Many MSP owners struggle with building their businesses when they’re focusing on improving the wrong aspects of their operations.
The key to growing a successful business is always to enhance what matters to your customers. By doing so, you put yourself in a better position to make the right decisions more easily when the pressure is on.
Even though building a successful MSP business takes time, if you stay dedicated to reassessing the way you operate when necessary, your likelihood of thriving is high.
How’s your tech support?
The fact is that your customers are primarily concerned with IT support. They want to know you’re going to work to resolve technical issues when they arise, as quickly as possible. Failing to deliver this essential service to your customers in a timely manner could prove disastrous for your reputation.
So, do yourself a favor and evaluate your help desk ticketing system. Is it enabling you to provide the best support you can possibly provide? If not, compare it with other available solutions. There are plenty on the market today, so test out as many as possible.
Also, consider the following. What are you doing outside of your help desk solution to ensure you’re on top of your tickets? Have you implemented IT ticket management best practices? What about your people? Are they properly trained? Alternatively, you might consider help desk outsourcing to resolve issues faster and to boost your performance.
Further reading Creating an Effective MSP Help Desk
Handling Incoming Support Calls
Ensure consistent delivery of service for each case: use a Standard Operating Procedure for handling incoming support calls.
Deliver more than just IT services to your clients — provide business solutions
Businesses typically turn to MSPs when they’re having issues with their IT infrastructures. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing (since you’re in the business of delivering IT services to businesses), top MSPs expand upon their offering by encompassing more than just IT — and this sets them apart.
Instead of simply delivering IT services to your clients, assess how you can help with solving their complex business challenges. Become part of those discussions by asking the right questions and evaluating and understanding their unique business models. For example, could you assist them with streamlining business processes by implementing new-technology solutions? What about improving the way your clients' customers interact with them? Is there anything you can do from a technology standpoint to improve that experience?
Top MSPs take a holistic approach when assessing customer needs. By thinking too narrow, you leave money on the table. Always look at the bigger picture if you want to come out on top as an MSP.
Further reading How to Enhance Customer Experience
Focus on the verticals in your target market
Here’s the thing: you don’t have to serve everybody. In fact, depending on your local market, sometimes it’s better not to. Even though it may seem like you're limiting your earning potential by narrowing down your prospect pool, give specializing in vertical markets near you a shot if you haven’t considered it before and are looking to deliver industry-specific value propositions. Without a doubt, being selective can sometimes work to your advantage when pitching to potential customers.
If you properly research the businesses and industries in your local market, becoming an expert in the vertical markets you come across can give you the upper hand over your competitors. Instead of pitching the same offerings as your competitors, you can separate yourself from the pack by considering the needs of the organizations in the industries in your target market. Once you determine their industry-specific challenges, you can then determine where you as an MSP can deliver value. Remember: your top goal should be to create a unique value proposition if possible.
Even though specializing in vertical markets has its upsides, there are a couple of things you should pay close attention to in considering these potential opportunities. When doing your homework on vertical markets in your area, don’t forget to assess the prospect pool. Is it large enough? If it’s not, specializing may not be the best option for you.
Building a successful MSP business is certainly challenging, but by focusing on a few ways to improve, instead of many, you put yourself in a better position to succeed.
We’ll cover everything from setting up the business to onboarding your first client:
- Essential steps of establishing business
- Building the software stack
- Сreating an onboarding structure, and more