The three-city MSP Marketing Roadshow kicked off last week in Dallas, where a couple hundred MSP business owners and decision makers gathered for two days of training on the Big Shift—how to refocus marketing efforts to target and land high-value customers (HVCs) and use tools like AI to make this effort easier and stay ahead of the competition.
Making The Big Shift
When it comes to developing a client base of HVCs, it’s critical to make a mindset shift, stressed Robin Robins, CEO of TMT and MSP Success, on Day One of the Roadshow The purpose of making a sale isn’t just to produce revenue, but to get a customer you can develop, Robins says. If your average customer value is low, it’s likely due to a lack of strategy to onboard or develop HVCs, doubt in your ability to charge premium prices, or intimidation causing you to believe you’re not a match for the HVCs.
Here are some highlights of Robins’ recommendations on how MSPs should be thinking differently to attract HVCs.
- Growth is important, but not everything. Growing with a roster of low-value clients will only burn out your technicians and result in unprofitable stress and frustration for your team. Instead, focus on finding HVCs from the start, and leveling up your existing lower value clients into HVCs.
- Target HVCs that are in your demographic, Robins noted. It doesn’t matter how profitable a single client is if they’re outside of your niche—they might be worth a lot, but you can’t scale them. Stay focused on your strategy and refine your processes instead, she advised.
- HVCs view IT as a critical function, not an annoyance or burden, so will want a fully managed service, not break-fix IT.
- Seek HVCs that are growing! This means that their needs will continue to expand with their business, rather than stagnate.
- HVCs buy on trust, not price. They’re looking for a high level of competence and experience, not the MSP with the lowest price. In fact, many HVCs consider cheapness to be a big red flag. Think about it this way—would you believe the luxury watch you’re considering to be high quality if it was being sold for dirt cheap? Probably not. To HVCs, high prices convey quality, professionalism, luxury, and expertise.
- HVCs are looking for fast service and productivity—their time is money. Additionally, they want to be recognized and appreciated as HVCs! They always buy advice-based services based on the person and company selling them, not the product themselves. After all, no one knows how good your product is until after you make the sale. They only know how good your marketing is.
The Three P’s Of Getting Really Good At AI
On Day Two, Mike Stodola, CMO of TMT, made the case for incorporating AI into your marketing toolset and preparing to help clients use AI. “It’s the next step in the evolution of automation and technology,” he said. He referenced a quote from Mark Cuban: “Artificial Intelligence, deep learning, machine learning—whatever you’re doing if you don’t understand it—learn it. Because otherwise you’re going to be a dinosaur within three years.”
For MSPs, there are few fates as dire as becoming technologically obsolete. If your MSP is dated, you won’t be able to keep up with your clients who want to be at the cutting edge of innovation. If your clients aren’t already using AI, they will be soon—that means you need to learn how to use it, so that you can better support and protect them.
Stodola laid out a three-step process to help MSPs get accustomed to and begin using AI in their businesses:
Play. Play around and experiment with AI! You never know what it can or can’t do until you start using it, Stodola says. Some things will turn out well, and others won’t. Try out different tools until you find what works best for you.
Practice. Practice using the AI tools. There’s nothing that will undermine your authority more as an AI expert than not knowing the answers to people’s questions. You’ll need to learn all about the tools and their capabilities before you position yourself as an expert with your clients.
Preach. Presentations on cutting edge technologies are a great way to get your name out there as an advisor and expert in your field—and there are few topics more relevant right now than AI. Public speaking on AI topics will allow you to reach a wider audience of potential HVCs.
RELATED: To learn more about the future of AI, check out this interview with Tiffani Bova, and her take on how data and AI will drive MSP growth.
Don’t Get Left Behind – Or Left Out
Attendees at the MSP Marketing Roadshow came away with new strategies to focus on intentional, quality growth and utilize AI to its fullest potential. For all the specifics and a deep dive into the growth-boosting content, there are two more cities to catch the Roadshow live: next week in Newark on the 11th and 12th, and October 10-11 in Las Vegas. Don’t miss out! Go here to register.