Every MSP faces the same challenge. Scaling the business is challenging, and every one of your competitors is looking for its next client, at the same time in the same ways. Further, there’s no “secret” solution that one MSP holds over another.

Let’s table the conversation of if you should even be doing some kind of sales focused outreach - you should!  If you expect to generate lead flow in a crowded market, thinking of how your firm is perceived and how you message to the outside world matters - a lot.

Great MSP marketing is:

1. On message.
2. Focused.
3. Authentic.

Here’s a more in depth look at how to improve your marketing in the name of more deals.

What Makes Quality MSP Marketing Campaigns?

In a market where there are more MSPs than ever before, many groups have adopted a more scaled approach to marketing in general...something we advocate for daily. After all, to some extent, good marketing always has a numbers game element to it. 

But what happens when the area you serve or the customer type you focus on simply doesn't have the breadth of opportunity to scale?

We believe the biggest drivers of success for more modestly sized MSP marketing campaigns is to clearly differentiate your firm through all channels at all stages of the process.  

With email campaigns in particular this means that general taglines just don't cut it anymore: Using an authentic voice on your website, any articles you publish, and in the emails you send immediately separates you from most of the MSP marketing noise in the market.   

This is especially true  if you are targeting a specific industry.  When technical industry specific knowledge is needed to close a new client, an authentic voice is imperative to getting a seat at the table.

This means speaking directly to your prospect with a mix of professional and personal language, while also staying true to any industry terminology or biases that may exist.

Niche industries require more provable expertise both at a firm and personal level or else prospective customers may not be impacted by your pitch to the extent they should be. .

Remember - Picking a new MSP is often a very personal partnership

Think back to all the clients you have onboarded. Sales are often more personal than we plan….at least the good ones are.  Be prepared to differentiate yourself from the rest of your competitors.  One effective way to do this is to invest in learning about your target's founder (or similar) in advance of communicating.

This can be as simple as using platforms like LinkedIn to research the founder’s professional history, organizational affiliations, and any articles they may have written or shared. The amount of time it takes to do this v is minimal when you consider the significant increase it can give to the likelihood that you can connect on a slightly more personal level. .  

As funny as it sounds, we talk to business owners all the time who just won't work with one group or another because they didn't connect personally with the people on the MSP’s team.  People still "buy' from people they like.

If you focus on multiple industries...

As we’ve said, having a brand for your firm that is focused on a specific industry is powerful.  But many groups either focus on more than one type of customer or have no specific industry focus at all. This creates all kinds of marketing and positioning challenges and makes it difficult to be known as experts in any, let alone all, of these industries.  

For example, do you currently include industries or types of customers that you really don't work with often  in your marketing materials? You should consider removing these in favor of marketing materials and messaging that is specific only to the industry you are working in at the time.

This means cutting back on non-relevant language, and highlighting those that are only relevant to the prospective customer.  Worked with a hospital once? Don’t market your team as healthcare focused..it will create more confusion than benefit. 

It may feel like you’re stripping away some of your firm’s success or credibility by leaving these non-relevant customers  out of the picture, but consider the benefits of “hitting the nail on the head” with the target founder by showing focus and relevance that resonates to them specifically..  

Differentiate Yourself to the decision maker

To drive the point home, again think about differentiation through a target founder's or CEO’s eyes.  

Do you think they are more likely to respond to a solicitation from a generalist, or from the group that looks like a thought leader in the space?  

If you’re following that messaging up with a quality website with value-added content that shows thought leadership, it goes a long way in increasing your chances of closing your next client.