Traditionally, marketers have been relying on qualifying leads using a single channel and then assigning the designated sales reps to those leads. But now, THINGS HAVE CHANGED. Today, you have to reach out to your customers on every platform that they are using. This is not it; you should also have capabilities to tie back all the interactions via those touchpoints to figure out what cinched the deal.
As a master MSP that has seen tremendous growth over the years, we realize that high conversion rates are not possible by relying on a single channel to communicate with our customers. With an explosion of multiple online channels such as social media and educational email campaigns, there are new ways to engage your leads and streamline your marketing strategy.
To learn how marketing automation can help MSPs create multi-touch campaigns that are results-driven, I spoke to Matt Solomon who’s the CEO of Channel Halo. Matt is also the brand ambassador for our educational event for growth-minded MSPs – Build IT LIVE.
Create value through educational content
Think about non-conversion engagement and build ways to keep customers involved in your brand even when they may not be buying from you. One of the best ways to market your offerings while leveraging your industry experience is to help educate others.
Educational content can take many shapes and forms – the post that your prospect just ‘liked’ on LinkedIn, that webinar you hosted a week back, and the whitepaper a potential customer downloaded a month back. Whichever avenue you take, driving engagement in the MSP community will be key to getting the word out about your business and capturing unexpected leads.
Remain omnipresent, but still identify the most profitable channel
Sometimes marketing your portfolio in the MSP industry requires not only being present but also showcasing your expertise through various channels. Your customers are everywhere and you need to be there, even before your customers.
Having said that, you still need clarity on which channels your target audience frequently visits and how do they interact within those channels. Once you identify the winners, you can easily start with choosing the channels that create maximum impact. This way, you can build consensus on an action plan based on industry knowledge, shared learning, team collaboration, and a deep understanding of the consumer journey.
Make the most of social media
From attracting new customers to raising awareness for your MSP brand, LinkedIn is a staple of any B2B marketing funnel. That said, LinkedIn lead gen doesn’t happen by accident. You can’t just “spray and pray” when it comes to your outreach. Instead of approaching people cold, it is best to focus on relationship-building, sharing educational content, and engaging in conversations on posts.
To ensure that your profile is seen by as many people as possible, it’s crucial to understand how the LinkedIn algorithm works. Posting product updates and educational content during peak times is a good idea. Weekdays during the mornings and early afternoon (think: traditional work hours) are a safe bet for most professionals. Matt even suggests posting “Opinion Polls” on weekends to engage with your 2nd-degree connections.
Design a word-of-mouth referral program
Keep your ex-customers part of your email list of upcoming product updates, educational content, and referral programs. Reinforce (or create) an incentivized referral program to mine warm leads from within your customer base. Another option is to start a word-of-mouth referral program. To design relevant and valuable engagement for word-of-mouth marketing, you may want to stick to snippets highlighting successful customer stories.
Final Thought: If you are using the traditional marketing model for lead generation that involves single customer touchpoints, chances are, you cannot grow. To optimize your marketing strategy, you need to create multi-channel marketing campaigns that connect with your leads 24/7.
