As an MSP, don't underestimate your specialist knowledge and understanding of where tech is going. Use this to guide your clients on the best ways to leverage this tech to their advantage.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
Leon C. Megginson, Prof. Business Management, LSU
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In today’s technology-driven world, businesses of all sizes rely heavily on the various networks and applications that it takes to run and grow. And, as the digital world continues to evolve and adapt, at a rate many of us can hardly keep up with, it’s you, Managed Service Providers (MSPs), that have become invaluable.
But, with this increased need has come the increased number of MSPs to service them.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition. We can all agree that stagnation is dangerous in the world of technology, and likewise in business.
But this presents you with a new opportunity. Grow with the flow of change, evolve and expand your offering – or get left behind. Only reselling technology from a third-party provider is no longer enough. You need to expand your offering to focus on digital transformation – this is where you get to provide real value to your clients.
With that said, let’s now discuss the top six reasons why managed service providers need to do more than sell someone else’s tech.
1) You’ll stand out in the crowd and hold the competitive advantage.
Stand out from the rest by providing unique value-added services beyond technology sales. Services in the digital transformation space – think project management, understanding the parameters of a problem and your client’s ability to change their culture, digital roadmapping and more – will set you apart from your competition.
2) You’ll develop strategic relationships with your clients.
By becoming a strategic partner who offers solutions and roadmaps to specific business problems, you’ll start to develop deeper and more personalised relations with your clients. Expanding your services to offer guidance and strategy will naturally extend to long-term relationships with your customers. Your clients will see you as their trusted advisor and will want to come back to you time and time again. And you’ll position yourself as the obvious first choice for any digital transformation challenge.
3) You’ll win more customers and then more successfully retain them.
More service offerings, especially ones that prevent and anticipate proverbial fires, will help you secure that sweet spot of customer success. By providing regular check-ins, feedback, accountability, and additional support, you’ll start to increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. By offering complementary services – like digital transformation roadmaps –MSPs can increase their value proposition and keep customers coming back for more.
4) You’ll naturally be more open to new business opportunities and, by proxy, more revenue streams.
In this uncertain and often precarious world, it’s the businesses that can remain agile and open-minded who will remain viable. While niching is a solid strategy, by offering a variety of services that include digital transformation and strategy, you are open to new business opportunities. And by diversifying your income streams you are lessening the blow if one of your offerings becomes redundant or unavailable.
5) It’ll be easier to keep up
If you have your fingers on the pulse of the services that your clients need, it’ll be much easier to keep up with the rapid rate of change. The more involved you are and the more you can offer, the more you will know. Think of it as futureproofing. It’s your job to keep up to date with the latest and greatest technology and tech solutions. More diverse knowledge is just another tool in your belt to achieve this as you and your customers continue to grow.
6) Your expertise won’t go to waste!
Your broad technical expertise in areas such as data migration, cloud-based tech, security and protection, and IT support can be put to excellent use. Use your existing know-how to help your clients solve their technical problems and challenges more efficiently and successfully. Better yet, solve the problems before they’re even problematic with strategic roadmaps and an eye for connecting the dots to bridge any gaps in your client’s business.
MSPs who take the time to offer more value than just reselling other technology can build long-lasting partnerships with their clients. It allows MSPs to become trusted advisors to their clients. And, as organisations look to digitise and automate more of their processes, it’ll be the MSPs that work hard to deliver more personalised and integrated IT services (with a focus on the improving their client’s strategy, problem solving and future proofing) that will thrive.
Why MSPs need Target State – achieve a better outcome than going it alone.
Want to stand out in a saturated MSP market but unsure how to translate your knowledge into tangible next steps? At Target State you can outsource some or all your expanded offerings to us. We can provide you with the models, tools, and expertise that you need to help you evolve and adapt your offerings for your clients.
https://stl.tech/blog/driving-value-with-managed-services/ - Dec 2022
https://www.ciodive.com/news/Kyndryl-Microsoft-AWS-Google-Cloud-MSP/635031/ - Oct 2022
