Plans for the holidays? It’s time to make some. With Black Friday kicking things off as November came to a close, the holiday lull for many MSPs is starting to set in. While B2C companies anticipate the holiday buzz, B2B businesses like your MSP are often a little quieter. So how can you make the most of the quieter times around the holidays?
You’ve got some options. In fact, the slow holiday season brings its own multitude of opportunities for MSPs to take advantage of as they prepare and press into the new year. We put some ideas together to help.
1. The daunting documentation project you’ve been avoiding
Documentation takes time, and it’s easy to get caught up in your workload and push it to the side. When that workload starts to slow however, it’s an excellent time to gather what documentation you’ve been postponing, and get started on it.
Consider what large documentation projects you haven’t been able to tackle, alongside if there’s any outstanding documentation that needs to be updated. Make a list and then set aside time to work through it. This ensures you’re ready to go when 2019 hits. Better still, if your baseline level of documentation is higher, your team will be that much more likely to buy into documentation culture going forward.
2. The new technology you’ve been meaning to try
Getting comfortable with a new app or platform doesn’t happen overnight. Sometimes there can feel like a tradeoff between an app that’s going to save you a ton of time, and actually taking the time to set the app up and start making use of it. We get it. So right now is an awesome time to do some research for what you could use, and then take the time to set it up.
In fact, go one step further and ask, what could your clients use? If you’re following the latest trending news, you’ll know that cybersecurity is at the forefront of many 2019 predictions, and it’s only going to be more important down the road. This holiday season is an awesome time to learn the ins and outs of MyGlue, and how you can deploy it to your clients so that they can start 2019 off with a tool that not only protects their security, but allows them to collaborate with you, their IT provider.
3. Become an IT Glue Certified Professional
The IT Glue Academy is a fantastic resource to get your documentation game up to speed. With courses ranging from an introduction to IT Glue, right through to building a documentation culture, you can take some down time to improve your documentation fundamentals, and get a sweet certification in the process.
4. Identifying pain points & other strategizing techniques for 2019
What other pain points are interfering with your efficiency? Is there friction in any of your processes? Decide where you think things can be better - because your processes can always be better, and then over the next several weeks practice streamlining those processes while business is a little bit slower.
5. Implement a holiday marketing campaign
There’s a multitude of ways you can approach the holidays through your marketing tactics. Whether it’s as simple as showcasing your company culture with pictures from holiday parties and the Christmas tree you put up in the office, or offering an incredible end-of-year sale, the choice is yours.
All goes to say, a holiday lull doesn’t have to be a burden on your business. Embrace the change of pace, and decide how you can use it to your advantage. Perhaps this holiday season is a perfect time to learn what IT Glue can do to help give your business a competitive advantage heading into 2019. If that’s the case, sign up for a demo of IT Glue today.
Ashley Ogilvie produces content for IT Glue, writing about documentation, business processes and automation. Read more IT Glue blogs here.
