A quick question for managed service providers: Does your 2010 company budget include a line item for marketing, PR and company promotions? Do you even have a basic marketing strategy in place? If not here are nine quick ideas to get started.
ConnectWise Partner Summit: Six Managed Services Videos
Posted November 9th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
During the ConnectWise Partner Summit, MSPmentor sat down with a range of managed services experts. In the following MSPmentor FastChat videos, we covered such topics as hardware as a service (HaaS), MSP-to-MSP collaboration, sales and business development, online marketing for MSPs and email security. Here are six FastChat videos with a range of MSP industry experts…
Have 10 Percent of MSPs Closed Shop?
Posted October 23rd, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
I need to make sure the following blog entry is in the proper context: Many managed service providers continue to grow and thrive. We’ll be sharing some early data points from our ongoing MSPmentor 100 research over the next few days. But this little anecdote is important to note: A few folks allege that 10 percent of MSPs have disappeared or closed up shop in 2009. True?
MSPs: Do Your Employees Know What Business You’re In?
Posted September 16th, 2009 by Justin Crotty
When you think of what it is your company does, who do you think could explain it well? Here’s a newsflash: Probably not your employees. Here’s why.
MSPs: 10 Simple Marketing Ideas
Posted August 13th, 2009 by Paul Barnett
Marketing seems to perplex some small VARs and managed service providers (MSPs). Despite the misconceptions, there are tons of easy, low-cost, and even free ways to market your business. To help out, I have organized a list of 10 easy marketing ideas…
MSPs: Meet the Elephant in the Room
Posted August 12th, 2009 by Justin Crotty
The managed services market is growing rapidly and has strong, long-term potential for many who are pursuing it. It is changing the way IT services are consumed and delivered. It is helping many of us diversify and strengthen our value propositions and balance sheets. We are all bullish about the future and the opportunity in front of us. There is one significant hurdle, however, that nobody seems to want to acknowledge — the proverbial elephant in the room. Here’s the problem.
Small Business Marketing Myths
Posted July 13th, 2009 by Paul Barnett
Recently, a friend of mine who owns a small business told me “Paul, I tried marketing and it didn’t work.” I asked “What kind of marketing did you try?” His reply, which I’ll share in a few sentences, mortified me. And it offers some important lessons to managed service providers.
60 MSPs Beta Test Kutenda Marketing Program
Posted June 17th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Roughly 60 managed service providers are beta testing Kutenda, an Internet marketing program that allows MSPs to offer Web site design, email marketing, search engine optimization and other marketing services to their end-customers. Kutenda co-founders Mike Cooch (CEO, Everon Technology Services) and Akash Saraf (CEO, Zenith Infotech) have updated me on their efforts. Here’s some perspective.
Managed Services Marketing: Got Research?
Posted June 10th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Face it: People love data. They love statistics. And they embrace research. One of the fastest ways for managed service providers (MSP) to generate marketing buzz is to publish a research report that’s full of key statistics. The report can also serve as a key sales tool. Consider, for instance, a recent research effort by The Planet, a major hosting provider.
Say Less And You’ll Market More Effectively
Posted June 9th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Journalists and marketers share the same challenge: We want to write and say so much. We often use finely crafted language and lots of big words to tell our stories. But sometimes, the best way to market your company and your managed services business strategy is to bite your tongue — and get your hands off the keyboard — in mid-sentence. Let me give you an example.
Managed Services Marketing: Spending vs. Speaking
Posted June 8th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Over the weekend several MSPmentor readers asked me to focus increasingly on marketing tips for managed service providers. Your requests came through loud and clear. You’ll see multiple marketing-related blog entries in the days ahead, including this one. Let’s start with the basics: Marketing spend vs. marketing speak.
Managed Service Providers Flip for Video
Posted June 3rd, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
It started about a year ago. Each time I attended a managed service provider conference, I saw executives and attendees shooting quick marketing video using the Flip camera. This week at the Cisco Partner Summit in Boston, everyone — more than 1,500 attendees — is armed with a Flip video camera (care of Cisco). But do MSPs really have time for video capture and video marketing — especially when many MSPs are still struggling with basic marketing tools like a blog?
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.
MSP Puts New Spin On TARP Dollars
Posted April 28th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
TARP — the U.S. government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program — continues to make headlines. But Anexio, a managed service provider in Sarasota, Fla., is putting its own spin on TARP in an attempt to stimulate small business IT spending.
Zenith Infotech CEO Invests In Start-up
Posted April 17th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Zenith Infotech CEO Akash Saraf has invested in Kutenda, a start-up that allows managed service providers to offer web marketing services to their customers. Mike Cooch, CEO of Everon Technology Services, an MSPmentor 100 company, is founder of Kutenda. Here’s a bit more about the launch.
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.
The Art of Managed Services Promotional Videos: masterIT
Posted January 20th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
Want to position your company as a polished, buttoned-up managed service provider? Steal a page from J. Michael Drake and Gary Wiseman, the executives behind masterIT. Drake and Wiseman both appear in this slick, well-scripted video about their company.
Five Tips: Managed Services Marketing
Posted December 22nd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
While some Web sites go dark during holiday weeks, MSPmentor will continue to bring you fresh content. Over the next week, we’ll offer five basic tips on:
- Marketing (Dec. 22)
- Sales (Dec. 23)
- PR (Dec. 24)
- Leveraging Web 2.0 Technologies (Dec. 26)
Let’s kick things off with marketing — which often represents a managed service provider’s greatest challenge. Your target customers need to hear your marketing messages at least seven times to influence a buying decision, according to About.com.
Five Ways to Kill A Great Marketing Plan
Posted December 22nd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
As I look back on 2008, it’s clear to me that the biggest challenge facing managed service providers involves business rather than technology. When we host our MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange Webcasts, marketing and sales questions often push aside technology questions.
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.
How to Brand Your Managed Services Business
Posted September 9th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
I’m hearing a familiar theme from multiple managed service providers: MSPs want to strengthen their branding and marketing efforts, yet local advertising firms and marketing consultants don’t understand the IT industry. As a result, local consultants who specialize in marketing aren’t very good at shaping an MSP’s brand.
Managed Services: How to Pursue Sales Leads (Forever)
Posted August 14th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Sometimes, I get distracted by Web 2.0 marketing strategies. I’m always telling managed service providers how they can leverage blogs, Web video, etc., to improve their search engine optimization (SEO) and attract new customers.
Take a look at our 