According to a report from “Markets & Markets,” an MSPs revenue is expected to grow at a 7,9% annual growth rate, reaching an overall industry value of $354.8 billion by 2026 ($243B in 2021).
It’s an exciting time to own an MSP business and build a trusted name in the industry. In such a competitive market though, your company will also need to shine in the online space, where going unnoticed often means not existing.
This is why your MSP needs a Digital Marketing Strategy.
Now, let’s take a deep dive into your MSP marketing strategy.
Here are some of the key marketing initiatives your MSP should focus on.
What you can’t measure, you can’t improve
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”
-John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker was considered a “pioneer in marketing.” Let me add, he also anticipated many of the headaches that us as marketers and business owners, still face today in relation to modern attribution and return on investment.
It was the 1800s, and it was a long time ago. But trust me when I say that this phrase is still relevant today. Many organizations and marketing departments still struggle to identify underperforming channels and find ways to make their marketing machine more efficient.
There is no secret recipe, especially now with the level of entropy in the complex, hyper connected world we live in. At the same time, whether your budget is big or small, there is one rule to follow in order to maximize your marketing spend.
Ensure you put a strong effort into creating a tailored measurement model for your marketing activities that allows you to make informed, data-driven decisions.
Make data analysis a habit in your company. It will help you to gain a holistic view on your business, set measurable KPIs for your marketing initiatives so that you can make data-driven decisions to maximize your investment.
Leverage Web Analytics Tools, (there are so many these days and some of them are free) to track your traffic, understand your audience and monitor your conversion rates.
Implementing web analytics is simple. The data you will gain is monumental in providing you meaningful insights on your users, their behavior and how to optimize your website to improve your lead generation pipeline.
Write your marketing strategy down
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”
-Benjamin Franklin
Having a plan is essential to the success of your MSP’ marketing initiatives.
You can keep it simple, but laying down the foundation of your marketing strategy is so important. It will be key to developing goals, identifying deliverables and measuring results along the way.
Start with a simple plan that enables you to be active on all channels in the marketing funnel.
- Make sure you website is SEO friendly
- Start a blog and post regularly
- Activate a paid search campaign
- Use Display Remarketing to re-engage your audience
- Build your presence on social media
- Put in place an email marketing strategy
The attention economy and your MSP Marketing strategy
“The average attention span for the notoriously ill-focused goldfish is nine seconds, but according to a new study from Microsoft Corp., people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds, highlighting the effects of an increasingly digitized lifestyle on the brain.”
-from The Time
The meaning of this is about messaging and how to use the few seconds you have to gain the attention and focus of your audience and ultimately achieve the goal of your marketing strategy.
First, get the attention of your audience. This will then lead to consideration, which will then lead to purchase.
Your message should be engaging, original and unique, so that you can stand-out from the competition and capture attention in an easily distracted world. To achieve this you need to study your audience. Get to know them, identify their needs, learn about their tastes and the problems you can solve for them.
This will allow you to highlight the benefits of your product and services and let your audience know how you can help them.
In your marketing approach, understand what sets you apart and makes your digital presence unique. Think about your brand, your message, and your audience and how they landmark your company’s reputation online and offline.
Content is the key way to engage your audience
“Content is King”
Bill Gates
In January 1996, Bill Gates wrote an essay titled “Content is King”, which was published on the Microsoft website.
Since then, content has become increasingly central in every marketing strategy. It’s a way to engage with a target audience, interact with existing customers and prospects, and create strong and compelling storytelling around brands.
Content is a valuable asset of your brand communication and gets people engaged. Focus on being consistent and relevant and make sure to share on each channel using the right tone of voice.
For your blog create a mix of serious, fun and relatable content to offer both sides of your brand identity and attract a wider audience. This will ultimately build your brand awareness, one piece of content at a time.
Leverage blog posts, webinars, podcasts, explainer videos, case studies and whitepapers to create a strong presence amongst your target audience.
Email is a key component in your marketing strategy
“Email has an ability many channels don’t: creating valuable, personal touches – at scale.”
David Newman
Last, but not least, email marketing represents a valuable channel to communicate to your customer base and prospects in a way that other channels can’t.
By sending regular emails you have the ability to update your customers regularly. Use email to talk about your latest features, send personal event invitations, offer exclusive discounts and reward customers for their loyalty.
Email us your chance to get personal and insightful with your audience. It allows you to show the many aspects of your product in a deeper and compelling way.
Although they might seem old fashioned because they are one of the oldest digital marketing tools, emails are still “alive and kicking.” Email plays a very important role in your MSP Marketing strategy.
To summarize on your MSP Marketing Strategy
Marketing is an ongoing challenge for both small business owners and marketers.
There is no quick fix or magic formula or template you can download to develop a meaningful MSP marketing strategy. It’ll take ongoing work and refinement, time, investment and effort.
To wrap up, here are the 5 things you can do when developing your MSP marketing strategy.
- You need to track and measure your efforts.
- Write down your plan, even if it isn’t very detailed.
- You’re dealing with short attention spans and a distracted economy.
- Content is the key driver of your marketing strategy.
- Email is not dead and it’s a way to get personal with your customers and prospects.
