Recently, our founder Dave George and our Senior Director of Marketing Stephanie Benzik had a chance to sit down with Mark Loveys, CEO of DataGate, to discuss some quick-and-easy marketing strategies telecom MSPs can employ to:
- Set themselves apart from the competition
- Develop their brand, and
- Effectively go to market with their products
Without giving too much away, we’ve compiled just a few of our favorite pieces of advice below. Read on and enjoy these marketing strategies!
1. Marketing Strategies: Success Starts with “Finding Your Lane”
Many telecom MSPs aren’t sure how they’d like to sell their products. Should they stick with a direct sale model, or should they make the jump to retail white-labeling? Some MSPs are using both models. Dave’s advice?
Dave: “Find your lane. So that could be retail, it could be white-label, it could be both. But understand that when you’re doing both, that’s two different experiences, two different processes, and two different expectations that are going to be placed on your team. So, you better have the stamina to be able to deliver on both of those. Just like attacking a vertical, right? [Find] that niche, if you will. [And don’t] pick so many. If you’re going to specialize – pick one or two [verticals] and be really good at [them].
And that means understanding not just the UCaaS part of it, but also understanding workflow management, understanding the CRM or ERP, understanding the pain points that you’re solving. I know it sounds trite when people say, “sell on the solution, don’t sell on price.” But there is some truth to this! If you understand the pain of your end user, you will be able to start filling that niche and then that [success] becomes repeatable, and that is when your process can start to get refined and you start seeing happier customers, higher CSAT scores, and then of course, your margins go up as well.”
Key Takeaway: Don’t try to sell to everyone! Keep it simple and specialize in 1-2 industries.
2. Marketing Strategies: Ensure Your Team is On the Same Page
Understanding the pain points of a certain industry is a team effort. Your sales team talks to potential customers about frustrations with their current provider. Your marketing team monitors current tech trends to discover what kind of offering your “ideal client” would want. Your IT team has suggestions from current customers on how to improve your current product. So, use them when you’re going after a specific industry!
Dave: “Sit down and strategize with your team. Create that specialization, create that alignment. Get your team all rowing in the boat, going in the same direction, understanding what you’re talking about. Have buy in from all the key players in the organization. Have them disseminate that to the rest of the team to get complete buy-in. And then what happens is you’re going to own that space. And that can be regional or even local initially, and you’ll be that [“go-to”] person, but eventually you can take that national if you want to.”
Key Takeaway: Don’t silo your strategizing! Involve your teams when planning what industries – or verticals – to target.
3. Marketing Strategies: Make Your Sites More Approachable
Consumers aren’t coming to your site to read a thesis on telecommunications technology. They’re trying to find a solution and find it fast. If your site is nothing more than walls of text, technical jargon, and basic stock images, leads aren’t going to stick around. But if your content is digestible – easy to read and understand – you’ll be able to capture, and keep, the kind of leads you want.
Stephanie: “Honestly, [when it comes to websites], the best thing is having something professional that works well on mobile, works well on desktop, [and isn’t] too wordy. You have to meet your audience where they are. And right now, Millennials [are your audience. They’re] like 30 something to 40 something. Okay. Yeah, that’s me. I don’t have time to [sort through] 10 different vendors. I need, you know, quick information.
And that’s where a lot of the newest entrepreneurs are. So, when we started refocusing some of our client websites to bullet points (quick, easy to digest, “skimmable” content) and then making sure there’s automation in place so that [leads are logged properly and automatically].
[For instance, once they submit a request] they immediately get something from the company. And then, you know, once the salesperson takes over, there’s still [emails, ebooks, and more] coming from the company. [B]ecause I promise if you’re not contacting your customers, somebody else is. So, you have to stay top of mind.”
Key Takeaway: Be sure your website is optimized for your target audience with digestible content, straight-forward CTAs, mobile-friendly designs, and more. Your website is your virtual storefront – it should be as inviting as possible!
Interested in hearing more simple marketing strategies for MSPs? Watch our full interview at the link below! And don’t be afraid to reach out to GreenStar Marketing yourself to find out more about what we can do to strengthen your current marketing strategies.
