Marketing Tips for MSPs: Attract, Convert, and Retain More Customers

Marketing as a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can be overwhelming. There are countless strategies, platforms, and best practices out there, making it difficult to know where to start.

This post is not a deep dive into every possible marketing tactic you could utilize as an MSP, but rather a practical guide to get you started. It will give you ideas to research further and help you think about your marketing across the entire customer journey.

Before We Get Started

Before diving into marketing tactics, it's important to understand who you're selling your managed services to. Researching your target audience is essential, but direct conversations with existing customers or people in your market can provide even deeper insights.

Consider these key topics to research:

• What’s your focus? Do you serve a specific industry? Do you target local businesses? Something else?

• What are the biggest challenges your target market faces? Is it a lack of IT skills? Complicated compliance requirements? Just not enough time in the day?

Once you know who to target, figure out where to find your potential customers. Ask your existing customers what they searched for or how they heard about you.

• Do they attend local Chamber of Commerce events?

• What magazines are they subscribed to?

• Do they frequent a particular restaurant for lunch?

• Are they active on online forums or social media groups?

Answering these questions will help you refine your marketing approach and focus your efforts on the right channels and tactics.

Marketing for MSPs Across the Customer Journey

Marketing shouldn't stop at a single interaction. It's important to maintain consistent engagement throughout the customer journey. But don't worry, we know that customer journey models can often be overwhelming. For this blog post, we're going to keep it simple by breaking it down into three main stages:

1. Before a prospect reaches you - This includes third-party environments such as social media and networking groups.
   
   
2. After a prospect has found you - This includes your own platforms, including your website and office.
   
   
3. After a prospect becomes a customer - The focus shifts to retention and ongoing value.

Marketing Before a Potential Customer Reaches You

This stage is typically the longest. Potential customers may not even be aware that they need IT services, or they may already be working with another MSP. They don't know you exist. Your goal here is to make sure they do.

One of the most effective steps you can take is to set up a Google Business Profile , especially if you work primarily with local businesses. Make sure your profile includes information about the services you provide, contact details, and an updated business description. Take advantage of the review feature by encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews. Keep a direct review link handy so you can quickly share it with customers who express their satisfaction, whether over the phone or through a CSAT survey. These reviews can also be repurposed as proof points in your marketing materials.

Both online and offline engagement is important. Join Facebook groups or Reddit forums. If you want to run ads on these platforms, consider highly targeted campaigns that capture visitors to these groups.

Offline marketing tactics, such as attending local meetings (i.e., networking events or local chamber of commerce meetings) or even sending physical mail, are surprisingly effective. Combining direct mail with a "cold visit" - perhaps dropping off a flyer at local businesses - can make a powerful impression. By the way, we're not kidding about knowing your target customers’ favorite lunch spot. Leave some flyers there too.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is still relevant. Make sure you have a well-structured website that focuses on what your target audience is looking for. For example, if you focus on dentists, consider whether they would search for terms like "IT services for my practice" or "HIPAA-compliant IT”. Your content should speak directly to these needs. Long-form, high-quality content performs best, so avoid fluff and prioritize genuinely helpful insights. Tools like ChatGPT can help with content creation but always customize and refine AI-generated content for your specific audience.

Marketing Once a Prospect Found You (Consideration Phase)

A potential customer doesn't have to be ready to buy just because they land on your website or contact you.

According to most research, it takes 8 touches before a prospect becomes a customer.

That's why it's important to keep your business top of mind once a prospect has engaged with you.

Google Retargeting Ads can be a powerful tool. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising may not always be the best use of your marketing budget, but if you choose to run Google Ads, focus on retargeting. This ensures that visitors who have already explored your site continue to see your ads on other sites. Providing a useful hook, such as a free checklist or consultation, can encourage further engagement.

Regular outreach, such as email campaigns, is also essential. Track the leads you receive in your CRM and nurture them over time. Not every lead will convert right away, but keeping in touch will increase your chances of converting them later. Make sure your outreach is personalized - segmentation is key.

Marketing After a Customer Signs On

Acquiring a new customer is great but retaining them is even more important.

Acquiring a new customer is 5x more expensive
than retaining one.

Once a customer is on board, your goal is to keep them satisfied and engaged.

Regular check-ins and health assessments can help accomplish this. These check-ins serve two purposes:

• They ensure that you know whether your customers are happy or not.

• They allow you to demonstrate your ongoing value.

For instance, providing a report on recent successful backups or flagging an outdated backup drive that needs replacing reinforces your expertise and commitment to their business.

Upselling existing customers can also be a valuable strategy. If you offer different service tiers or add-ons, use health checks as an opportunity to highlight why an upgrade would benefit them. If you find they're using an outdated email system, this could be an opportunity to introduce them to Microsoft 365. The more services a customer adopts from you, the harder it will be for them to switch, increasing "stickiness" (aka customer loyalty).

Marketing doesn't stop with check-ins. Email campaigns targeted to existing customers can inform them of new services and benefits. Segment these emails based on the services they already use and those they might benefit from. Multi-step campaigns, live (or virtual) Q&As, and even physical flyers can reinforce the message and increase engagement. Even if you lose a customer, keep in touch from time to time - you never know when they might return after understanding the value of a specialized MSP like yours.

Final Tip: Reuse and Repurpose Content

As you may have figured out, creating valuable content is important no matter what marketing tactics you choose to focus on. But coming up with new material all the time is not easy. That's why repurposing content is a time-saving strategy, no matter what stage of marketing you're in. If you write a blog post, break it down into several social media posts. Summarize it for an email campaign and include a link to the full post in your newsletter. Extract key points to create more in-depth articles on specific topics. Maximizing the reach of your content ensures that your efforts go further.

Case in point: We wrote a blog post, "10 Top Data Backup Questions from MSPs Answered," and created 10 social media posts - one for each question - for further engagement.

Marketing Takes Time - Be Patient

Effective marketing doesn't produce instant results. It takes consistent effort over time. Continue to test, refine, and engage with your audience. The more you focus on providing value at every stage of the customer journey, the more successful your MSP marketing will be.

And over time, your efforts will pay off.

Now, you may be wondering how a backup software vendor fits into marketing advice for MSPs. Great question! At NovaBACKUP, we focus on providing a managed backup solution that helps MSPs deliver a reliable backup service. As part of this, we enjoy working with MSPs to develop not only the best backup strategy for their customers but also ideas on how to grow their business.

Please contact us if you would like to speak with a backup (or marketing) expert.