Editors note: This is part one of a two-part series on using your website to tell a story of value over price. Part two, “What your MSP website should focus on instead” will be published next week. Stay tuned.
Recently, I wrote an article about a subject that is of major concern for a lot of MSP business owners: price. They feel that the only thing many of their prospects care about (or one of the main things, at least) is price, and I shared my thoughts on how I too feel that much of the time, and that this is a situation we create for ourselves.
Since that piece went live, one question I’ve seen a lot is some variation of “well, then should I just put my prices on my website? That way, people know what I’m charging before they even pick up the phone and give me a call. Isn’t that a better way to start qualifying people?”
And my answer is always the same: No, as an MSP, you should keep your prices OFF of your website.
Now, I’d like to go into a little more detail about WHY I feel that’s the case, and what you should showcase on your website instead.
The case against listing your prices
As someone who has worked closely with over 100 different MSPs over the years, in my opinion the purpose of your website couldn’t be more straightforward: it’s to generate as many leads as possible. And in no uncertain terms: putting pricing on your website is going to hinder you from doing that.
Consider this – the reason why businesses contact you is because they have questions. They want to know more about the experience they will have working with you. They want additional insight into the raw value that you can provide them, and that nobody else will be able to.
And yes, they want to know how much it’s all going to cost them in the end.
The point is, however, that these are all things that people have a legitimate reason to contact you for. If you list your price on your website, all you’ve really accomplished is giving someone less of a reason to pick up the phone to begin with.
The good news is that there are plenty of other things you CAN do with your website to accomplish your goal: providing the right information to the right prospect at exactly the right time.
Show, don’t tell
Rather than creating such a heavy emphasis on your prices by way of your website, one of the most important things you can do instead is show ACTUAL results and ACTUAL returns on investment that you’ve been able to generate for satisfied clients over the years.
Are you particularly proud of the fact that you were able to step in and increase productivity by 15 percent for a manufacturing client in just six months? Were you able to partner with a retail client and decrease their overall IT costs by 20 percent while allowing them to hit all of their regular goals and sales figures in a more efficient way? Terrific. Sit down, turn those stories into case studies and produce that type of material one of the key elements of your website.
If you’re able to show off what you’re able to do (as opposed to just listing prices next to service descriptions), you will give the impression that you’re a partner who knows how to come into someone’s life and get things done. If you’re able to hit those stories hard and tell them in a compelling enough way, at that point your prices don’t actually matter.
People will be more willing to invest in your services, even if they have to spend a bit more than they thought they might, if you’re able to guarantee even a fraction of the success that you’ve already proven you can provide to someone else.
Experience + credibility = trust
Along those same lines, it’s important to understand that even if your prices are legitimately the most competitive in your industry, this ultimately doesn’t mean anything if you can’t do what you claim you can. Remember the old saying “you get what you pay for”? Don’t think for a second that it isn’t crossing someone’s mind the first time they see your MSP website.
Rather than let that impression take control over the narrative, work on showcasing your experience in a way that will build both credibility and trust at the exact same time. Have you been in business for 15 or even 25 years? That’s the type of information that needs to be front and center on your home page. Do you and your people regularly monitor over 15,000 workstations per month with nary a problem in sight? That is what will really stick in someone’s mind – not your prices.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you need to do whatever it takes to show people that you know what you’re doing. Demonstrate how you’ve been in situations before, like the ones they find themselves in now, with other people, and illustrate exactly what you did to improve someone else’s position. In addition to creating an incredible amount of loyalty up front, that’s also the type of thing that is going to get someone genuinely excited to pick up the phone and make a call.
To be continued next week with part two of this series: “What your MSP website should focus on instead.”
Photo: kpatyhka / Shutterstock
