The managed services industry is a red ocean for most and can be a blue ocean for those partners who make the time to market effectively and realize how to create a better experience for everyone – their people, their customers, and their vendors.
According to MSP Alliance, there are currently over 150,000 MSP companies globally. Therefore, growing your MSP business and getting ahead of the competition isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard with the right resources and a focused marketing effort.
Marketing is a key differentiator for today’s most successful MSPs because they’re using the strength of their brand together with digital marketing to attract and nurture new sales leads. While many may look to invest in another salesperson to grow their book of business, others – those with a blue ocean lens – will see the view and value and invest in a good marketing person instead.
When an MSP owner puts a great sales leader and a great marketer together – working as one team with the customer top of mind – the opportunities are endless for creativity and bottom-line business growth.
Sharing in Success with Generative AI
AI is a resource nearly everyone is talking about today and modern salespeople and marketers are using freely to step up their game.
ChatGPT for example is a cutting-edge AI language model, that when used carefully, can scale content creation and personalization. By understanding how to use it, MSPs can harness the power of Generative AI to align their marketing and sales efforts better, connect more clearly with their target audience, and increase opportunities overall. In fact, ChatGPT’s versatility and efficiency make it an asset across multiple applications, particularly in marketing. Here's how MSPs can leverage ChatGPT or Generative AI to elevate their marketing initiatives:
1. Crafting Engaging and Relevant Content
Consistently producing quality content is pivotal for MSPs to establish their expertise and educate their audience. Generative AI tools can be a valuable partner in content creation, helping generate fresh ideas, outline content, and even draft a first run at engaging blog posts. It empowers MSPs to maintain a steady flow of informative articles that resonate with their target market, but human oversight is always necessary. It’s extremely important not to just ask and post. Review, edit, and make it your own.
2. Elevating Customer Support with AI Chatbots
Excellent customer support is a hallmark of successful MSPs. By integrating Generative AI chatbots into their websites, MSPs can respond instantly to common questions and technical support requests. This capability streamlines communication, frees valuable staff time, and ensures swift client assistance. It also demonstrates an MSP's use of the technology in-house.
3. Personalized Email Marketing Campaigns
The key to impactful email marketing is delivering personalized content, yet this is difficult to accomplish at scale. Generative AI tools can be instrumental in creating custom email copy that addresses specific pain points, highlights tailored solutions, and fosters a deeper connection with subscribers. As you build out your sales and marketing touchpoints, keep them grounded by the questions – What’s in it for them? Why do they care? How are you solving their pain points?
4. Crafting Persuasive Case Studies
Case studies are instrumental in showcasing your successes and expertise to potential clients. Generative AI can also assist in drafting persuasive case study narratives that detail real-world challenges, innovative solutions, and tangible results achieved for an MSP's clients. But again, never without oversight.
5. Boosting Social Media Engagement
Engaging social media content is a must for building a robust online presence. Use Generative AI to brainstorm creative post ideas, generate captivating captions, and craft informative posts that capture your audience's attention across various platforms. As with all social, keep the tone of the organization top of mind, the promotional aspects to a minimum, and the value share to a max.
6. Publishing Thought Leadership Articles
Positioning your business as a thought leader and authority in a crowded industry requires insightful and informative content. Generative AI can help you articulate your ideas and transform them into thought-provoking articles or blog posts that resonate with your target audience. But remember, what you share with ChatGPT, for example, may be socialized for everyone else to use without attribution. This is a challenge everyone faces, so be smart and protect your privacy, your company and your IP. Be thoughtful with your asks and information and think twice, even three times, about what you share.
7. Enhancing Website Content for SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) increases your MSP's online visibility. Generative AI can save time and money offering suggestions for relevant keywords, help create compelling meta descriptions, and assist in optimizing your website's content to improve your rankings on search engine search results.
Be Cautious and Careful with Generative AI Tools
Despite all of the benefits and advantages Generative AI tools offer, it is essential to note – and it’s been said – that what’s generated by this amazing AI language model is an aggregate of already-published content. As we’ve seen repeatedly, not everything on the internet is true, so be mindful and be diligent to avoid plagiarism and inaccuracies. Most Generative AI tools do not cite sources, so it’s critical to double-check the accuracy of the content it provides before you publish it.
In addition, it’s timestamped by data dating as far as 2021, so if you want more current data and statistics, tap a human.
By incorporating Generative AI into your MSP sales and marketing strategy, you are equipped with a powerful tool to create compelling content, enhance the customer experience, and establish a robust brand presence. It is a great brainstorming tool to help create a framework. However, MSPs must remain hands-on with their content. Human oversight will ensure quality and accuracy, and experts on your team will ensure your content sounds natural and complements your unique brand voice.
Guest blog courtesy of Ingram Micro and written by Jennifer Anaya, Global SVP, Marketing, Ingram Micro.
