You already specialize. Change your MSP messaging and make more money.

While not literally, your marketing message may be communicating the message that “we do everything for everyone”. 

Indeed, it’s tempting to boast about your broad array of abilities. But just because you can do it all, doesn’t mean it makes good business sense. In fact, one of the fastest routes to increasing MSP services revenue - is to specialize.

There are two major problems with marketing with a do-it-all mentality:

1. By default, everybody uses general messaging. To a sales prospect, you look identical to EVERY OTHER MSP that comes up in their Google search. Are you confident that they can separate you from the herd?
    
2. If you position yourself as a generalist, you aren't taking advantage of your best skills and charging a premium for your specialist expertise.

I'm not saying it’s impossible to make money as a generalist. Generalists often have a faster path to revenue in the short term, but challenges often arise when it comes time to scale. 

It’s also that people don’t know what to do with generalists. Prospects don’t know if you’ll meet their needs better or worse than any other generic MSP. Why should they click on your link? It looks the same as everyone else’s. If you’re floating in a sea of identical listings, the odds that someone will make it to your website are very, very low.

“I don't want anybody who can do anything. 
I want somebody who can do my thing." 
- your future client

While specializing may take a little longer to establish, analyzing your data can help uncover the trends. Narrowing your focus helps to streamline operations, optimize resources, and clear the path for scalability, and greater profitability. You need to stop being one of many choices and become the ONLY choice.

This is why we need data, and one of the ways it helps us. We must ask:

1. What commonalities do my clients share?

2. What technologies, vertical markets, or segments of customers are recurring?

3. Which customers have been the most satisfied, profitable, and loyal?

In many cases MSPs find that their clients represent just two or three industries. In other cases, it might not be the same industry that drives the specialization but rather specific technology pain points, needs, or challenges.

Example:
If I have a doctor's office and I have a lawyer's office and I have an accountant's office that are all the same number of users, I'm going to start drawing parallels and saying, okay:

• They're all on Windows 10

• They've all got a local DNS and file server that's being backed up

• Workstations are all around the same age

• A couple of APS

Okay. They've all got these same things. Next, it’s time to make adjustments to MSP Sales Strategy and MSP Marketing Strategy.

Another MSP might, after looking at the data, come to the conclusion that:

“We're medical and manufacturing. IT support company in El Paso. We support companies with five to 50 users, who've been in business for at least two years."

And here we have it. Our ICP, or an Ideal Customer Profile.

Now all of a sudden, when a buyer from a medical and manufacturing company in El Paso sees your listing, they say, 
 

“That's me. It’s what I do. These guys understand me. I need them." 
- your new client

 

We’ll be talking more about developing your ideal customer profile and how you can use it for MSP sales optimization and tactics in upcoming posts.