If you asked one hundred computer consultants what they want to accomplish with their marketing, over 90% would say “generate more awareness.” Here’s why that’s not the best approach for your MSP marketing message.
While awareness is a worthy goal, many don’t realize how difficult it is. The average American is bombarded with over 3,000 marketing messages a day. With so much advertising barreling down on us, most people have developed marketing calluses that make them completely immune to the messages these ads are sending.
But it doesn’t end there. Add a demanding job, a family, bills and a home to take care of and you can see why getting someone to pay attention to your marketing message and generate awareness is so difficult. You’re not only battling your direct competition, but you’re fighting a battle for your prospect’s attention against a mounting pile of distractions.
So how can you cut through the clutter and get noticed?
Honing Your MSP Marketing Message
To start, make sure your marketing isn’t boring. In his book “Marketing Outrageously,” Jon Spoelstra defines outrageous marketing as the opposite of “professional” marketing — it may get you laughed at and it might be politically incorrect, but it may be the only safe way to spend money on marketing. I couldn’t agree with him more.
You shouldn’t set out to offend people with your marketing, but if your marketing looks like every other ad floating around, it’s going to slip by unnoticed.
Here are three things to do make your MSP marketing message more memorable:
Send Your Message In A Hard To Ignore Format
One of the most successful mailers I’ve ever sent was a “message in a bottle.” I purchased large, amber cough medicine bottles and inserted a rolled-up message. Playing up the “doctor for bad marketing” angle, I added label on the outside of the bottle with $.60 postage and the responses poured in.
The NHL team the Nashville Predators sent couriers dressed in full hockey gear to deliver hockey sticks to their corporate accounts. They sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in box office seats. A restaurant owner friend of mine mailed out aluminum takeout trays to local event planners with a sales letter inside offering a free lunch delivered to their office to taste his incredible BBQ. He sold over $100,000 of catering services. Another colleague of mine mailed out a crumpled letter in a mini trash selling tickets to an event. The message read, “Since you will probably throw this letter out anyway, I thought I’d do it for you. Now, since I’ve got your attention…”
Before you send out another bland postcard or sales letter on your company letterhead, stop and think about how you could send your message in a way that cannot be easily, casually, or guiltlessly discarded by the recipient.
Make An Incredibly Juicy Offer
Gevalia Coffee will send you a free coffee maker just for trying 2 lbs. of coffee. A local plumbing company here in Nashville offers to pay you $100 cash if they are late for an appointment. These are all big, juicy offers. Enticing prospects to sacrifice their valuable time to meet with you is a big deal. It’s unreasonable to expect someone to take time out of their busy day just because you want to sell them something. If you’re not willing to make a juicy, irresistible offer in your marketing campaign– don’t waste your time or money on it.
Make An Outrageous Claim And Then Back It Up
Dare a competitor to offer a better guarantee or service. Guarantee to respond to any computer emergency within 60 minutes or less or you’ll pay $100 to a legitimate charity. Give a service away free to prospective clients. I’ve had clients give away two free hours of computer support very successfully. I’ve seen carpet cleaners give away a free room of carpet cleaning with a $20 donation to the Make a Wish Foundation.
Many businesses won’t try an outrageous MSP marketing message for fear of looking unprofessional. They believe their clients are too sophisticated for this type of marketing. Please. Professional, corporate marketing is boring and blends in with the competition. If you don’t stretch your imagination and look for new ways to make your MSP marketing message stand out, command attention and present your ideas in a more dynamic way, you are fighting a battle for your life with a dull sword.
Want more MSP marketing ideas? Check out my Technology Marketing Toolkit, a library of resources, marketing campaigns and coaching calls you can implement today.
