People are stubborn creatures. You can present them with a perfectly good product or service that will help improve their businesses, income, or life, but it still falls short. It’s not personal. When it comes to marketing managed services, it’s a crowded marketplace and business owners have limited time in their day to listen to boring sales pitches. You need to stand out.
Technology is frustrating. Everyone feels like smashing their computer with a hammer at times…sometimes on a weekly or daily basis. Psychologists even have a term for it — computer rage. Managing IT strategy and infrastructure is added stress for business owners. There’s a reason why businesses hire people to do their taxes, process payroll and design their websites. The same should go for managed services.
For small business owners without full time IT staff, managed services are a no-brainer. The top complaint you’ll hear from most business owners is, “I don’t have enough time in the day.” Why would any business owner spend their time dealing with computer problems when you can take that monkey off their back?
Why People Don’t Buy Managed Services
It’s not that business owners don’t want or need managed services. Most likely, you’re not communicating the benefits in a deliberate, specific way when you’re marketing managed services. Clear, direct content is necessary to grab your prospect’s attention and differentiate yourself from the competition.
99.9% of advertisers and marketers are unclear and vague about their services. Most can’t even state why a prospect should buy from them.
Stating that you fix and support computers for small businesses is about as interesting as watching paint dry. What’s compelling about that?
Imagine an accountant sent you the following message:
Dear Sir,
I would like the opportunity to introduce our company to you. We do bookkeeping for small business owners in the city. We’ve been in business for five years and do our best to provide quality services to our clients…”
Boring. Now what if they started with this:
“It’s a documented fact that one in four small business owners will be audited or in financial trouble with the IRS, incurring up to $43,700 in penalties and interest. It’s also a documented fact that 94% of the small business owners who get nailed by the IRS invited the audit by making one of four common mistakes on their tax forms and reporting. Had they not made one of these tiny oversights, they would be practically ‘invisible’ to IRS auditors.
Even worse, almost 100% of the mistakes are made by CPAs and tax preparers business owners hired to avoid IRS trouble in the first place! That’s why I’m writing you today. Since you are the IRS’s #1 target, I want to offer you a surefire way to avoid the most common tax and accounting mistakes that trigger IRS audits, penalties and fines. My name is…”
It’s longer, but the message is specific, clear and directly addresses your prospect. As my marketing mentor Dan Kennedy always says, “a marketing message can never be too long, but it can be too boring.” Your prospects need to understand the benefit of managed services to their company.
The Key To Marketing Managed Services
Here’s what you need to remember when you’re marketing managed services. Most business owners remember bad customer service, disappointments and shoddy work from vendors. It’s harder to remember the good experiences.
That’s why so many people rely on referrals — they don’t trust marketing and advertising. Vague, general marketing messages with no promises, guarantees, or benefits make your operation look like everyone else’s.
Here’s how to get specific when marketing managed services.
What do your customers want? What are your ideal customer’s pain points? What do they need? Every single piece of marketing you produce should address their needs.
Where is the competition failing? Where is your competition lacking? This isn’t the time to bash another company, but to be specific about where and how you succeed in managed services where others fall short.
What are your unique capabilities? What sets you apart from other managed services firm? Don’t just tell them, show your expertise with case studies, specific stats and information whenever possible.
Avoid generalities. Honest, reliable, best, professional, quality — these weak adjectives are used repeatedly in marketing. Be specific. What do “fast response times” mean? Do you respond within 24 hours? An hour? What is a “qualified technician?” Does your team have certifications and training other companies don’t have?
Your marketing message should be based on what your customers want, what your competition is failing to deliver and your unique capabilities. The more specific and detailed you are, the more successful you’ll be at marketing managed services.
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