We have a saying in marketing that we create rainbows and unicorns, and we like to think it’s true. I mean, who do you turn to in the clutch when you need to have an event display created with zero notice and very little specifications? Who’s your go to when someone leaves a nasty review online (warranted or not), and you need to do damage control? Where is your first stop when your sales team is saying they’re not getting enough at bats? Marketing. But, here’s the deal. Creating rainbows and unicorns in order to make MSP marketing successful really isn’t rocket science. It comes down to one simple thing. Consistency.

 

We get it. You’re business owners and operators, not marketers. You don’t get excited about email analytics and lead scores. In fact, you’d rather leads just magically fell from the sky. Unfortunately, that’s just not the way it works. But, you too can create rainbows and unicorns if you avoid these 5 consistency killers.

 

1. Switching companies every 6-9 months.

You’ve hired a new marketing company. You’re confident that they’re the ones that are going to deliver you the leads you been waiting for. All those other marketing companies just had it wrong, and this strategy is going to work! Then, 6-9 months go by. You get the same or worse results, and you start on the quest for yet another marketing company. This strategy is the best way to waste money on marketing. Marketing efforts take about 6-9 months to really gain steam, so if you’re switching once or twice a year, you’re cutting bait before the fish start biting. You’re also creating tremendous brand inconsistency as you switch voice, tactics, and methods.

2. Going gung-ho, and then not being able to keep up.

You dream of daily social media posts, weekly blogs, poignant emails to your database every 7-10 days, frequent website edits. You get all excited and plan how you’re going to make it happen. If you only spend 2 hours per day, everything is going to get done!  Then, business happens. Life happens. And your beautiful, fresh social media pages haven’t had an update in 3-4 months. Now, you’re starting from scratch all over again. Marketing is a huge nut to crack. Start small, and build up. It’s the only way to keep tackling all the deliverables to make your MSP marketing successful.

 

3. Focusing on the content, forgetting the audience

Writing content is one thing. Getting people to read it is quite another. You can’t just write the blog. You have to distribute it to your audience, get people to read, get people to engage, and get people to share. Then, wash, rinse repeat. Even if you think you’ve written the most brilliant blog you’ve ever read, if you don’t market your marketing, you might as well have checked something else off your to-do list, instead.

 

4. Chasing the Shiny Pennies

Social media is really good at getting us distracted. Check out this new widget. Try out this new tool. Have you heard about this most recent marketing technique? Most IT Business Owners are explorers, tinkerers, and the exact target to fall into these shiny penny traps. Stay the course. That video making software may sound like the coolest thing since sliced bread, but is it helping you achieve your goals of getting quality marketing in the hands of prospects right now?

 

5. Forgetting the follow-up

I cannot say this enough. Marketing is not sales. Marketing generates interest. Sales closes the deal. Once someone hits a lead score indicating interest, it doesn’t mean that they’re ready to book an appointment. It means that it’s time for the salesperson to call 5, 7, sometimes 10-15 times to get the appointment booked. Far too many times people say that marketing has failed when really the salesperson has failed at following up.

 

If you get this right, you’re going to make your MSP marketing successful. Need some help taking this to the next level and really turning your brand from an unknown entity to the hottest thing on the block? Check out this webinar. We’ll be covering:

  • A step-by-step game plan our clients use to generate prospects through brand awareness without throwing money down the drain of failed strategy after failed strategy
  • Why paying an appointment setting company is the worst way to get leads long-term and the simple technique our clients are using to finally break away from cold calls forever
  • How our clients get prospects to know who they are without relying on a referral or a mutual connection
  • What our clients do to get prospects and clients to respond to emails even if they’ve told them they aren’t interested before
  • How our clients market their expertise so news sources contact them as the key technology and cybersecurity expert in their area
  • And… How our clients are able to do all of this without hiring a full-time marketing team or spending their own precious time on marketing