Do you find yourself using meaningless clichés and phrases to market your business? You’re not alone. Setting your managed services business apart from others isn’t easy. What you may or may not know is that customers dislike clichés—they can actually harm your business.
There’s never a shortage of “MSP marketing experts” who claim to have identified “magic marketing phrases” to get more business. But as a smart MSP business owner, you’re probably aware that there’s no such thing as magic marketing phrases, particularly in a culture that’s flooded with advertisements. Simply speaking—It’s important that you avoid the following marketing phrases:
1. "Brand Equity"
Example: “Avoid damaging the brand equity you’ve created!”
You have one job only. Fix and help with IT at your clients. You are not Coke. The only person that really cares about your brand is you. Now your company reputation and brand are not equal.
Brand equity is a phrase commonly used in the marketing industry to describe the value of having a well-known brand name. However, the concept of “brand equity” is in most cases a fallacy. Many recognized brands, like Coca-Cola or Starbucks, do have value; but could disappear and nobody would notice.
The phrase “Brand Equity” doesn’t mean anything to someone who’s never heard of it before. It’s how they feel after they’ve done business with you that matters. It’s your testimonial and proof that other brands enjoy working with you that matters: it’s what you “bring to the table” that matters.
2. “Demand Creation”
Example: “This trade show is a demand creation activity.”
Demand creation, often interchanged with demand generation, is defined as the targeted marketing program that create interest in a company’s products and/or services. Consider this, the demand for your products and/or services should already exist, or you wouldn’t be able to continue, right?
No amount of marketing can “create” demand. Customers must need your products and services or they won’t consider them. If they do, then the demand already exists. Marketing simply connects the demand to the product. Somewhere, there are people who genuinely need what you have to offer. Your goal is to find them, link your value to their needs, and create a lasting relationship with them.
3. “Keep This Confidential”
Example: “Our new MSP service is confidential.”
In marketing, the phrase “confidential” is often used when sending out press releases or launching a new service, hoping the implied secrecy will generate interest. But, future clients have short attention spans and tend to delete things they can't use immediately. In the MSP space, nothing is confidential. We all do the exact same thing to a certain degree. Supporting a network is the same for everyone. You have nothing that is secret or anything that anyone outside your organization really cares about. So get over it. Start marketing it.
4. “Hot sales lead”
Example: “Our website generated a few hot sales leads.”
A sales lead is only considered “hot” if a salesperson can close it quickly. When someone declares a sales lead as hot before it closes, it’s fundamentally unjustified. This phrase encourages marketers to judge the quality of sales leads based on their own estimates, rather than the actual usefulness of the sales lead.
5. “Robust”
Example: “Our prototype system has proven to be robust.”
A robust concept has the ability to operate without failure under a variety of conditions. Not only is the term “robust” extremely overused, but it encourages bad marketing, as it allows marketers to argue over a term with no real meaning.
6. “Investment”
Example: “We’ve made an investment in market research.”
With an investment, there’s a direct connection between the money you’re putting in, and the money you’re taking out. If the connection is vague, it’s called spending, not investing. Investing isn’t a competition, but there are severe penalties for losing. This phrase encourages marketers to forget that marketing is an expense.
As an MSP your market research should not cost you anything. You know who needs your services or how to figure it out. Pick up the phone and call your top clients and ask them if you don't know.
7. “Best price”
Example: “We’ve got the best price in the area!”
Chances are, your customers have already looked around and researched other prices. If your price isn’t the best, you’ll actually promote mistrust. If your price is the best, it might make people wonder what’s missing. Consumers are generally taught to look for a mid-range price. Considering this, do you really want to compete on price only? Strive to provide the best products and/or services, not the best price.
8. “Customer-focused”
Example: “All of our services are customer-focused.”
Customer-focused is a term used by businesses that want to promote they can serve their clients’ needs. If your products and/or services aren’t about the customer, why would you bother to plan, fund, or execute them? Shouldn’t everything be about the customer? After all, they’re the reason you’re still in business.
Get serious with your MSP marketing now. The only activity your marketing should focus on is GETTING LEADS! Anything else is BS and a total waste of your efforts and hard-earned money. Your MSP market must generate new opportunities and that is it. Brand creation and education is nice...but at the end of the day it is about driving new business.
The Ulistic $297 website package is the perfect launching point for you. Our $297 monthly managed service provider websites are all about driving new business to your MSP. Sure we will make sure your company name and reputation shines through...but it is all about new business opportunity. Stop screwing around with you marketing and make a sound investment in generate new business today. Call 716.799.1999 x102 to learn more.
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