ETING
best in delivering your message ? From there , marketing ( and more specifically , your chosen market ) must direct your entire product and services strategy , including how you price your product or service , how you deliver it , how you bundle or package it , what features it includes , etc . If the “ ad ” or promotion is difficult to write , chances are the product or service is flawed . It ’ s a crude statement , but as I ’ ve oft told clients : I can only polish a turd so much . If you don ’ t design your product or service to sell , and you instead design another “ me too ” business , no amount of marketing is going to overcome the mediocrity of your offering . It must define your financial model : how much it costs to acquire a customer , how long it takes you to break even , and when and how you will make a profit . It must define what your business is about . What are the core principles and values you stand upon ? What is your strategic , competitive advantage ? What ’ s your USP ( unique selling proposition )? Why would a
customer buy from you over all the other competitive options they have ? If you cannot provide a compelling answer to that question , how is a better website or social media campaign going to fix the fundamental flaws in your strategy ?
Some people would consider these business strategy questions , but all of these questions are marketing questions . Because most MSPs and IT services start-ups think of marketing as an afterthought or think tactically about its approach , they end up pushing a rope uphill , trying this , trying that , jumping from one shiny penny to the next , and never making any real progress .
Further , marketing should not simply be reduced to lead generation or the acquisition of new customers . If you are spending time and money on marketing to bring in new clients and ignoring the ones you have by not frequently communicating to them , selling to them , or engaging them , you are essentially stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime .
So how do you know if your marketing is working ? It ’ s simple : Is your marketing measurably facilitating and accelerating the process of money-getting in your busi- ness ? If it is , then it ’ s working . Could it be improved ? Probably , but if it ’ s at least generating leads , clients , and revenue with an acceptable return , count it as successful and work to improve it , not abandon it . If it ’ s not facilitating and accelerating money-getting , it ’ s not working . Simple .
Some people — mostly those with degrees in marketing — think this viewpoint on marketing is “ crass .” But I ’ m a business owner with a payroll to meet and a burning desire to make money , so if my viewpoint is too “ limited ” or if you don ’ t agree with me on this , you probably aren ’ t going to like a lot of the advice I give you or how I design campaigns . I write and design them to facilitate sales based on a long history of what works today and what worked 100 years ago . It ’ s not to fluff up my clients ’ egos , not to win awards , not to make people feel good , not to make people laugh , and definitely not to just get a name out there . I do it for dollars and cents in the bank presently and in the near future — a measurable ROI . n
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