bringing your msp out of obscurity: practical marketing thinking for a digital world

Practical Marketing Thinking For A Digital World

Bringing Your MSP Out Of Obscurity

#MSPAlliance #MSPWorld

• Graduated from NC State University BS Business Management - Marketing

• Post-college began taking roles in Business Development• Worked for a wellness provider, franchise, product design firm, direct

sales in solar and health products• Roles have typically been across the board in Operations, Sales and

Marketing• Marketing is my specialty - Blogging, Social Media, Digital Marketing

Who am I? - Aaron Mangal


• Business Development for Network Remedy, MSP, IT Consultant and Cloud Hosting Provider• Headquartered in San Jose, CA and expanding into

Southern California• Host a Radio Show/Podcast called The Cloud

What do I do?


• A brief history of Marketing to date including the evolution of Tech

• What Marketing is and is not

• Branding and its importance

• The Problem and Pain of Marketing Today

• Examples of Marketing from Tech Players, big and small

• Takeaways and What you can do

What you will learn today:


A brief history of Marketing


Source: Hubspot Blog

• Data Overload leads to Analysis Paralysis

• Pulled in 100 different directions (ebooks, webinars, white papers oh my!)

• We’re searching for the best “tactic”

• Focusing on the trees not the forest

The Problem and Pain of Marketing Today


• “Marketing is the process of creating, communicating, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” ~American Marketing Association

• “Marketing is the art and science of persuasive communication.” ~Dave Kerpen, Chief Executive Officer, Likeable Media


What is Marketing?

It’s not:• Just sales• Just advertising• Just promotion• Just social media• Just communication

It’s how your organization appears to the world--partners, team members, suppliers, customers

and all who interact with it.


What is Marketing...NOT?

• “The art of marketing is the art of brand building. If you are not a brand you are a commodity. Then price is everything and the low cost producer is the only winner.” ~Philip Kotler Professor at the Kellogg School of Management

Branding - The customer’s experience


• “Customers are not logical. Functional benefits rarely provide a basis for sustainable differentiation or a deep customer relationship.” ~David Aaker, Building Strong Brands

On my way back from MSP world to Los Angeles I stopped in Baker to check out this glorious brand: Alien Fresh Jerky

Brilliant Branding Example

From the get-go this got me excited and their over the top swag really drove the memorable brand experience home. (And yes, I did buy some jerky)

Brilliant Branding Example

• As marketers we often get caught up in the Technology• The critical components are the audience and the

messaging• For strategy, initially think like Pre-mass media (i.e.

Mail Order days)

Marketing + The Strategy = Platform Agnostic


Marketing Examples - AMZ


Marketing Examples - Google

Marketing Examples - Microsoft


Marketing Examples - Local Firm


• What’s your Web presence looking like?

• UX/UI Considerations

• Informative Messaging

• Prevalent Call-to-Actions

Takeaways


• Strategize, Strategize, Strategize, then document

• Get clarity on who your audience is

• Create quality messaging that speaks to audience

• Do this BEFORE approaching social media channels

• Utilize Digital Marketing platforms to push your message to the desired audience

So, what should you do?


• Build a list yourself - Other channels own your content

• Create prevalent Call to Actions on your website and content

So, what should you do?


Ineffective

• Let’s just throw some money at Google Adwords/LinkedIn/FB Advertising

• Let’s just read a few ebooks, whitepapers on tactics

Effective

• Let’s create targeted, relevant content for Lawyers who deal with HIPAA compliance

• Let’s target Lawyers through HIPAA compliance webinars promoted on LinkedIn

Marketing Approach Examples


• There will always be more tools, mediums and platforms for communication

• Over time said platforms become increasingly saturated

• Marketing is a holistic concept ultimately determining how you appear to the world and all you interact with

• Use the Web as a digital storefront (But own your spot)

Let’s Recap


• Social Media is great BUT you don’t own the platform or content

• Build your list - Free tools are available

• Strategize on your audience and message, document this

Final Thoughts and Actions


• Digital communication is great but consider how you can engage the local community too

• Teach people in the present what the future holds

• Blend your services and offerings with this vision

Final Thoughts and Actions


Marketing• http://www.marketingprofs.com/• http://www.copyblogger.com/• http://www.hubspot.com/• http://mailchimp.com/resources/• https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-social-media• https://www.getvero.com/resources/the-art-of-the-welc

ome-email/• http://www.buzzblogger.com/content-marketing-tools/• http://grow.kissmetrics.com/webinar-34-recording

Further Reading and Resources


http://www.marketingprofs.com/

http://www.copyblogger.com/

http://www.hubspot.com/

http://mailchimp.com/resources/

https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-social-media

https://www.getvero.com/resources/the-art-of-the-welcome-email/

https://www.getvero.com/resources/the-art-of-the-welcome-email/

http://www.buzzblogger.com/content-marketing-tools/

http://grow.kissmetrics.com/webinar-34-recording

Branding• http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664• http://saijogeorge.com/brand-style-guide-examples/• http://nectafy.com/written-style-guide/• https://www.melcrum.com/research/strengthen-leader-c

ommunication/how-identify-your-organizations-unique-brand-values• http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665484/mailchimps-style

-guide-is-corporate-communication-done-right



http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664

http://saijogeorge.com/brand-style-guide-examples/

http://nectafy.com/written-style-guide/

https://www.melcrum.com/research/strengthen-leader-communication/how-identify-your-organizations-unique-brand-values



http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665484/mailchimps-style-guide-is-corporate-communication-done-right

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665484/mailchimps-style-guide-is-corporate-communication-done-right

SEO/SEMFree Google Analytics course: https://analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/explorerhttp://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/02/22/best-analytics-blogs/http://www.slideshare.net/randfish/seo-tactics-to-love-vs-leavehttp://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-seo/http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors/https://moz.com/bloghttp://www.searchenginejournal.com/http://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/5-google-adwords-tips-for-a-small-budget/



https://analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/explorer

http://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/02/22/best-analytics-blogs/

http://www.slideshare.net/randfish/seo-tactics-to-love-vs-leave

http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-seo/

http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors/

https://moz.com/blog

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/

http://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/5-google-adwords-tips-for-a-small-budget/

http://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/5-google-adwords-tips-for-a-small-budget/