Q: I know the value of selling cloud backup and recovery as part of a managed service agreement, but some of my customers don’t get it and say they’d rather skip it. Should I make it a mandatory service for all of my customers?
A: Well, the short answer is yes, that is a best practice. But don’t think of it as something mandatory; think of it as an included service. It’s a subtle difference, but it has a major impact on how you present cloud backup to your customers—and how they’ll view it.
Bundling your services
Instead of selling cloud backup as a standalone service and letting customers pick and choose if they want to include it, make it part of your standard package and bundle the costs together. Positioning it as “included” indicates a higher level of service, and you’re more likely to get the kind of buy in you want when customers see cloud backup and recovery as a critical part of the total solution they’re buying from you. It becomes an added value instead of an added cost.
Taking this approach offers the most complete protection of customers’ data and creates a huge opportunity for growth. For example, an Intronis MSP Solutions partner started using one of their fixed-priced packages as a standard offering and made it an included service for all of their new customers. In less than a year, they grew from 12 recurring revenue accounts to 27.
In addition, many MSP partners who bundle cloud backup and recovery this way consistently report a higher customer satisfaction rating and greater margins than MSPs who sell it as a standalone offering.
Buying cloud services from your vendor at a fixed price makes executing this type of bundled package easier and gives you more control over margins, so we recommend that as a best practice as well.
Ask an MSP Expert is a weekly advice column answering common questions from MSPs and IT service providers. It covers topics ranging from pricing and selling to marketing and communications—and everything in between.
