Tips To Avoid Shameless Self Promotion
Of course, your managed service provider company has to invest in marketing. But how can you avoid shameless self-promotion at the same time? Learn how here.
Welcome back!
This week’s Question of the Week is a great one, and it comes from George in Sacramento, California. George asks:
“I look around LinkedIn, and I see lots of other MSP marketing companies shamelessly self-promoting themselves. Is this something I need to do more of?”
Great question, George — thanks!
The answer to George’s question, however, is not a simple “yes” or “no.”
To shamelessly self promote or not to shamelessly self promote. That is the question.
To answer George’s question, we’ve first got to define shameless self-promotion. For most people, shameless self-promotion has most to do with the bombardment of advertising and marketing tactics. On LinkedIn, for example, this might mean constant posts, articles, emails, and spam messages, all of which never really say anything new.
People who do this are overselling.
At the same time, however, it should go without saying that promoting yourself, in general, is not a bad thing. You do have to sell yourself and your products and/or services. It's essential for your business. Senior Contributor to Forbes, Avery Blank, agrees: “If you want to advance your career, you have to speak up about yourself. If you don’t advocate for yourself, you run the risk of losing opportunities …”
The key is to do so in a tasteful way and a way that is actually effective — because overselling is not effective.
To help you avoid shameless self-promotion while still maintaining a strong and effective marketing presence, we offer three key tips below:
3 Essential Tips for Avoiding Shameless Self Promotion
#1 – Ask your top clients to participate in case studies for you.
Case studies show potential clients how your services have worked for other clients in the past. You can ask any of your current clients to participate in case studies for you, but it’s best to choose those clients who have been with you for a considerable amount of time and those who are especially happy with your services.
#2 – Make asking clients to leave reviews for your company a part of your daily marketing plan.
There’s nothing better than when the market promotes you instead of the other way around. Your best clients need to talk about you in a good way, and when this happens, other potential clients will hear about it and become naturally inclined to choose you as a partner.
Every day, your marketing plan should include a time that you’re actively trying to get reviews from your clients. This might be an email that you send out, asking clients to write reviews and providing a link. It might be a change to your website that includes a direct link to your Google business page, where clients can leave reviews. Or, maybe it’s even time you spend responding to reviews on various sites like Google or Yelp.
#3 – Meet with your top clients regularly to get the scoop on their industry.
If you’re going to be asking your clients to leave you reviews, participate in case studies, and stick with you, you’ve got to make it worth it for them. In addition to providing top-level services, this might mean taking your top clients out to lunch every once in a while. At a meeting like this, be sure to ask what’s new in their industry.
Keeping your clients happy is obviously a benefit to this practice. You’ve got to show your appreciation and attention as much as possible. But it’s also about keeping your finger on the pulse of the industries you work for. Doing this will help you better tap into the biggest needs and pain points as you seek more clients.
Do you have a question for Ulistic?
If you’d like to have Mike answer your MSP marketing question, feel free to send us an email with your question at info@ulistic.com. We’ll try to feature it on a future episode of Ulistic’s Question of the Week!
Ready to Take Your Marketing Strategy to the Next Level?
The marketing strategy you choose for your MSP company will make a huge difference in the future of your business. When you’re ready to make a change in your current approach to marketing, speak with Ulistic to learn more about what we offer. Our business development, marketing, and sales services for managed IT service companies can revolutionize the way you do business. Give us a call at 855-964-2608.
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