During an interview at mindSHIFT‘s Long Island offices yesterday, CEO Paul Chisholm revealed his top priorities for the rest of 2011. More managed services acquisitions? More cloud marketing? Instead of guessing simply read on for a recap of my conversation with Chisholm.
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mindSHIFT CEO Paul Chisholm’s Top Four Business Priorities
Posted June 17th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Branding 101 for Managed Services Providers
Posted May 24th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
During a keynote at Autotask Community Live this morning, best-selling author Jackie Freiberg delivered a familiar theme to MSPs and VARs. Her key message: Build your brand to differentiate from the competition. The ultimate goal: If you were to close your business tomorrow, customers should miss you.
MSP Branding: Why SSI Solutions Became F12 Networks Inc.
Posted March 25th, 2011 by Nicholas Mukhar
First, let’s state the obvious: Some managed services providers (MSPs) & VARs face branding challenges. Sometimes, corporate names don’t stand the test of time. Examples include legacy resellers that used “PC” or “Microcomputer” in their names, only to see the market shift to client-server, the Internet, and now managed cloud services. In some cases, MSPs break with the past and embrace a new corporate name. That’s the case at SSI Solutions, which is now F12 Networks Inc. Here’s what drove the branding change.
How Google Alerts Can Link MSPs to Customers
Posted February 1st, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
While scanning my email inbox earlier today, I spotted a daily Google Alert focused on Virtualization. Near the top of the alert was a webcast invite. Was this yet another product pitch from VMware or the Microsoft Hyper-V folks? Hardly. This invite was from Evolve Technologies CEO Dave Sobel. Take a closer look and it’s a great example of a managed services provider (MSP) connecting the dots between thought leadership, search engine optimization (SEO), customer outreach and lead generation.
Ask a Mentor: How to Promote Managed Services to CXOs
Posted January 18th, 2011 by Joe Panettieri
Each Tuesday, MSPmentor’s Ask a Mentor service publishes a reader question and invites you to weigh in with recommendations. This week’s question comes from an MSP seeking to engage CXOs from tier-one communications service providers. Here’s the question and our reply…
MSPs: Got a Marketing Plan for 2011?
Posted December 13th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Consuro, a managed services provider in North Texas, has hired Tina Stovall as marketing director. That bit of news got me wondering: Are MSPs preparing marketing moves from 2011? And if so, how will the best MSPs promote themselves across social media, broadcast and print platforms? I’ve got a few educated hunches.
Cloud: Where Ingram Micro Will and Won’t Play
Posted June 7th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
During the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Dallas this morning, Services VP Justin Crotty described where Ingram Micro will and won’t play in the cloud. He also described how the smartest solutions providers are succeeding in the cloud. Here’s a rapid recap.
MSPs: Promote YOUR Brand Whenever Possible
Posted May 26th, 2010 by David Bellini
There are many ways to brand your business: website, business cards, brochures, social media, and more. One opportunity you may have overlooked is ON the products and services you provide. Are you driving your brand or are you allowing vendors to promote themselves to your clients?
MSP Branding 101: Laptop Wraps
Posted February 8th, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
Question: If you’re a managed service provider that resells laptops and other hardware to your customer base, how do you promote your company brand over the hardware maker’s brand? The answer comes from MJ Shoer, president of Jenaly Technology Group, a managed service provider in New Hampshire.
MSPs: How to Find Low-Cost Branding Advice
Posted January 21st, 2010 by Joe Panettieri
I was watching CNBC over the weekend. A special business report explored how Phil Knight built the Nike empire. Ever wonder where that famous “Swoosh” logo came from? The answer involves a low-cost graphic design student from Portland State University. It’s a rather intriguing story, especially for MSPs that need to work on their branding.
Your Tagline Could Be Worth Millions
Posted June 22nd, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
You’re a managed service provider. You’ve got a solid company name but you don’t have a solid tagline. That could be a big mistake. In the age of search engine optimization, I believe a strong tagline could be worth millions of dollars in new sales and market capitalization. Skeptical? Here’s one simple case study where a great tagline transformed a no-name technology company into a well-known brand.
Branding Your Managed Services Business On the Web
Posted June 12th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Alpheon and Do IT Smarter, two members of the MSPmentor 100, are proving there’s more than one way to brand a company in the managed services market. Both managed service providers have revamped their web sites and customer messaging in recent weeks. And in some cases, the efforts avoid the need to mention managed services. Here’s some perspective.
The Real Key to Managed Services Success
Posted June 2nd, 2009 by Andrew Pohran
“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” Variations of this quotation have been attributed to Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford and other revolutionaries in our history. I’m not sure if anyone really knows who coined the phrase…but I don’t think anyone would contest its truthfulness. Planning and success go together like PB&J. And although we are fairly comfortable in planning our business meetings, sales pitches and supporting data I’m willing to bet that most managed service providers do not sit down and plan a marketing strategy.
Web 2.0 Kids: Teaching MSPs New Tricks?
Posted February 25th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
I spent Tuesday evening in New York City at a blogger conference, the Mashable NextUp NYC event. Guest speakers included representatives from major media companies and Web 2.0-crazed college students and recent college graduates. I bet many of those “kids” — armed with their Web 2.0 communication skills — could propel the managed services industry forward. But the Web 2.0 workforce also comes with some limitations.
Managed Services: The Value Is the Service
Posted February 18th, 2009 by Justin Crotty
Generally speaking, IT managed service providers are technologists, both in training and previous professional pursuits. The managed services market is also highly fragmented, with a long list of small technology and software companies all battling for the attention and business of end users and IT service providers. The value focus in all of the selling and marketing efforts has resulted in a disturbing trend carried over from the hardware selling models: A focus on tools, technology, and features/functions. Here’s how to avoid that trap at all costs.
Say Hello to Managed Services Videos (Of You)
Posted February 12th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Managed service providers often ask me what types of Web 2.0 technologies — if any — to embed into their Websites. If you read MSPmentor regularly, you know I praise MasterIT (an MSP in Bartlett, Tenn.) for their use of viral video. But earlier this week I stumbled onto Jenaly Technology Group’s redesigned Website. A quick look at both sites offers peer MSPs some practical guidance for Web 2.0 and video success.
Managed Services: Branding All Day, Every Day
Posted December 4th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Amy Katz (MSPmentor’s co-founder) and I spent Wednesday visiting a range of companies across Southern California. We were particularly impressed when we visited inhouseIT, ranked No. 8 in last year’s MSPmentor 100 list. The executive team’s secret sauce: Sales processes, branding and projecting a professional business image.
How to Brand Your Managed Services Business, Part II
Posted September 11th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
In part 1, I described how you can line up vendor money to pay for your branding efforts. Here in part 2, I explore a specific case study: In late 2007, Trailhead Technologies Inc. was a managed services provider without a clear brand — and without Web site.
