Why security should be a pillar in your MSP marketing strategy

Looking back on my two decades of industry experience, one thing I can say for sure is that while the digital era has brought a huge number of benefits with it, it’s also brought a number of significant disadvantages, too. The world is getting more collaborative and more productive with each passing day. Sadly, it’s also getting more dangerous, too.

According to one recent study, the annual cost of cyber crime damage around the world is expected to hit a massive $6 trillion by as soon as 2021. To put that in perspective, the total consolidated cost was just $3 trillion in 2015. So to say that the cyber crime problem is getting worse from a global perspective is a bit of an understatement.

It’s a bad situation for everyone, yes — but it can also be an opportunity for your MSP if you approach things from the right angle. I knew this would be a topic that would help a good number of you in the Smarter MSP community, so let’s dive into a few key reasons why security should become a pillar of your MSP marketing strategy.

The Trouble With Cyber Security

Before we take a closer look at how to make security a bigger part of your MSP marketing strategy, we need to talk a bit more about the state of cyber security. Consider even just a few of the statistics:

• By as soon as 2019, a business will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds of every day, all day, no exceptions.
• 95 percent of ALL data breaches came from just three industries in 2016 — the government sector, technology companies, and retail organizations.
• A massive 43 percent of ALL cyber attacks target small businesses in particular. This number includes not only web-based attacks but also phishing and social engineering attacks, malicious code attacks, and DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks.
• And perhaps the most important statistic of all: An incredible 60 percent of ALL companies who are hit with even a modest cyber attack fail within just six months.

So, not only is the cybersecurity situation around the world getting worse, but it’s also leading to more business closures than ever before. Companies in every single industry, of every single size, are absolutely aware of this. It’s keeping them up at night. Their current technologies just aren’t sophisticated enough to provide adequate protection, and they have absolutely no idea what to do about it.

That, of course, is where you come in.

Security and Your MSP Marketing Strategy

I’ve written a great deal in the past about how if you really want to market your MSP’s services to the modern buyer, you need to focus less on the services themselves and more on the value that they provide. In terms of 21st century value to the modern buyer, you would be hard-pressed to come up with an argument more compelling (and more effective) than cyber security.

One recent trend shows that more businesses are replacing or supplementing their antivirus solutions than ever before, because antivirus alone is not enough to stay protected in the modern era. This is a trend that you need to capitalize on as soon as you possibly can.

If you want to make an impression with your target audience, you need to convey how you’re prepared to become the true cybersecurity partner your customers need when they need it the most. But, again, focus less on technical specifications and more on HOW you provide this level of protection.

Talk about proactive network monitoring and other prevention methods. Talk about backup and disaster recovery services that will help make sure that even if someone is hit by a ransomware attack, they’ll be able to pick right back up where they left off without missing a beat.

Emphasize the cybersecurity pain points these organizations have, and then talk about how you address them head-on. For many, the instant anxiety relief that they’ll get by knowing they have a team of experts watching out for them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year is enough to get them to sit up and pay attention.

Strike a Chord With Your Customers

I believe that cyber security is one of the most pressing issues of the digital era, and it’s a problem that is only going to get worse as time goes on. This is why, if you truly want to market your managed services based on the level of value that only you can provide, security needs to be a primary focus.

Everyone — from the largest enterprise to the smallest business — could become a target to a hacker or some other person with malicious intentions. As an MSP, you are in a unique position to help relieve the stress associated with this fact for every single one of your customers so that they can get back to doing what they do best — actually running the business they’ve worked so hard to build.

If you have any additional questions about why security should become a primary focus in your MSP marketing strategy, please leave a comment below. Or if you’d like to sit down with someone and discuss your own needs in a little more detail, then I encourage you to apply for a one-on-one strategy call with me at my MSP marketing agency, Tech Pro Marketing.

Photo: Brandon Bourdages/Shutterstock.com