MSP Internet Marketing – Five Common Mistakes You Should Avoid

There’s no business growth when there is no marketing gameplan. When done right, your MSP online marketing is the arm that pushes your business to scale up. But if done wrong, that same arm can also pull your business down. The marketing process for every business is unique. But we can all agree that marketing is aimed for one important result: Sales. Of course, we hear a lot of stories from MSPs who tried online marketing, but had little to no success.

But despite all the misgiving, experts affirm that online marketing works. And to increase your chance of success for your MSP online marketing, here are five common pitfalls that you need to avoid.

#1 Not Having a Blog for Your Website

Having your MSP website is one thing, but an impressive design may not be enough. People need a good reason to visit your site. This is where having a blog comes in. As we’ve discussed in our other MSP marketing article, a blog brings more online traffic to your site. The useful information you provide through your blog gives online visitors a productive experience. It also establishes you as a credible go-to expert, and people would want to keep coming back if they need answers.

Blogging used to be only in written form. But our web technology has moved forward at a very fast pace. And today, videos are also popular for providing useful content. You can use videos to post IT updates. Or it can be a short video of an Office365 trick that you know. Videos are more spontaneous and robust. And people who are too busy to watch it can just listen while doing something else. So using videos for your blog is a powerful way to provide relevant content.

Keeping a blog on your MSP website also puts your business on google search, and it draws more online traffic.

#2 Writing Too Much About Your Business

Your MSP website is your online marketing battleground, where either you win or lose a prospect. If your pages have boring, or overly detailed content then that’s one sure way to lose your online visitor. These don’t really care about your history, accomplishments, business strategy, or the other 101 things about you. What truly matters to your online guests is: how your service will solve their problems. You need to make them see that you can make them happier, or help them earn more money.

Your MSP website should be quick to give your prospects a reason to complete a transaction or request a consultation. Don’t fall into the trap of making your MSP online marketing all about YOU.

#3 Neglecting Mobile Users

There is no contest to the rise of mobile devices in our time. People all over the world have access to the Internet because of it. Think of the lost exposure and lost opportunity with millions, if not billions, of mobile users if your website design only caters to desktop users.

Mobile users typically are on the go. Some people who search for services using their mobile devices may need the service immediately.

Of course, business owners may not make the decision to sign up for your services right away. But catching them while they are using their mobile device gives you the first-base opportunity. When they do have the time to sit down and make the decision, you could be at top of their list of IT solution providers. And it’s all because of your mobile presence early on.

Don’t neglect the vast number of mobile users. If you haven’t done so, then invest in a responsive MSP website design.

#4 Advertising to Everyone

There’s a common misconception that leads some people to believe that advertising to a lot of people is the best way to go. This used to be the norm before the Internet and Google Analytics. While this is true to a degree, this does not mean that EVERYONE is a potential customer for your services. Having everyone included in your target market is counter-productive. For example, you can’t just sell a service to everyone. So it’s also not a good strategy to target just anyone for your MSP online marketing.

For example, will these pass as good targets?

1. Everyone who owns a business.
2. Business owners with smartphones.
3. Business owners with Facebook accounts.

The simple answer to the question above is No. These targets are too broad. You need to narrow your target market to have a higher chance of conversion for your MSP online marketing. While every business owner is a valid target, what if the business is so far away from your base of operations? That would not be financially viable for you. And too, business owners with smartphones are technically valid targets. But what if their business has little need for IT support? Your MSP online marketing would mean nothing to them.

For your MSP online marketing to be effective, you need to set certain criteria for your ideal prospects to narrow down your target market like “Business owners of [industry]”, or “Business owners within [geographical area]”.

Spending your MSP online marketing on people that aren’t interested in your services is a waste of money. Advertise only to those who are likely to convert into leads, so you spend your budget where it really counts.

#5 Spamming Your Prospects

What is spam? The methodology for filtering spam is different for each ISP. But the generally accepted definition of spam is email that: 1) Wasn’t requested by your recipients; 2) Your recipients don’t want to receive, and 3) Recipients are NOT interested in.

Consider this example. When you receive an unexpected email from an unknown source, you probably feel annoyed. The marketer who sent you that email may have good intentions, thinking that you may have a need that they can fill with their product or service. You likely deleted their email, and then possibly reported them as spam to your ISP. Their attempt to engage you as a prospect was interpreted as a nuisance. And this is the kind of mismatch you’d want to avoid on your MSP online marketing through email.

For your email marketing efforts to be successful, you need to consider how you’re being perceived by your recipients. The best way around this is not to immediately start selling, but rather, be helpful and deliver value with your emails first.

Once you have built a relationship with your prospect, then they will be more receptive to selling.

As mentioned earlier, your MSP online marketing can scale up your business or push it over the edge. Mistakes can cost you good opportunities. We are fortunate today because we have the convenience of the Internet. Business owners and experts share their knowledge over the web. The mistakes of others become an opportunity for those who are willing to learn. There are other pitfalls that you need to avoid for your MSP online marketing. But these five common mistakes can help you on your quickstart, so you can save your time and money and have a higher chance of success.