Too many managed service providers think MSP marketing is as simple as launching a few campaigns and then sitting back to watch the new customers roll in. As long as they get out there and do it, they’ll win, right? They don’t get that marketing takes time. So when they don’t see results right away, all that energy and enthusiasm goes away, and they start making excuses for why it’s not worth it to put time or money into managed service provider marketing.
Stop making excuses.
Listen, no baseball player expects to just hit a homerun the first time they pick up a bat. They train, they go to every game, and yes, they lose sometimes. That’s okay. It’s not about the individual at bats or even games. It’s about the long run, about the championship. Good baseball teams know that they’ve got to look at the big picture and create a long-term strategy for success, and your MSP needs to do the same.
Here are my tips to avoid getting discouraged by your marketing efforts:
1. Understand that success in marketing takes time
You will need to reach out to most prospects a minimum of seven to 12 times using different mediums before someone even gets back to you. That’s normal. We cover all the ways you should be reaching out to prospects in the Ulistic 17-Step Sales and Marketing strategy.
Too many MSPs set themselves up thinking that people are going to beat down their door looking for their business. It’s just not the case. We know that everyone needs our services, but they don’t know that. No one goes out looking for what we do. You have to go to them.
2. Stand out from the crowd
Look at the marketplace and study your competitors. Understand what successful MSPs are doing and what less successful ones are doing too. Stop delivering the same message that your competitors deliver, and find something that sounds different.
3. Accept that you’re not going to win every game
Listen, there is no baseball team that wins every game. The thing that separates successful teams from losers is that the successful ones learn from the games they lose. They study what went wrong and adjust their strategy to compensate. You can’t expect to get every prospect. As long as you keep working on your message and trying different things to stand out, you’re doing everything right.
So don’t get discouraged just because of one or two losses. Stick to it! Marketing pays off so long as you put in the right effort and do the hard work.
Replay the webinar “Don’t Strike Out With Your Web Marketing: 3 Easy Web Marketing Strategies” to learn more about this topic. We’ll share unique content strategies to separate your MSP from all the competition out there. Watch now.
Photo Credit: Ryan Heard on Flickr.com. Used under CC 2.0 License.
