The COVID-19 crisis has changed everything, from the way customers consume, purchase, and think. With this, the very definition of good marketing changed. Today, the task of marketers is not only marketing their products, but walking the fine line between engaging their audience, communicating the truth, and retaining top-of-mind recall.
Sadly, there’s no one push-button marketing idea that will send a steady stream of customers to your door. Whether you sell RMM tools or multi-tier NOC services, you must use a mix of strategic marketing tactics to attract new customers and retain existing ones. So, what should you do? Should you be networking for referrals? Should you focus on digital media for promoting your service portfolio? What about using peer education as a marketing strategy? I had many questions for this week’s podcast guest Dan Tomaszewski, SVP of Channel, Kaseya. Dan knows first-hand the challenges of running a successful MSP business. He has applied this knowledge to build an award-winning channel program that has helped over 7,000 MSPs close deals, get to market faster, and become more profitable.
Reprofile your customers
In today’s noisy marketing landscape, perhaps no characteristic is more refreshing than being accurate towards your customers’ struggles. And to achieve this, you must begin with working on your top-line customers’ profiles. Before you jump into the tactical nitty-gritty of marketing, it’s really helpful to understand how your clients operate. When building an ideal customer profile, consider finding answers to the below-mentioned questions:
- Who is your target audience? Have you identified your buyer personas?
- How will your customers benefit from your products or services?
- How does their buyer persona think and act towards your products and services?
- Who is your ideal customer?
- Once you understand your customers’ business profiles, you will be better equipped to tweak your marketing strategies.
Pay attention to QBRs to give messaging an overhaul
To help customers feel “they get me” in the new normal, understand your audience’s new pain points, backed by data. Quarterly Business Reviews (QBR) can offer you many opportunities to understand their emerging needs. Integrate all understanding captured during QBRs into your paid digital promotions, email campaigns, educational content, etc. This could also mean redoing your content calendar altogether or maybe putting some passive sales emails on the backburner as you focus more on content that caters to doubts, fears, and questions related to your top-line customers’ current needs.
Spark a connection with the target audience through purposeful content
Sometimes marketing your portfolio in the MSP industry requires only being present, showcasing your expertise through various channels.
One of the best ways to market your offerings while leveraging your industry experience is to help educate others, whether that be through podcasts, webinars, or mentorship. Whichever avenue you take, getting engaged in the MSP community will be key to getting the word out about your business and getting you unexpected leads.
Blogs, podcasts, whitepapers, and webinars can humanize your business and therefore your MSP brand. Even when the content you create can’t always be directly related to your product offering, it can position you as an expert of experts with an authentic voice to industry stakeholders.
Be transparent and honest across communication channels
Having integrity is the ultimate characteristic of a great marketing strategy. I’ve come across many MSPs that use manipulative tactics and fear-mongering messaging to sell their customers products or services they don’t need. A good MSP, however, should practice honesty, strong principles, and advocate a strong business ethos of marketing communication. So, while executing any marketing campaign, stick to your words and build trust. Be careful about not making promises your engineers might not be able to fulfill post-sales.
Communicate your customer-centricity
We all know that building a great relationship with clients is the key to retaining them, elemental to successfully communicating your value propositions in a space that is people-driven and customer-obsessed. So, make the best customer support practice evident in all your promotional material. Support all promotions with CSAT numbers to reflect your dedication to top-notch customer service.
Final Thought: The road to perfecting your marketing strategy in the channel isn’t only about promoting your product brochures on digital media; it’s about leveraging deep industry knowledge to provide valuable education and shine a light on your customer-centricity.
