While managed services providers (MSPs) function in large part to assist their customers with support and delivery of their latest technology needs, in reality, this is only part of the equation, as MSPs should also consider how they can step beyond the speeds and feeds of the technology and humanize the technology experience for their customers.
The results for businesses that add the human element are clear; companies with a customer experience mindset are shown to drive four to eight percent higher revenue than those who don’t, and companies that lead in customer experience outperform their competition by 80%. What’s more, 96% of customers say that customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand.
Why is this? Customers like to work with and buy from people they feel connected to. By investing in the customer experience and building a human connection, MSPs can establish long-lasting relationships with their customers, as well as potentially deepen those relationships with additional services over time.
Here are five actions an MSP can take as they humanize the customer experience across every stage of the relationship:
Put a Human Face on Your Business
While an MSP’s services might be conducted significantly over email or chat as they look to close tickets, MSP business owners should consider how they showcase themselves and their employees. Getting a reassuring email or a phone call from a leadership team would mean a lot for a customer in crisis mode.
Train Employees to Excel
Building a solid customer experience starts with the MSP’s employees. MSP business leaders should ensure that they’re training their employees thoroughly on delivering excellent customer service and emphasizing how to tell the brand story. In doing this, an MSP can ensure consistency across the customer experience for all its clients.
Personalize the Service
Instead of just being an email address behind the screen when they deliver services, an MSP should consider ways they can put a face on their services; for instance, showing up at client offices when possible and appropriate, or using tools such as video chat that can help put a human face to communications from afar. MSPs might also consider providing photos of all the team members, not only on their website but also on social media.
Tell Your Business Story
When presenting your business, take the time to tell the story behind the scenes of who you are as a leader, who your team is, and the values behind the business. This could include videos or content that’s shared with potential customers directly or via the website, or reiterated with existing customers through regular customer communications. This will only serve to further reinforce the human aspects of your service delivery.
Be True to Yourself
In all these areas, above all, an MSP must be true to itself. If the team is more formal — be formal! By being genuine and authentic in the brand and customer touchpoints, an MSP can build a human customer experience that will make an impact.
Part of what makes an MSP unique is its ability to act as an extension of the customer business. That’s why it only makes sense that customers want to work with someone they feel is a genuine partner that complements and supports their business. By reinforcing these attributes, an MSP can build a long-lasting partnership for many years to come.
Read our guide for tips on:
- Prospect research
- Discovery call
- Main parts of a sales pitch
- Creating a sales deck (a structure example is included)
