and community networking, you can cement your reputation as the go-to expert for all things IT.
Ulistic provides marketing services to managed services providers. The Ulistic team acts as part of your team, engaging and working with your MSP each day to assist in providing the foundation for stratospheric success. Learn more at Ulistic.com.
