EEvery managed service provider (MSP) business understands the importance of acquiring new clients and prospects — but attracting the right prospects takes skill.
Rather than casting a wide net and hoping for the best — or relying on referrals and word-of-mouth — managed service providers are most successful when they focus on strategic targeting and marketing efforts that demonstrate their understanding of customer needs.
With the right marketing strategy, messaging, and distribution, you can generate leads, draw in new business, and convert prospects into loyal, recurring customers.
What is lead generation for managed service providers?
MSP lead generation is the process of attracting potential clients with the intent of nurturing them through the sales funnel until they become paying customers. The lead generation process can be broadly categorized into two types of marketing:
- Inbound marketing: This lead generation strategy involves creating and sharing content that your ideal client is actively searching for. The goal is to have potential clients find your business organically and choose you over competitors.
- Outbound marketing: This strategy to generate leads involves proactively reaching out to qualified prospects to persuade them to consider your MSP services.
Effective lead generation involves understanding who your target clients are, what challenges they may be facing, how your solutions can help them, and ultimately serving them helpful information so they buy from you instead of a competitor.
Fundamentals of MSP lead generation
Effective lead-generation tactics, such as inbound marketing and personalized outreach, are essential for attracting high-quality leads and converting them efficiently. To succeed at lead generation, you first need to establish a strong foundation.
Determine your ICP
Defining your ideal customer profile (ICP) and target audience helps you focus on the prospects most likely to convert. Start by defining their basic characteristics, like company size, industry, and location. Then describe job titles and pain points. For example:
“Our ICP is an IT manager with a small in-house team that fulfills IT services for the whole company. The team struggles to keep up with patch management and essential services, but there’s no budget for hiring additional team members.”
You can discover and understand your ICP by:
- Analyzing your existing customer data and identifying common patterns
- Surveying or interviewing your most loyal customers
- Engaging on social media, community forums, and other platforms to understand common challenges and questions your target audience has about managed service providers
Craft your value proposition
Your value proposition differentiates you from the competition. Understanding what makes your MSP business unique and why clients should choose you will help you articulate your value in your marketing materials.
Focus on how your MSP solution solves your ICP’s pain points and what your service offers that others don’t. Your value proposition could focus on points like:
- Price, if your services are more affordable than others in the area
- Specializations you offer, like an understanding of healthcare IT and HIPAA compliance
- Response times or service level agreements that show prospects they’ll receive support from you quickly
Focus on the outcomes for the customer, and use plain language. Getting too caught up in technical features or jargon, particularly when working with businesses in non-technical industries, can hurt your lead generation efforts.
Optimize your website
Your website is often the first thing leads see, whether they’ve arrived via an ad, a Google search, or a direct link. Optimizing your website for search engines can significantly increase traffic and generate qualified leads. Make sure your website is easy to navigate, reflects your branding, and clearly states what your business is about.
To ensure your website effectively captures and converts MSP leads, consider the following strategies:
Enhance user experience (UX)
A seamless user experience is key to keeping MSP leads engaged on your site. Ensure your website is easy to navigate by implementing a logical structure that guides visitors through your services and offerings.
Use the following UX elements to provide your target audience a good website experience:
- Responsive design: Your website should be responsive, meaning it looks and functions well on any device, from desktops to smartphones. This is essential, as a significant portion of searches are now performed on mobile devices.
- Loading speed: Optimize loading times to ensure prospects can view pages before they lose interest. A delay of even a few seconds can increase bounce rates and reduce the likelihood of converting a visitor into a lead.
- Intuitive navigation: Use clear menus and a well-structured layout so visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. Dropdown menus and a search bar can enhance the experience.
Optimize content
Your website’s content is a vital tool for MSP lead generation, as it allows you to attract, nurture, and convert qualified leads. Use clear, concise language that speaks directly to your ICP’s pain points.
- Targeted keywords: Incorporate SEO strategies by using keywords that your ideal clients are searching for. Tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush can help you find relevant keywords.
- Educational content: Provide valuable content that addresses the common questions and challenges your target audience faces. This can include blog posts, case studies, white papers, and how-to guides.
- Clear value proposition: Remember that important value prop? Make sure it’s prominently featured on your homepage and throughout the site.
Include a call-to-action (CTA) and create lead-capture forms
Effective CTAs guide visitors toward taking the next step and are a critical part of generating leads. Your website should have clear, compelling CTAs that encourage visitors to act. A well-developed sales pipeline can further enhance this process by systematically guiding prospects through their journey.
- Strategic placement: Place CTAs both above and below the fold on your homepage and on key landing pages. Use action-oriented language like “Schedule a Free Consultation” or “Download Our Free Guide.”
- Lead capture forms: Embed forms to capture key information from visitors, such as their name, email address, and company. Keep forms short and straightforward to increase the likelihood of submission.
- Offer incentives: Provide an incentive for completing forms, like access to exclusive content or a free trial. This can significantly increase your conversion rate.
Continuously analyze and optimize
Finally, optimizing your website is an ongoing process. Regularly analyzing your website’s performance and iterating based on data is an essential piece of increasing MSP lead generation.
- Analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics to track visitor behavior on your website. Look for patterns such as which pages receive the most traffic and where visitors drop off. These are clues for which pages are generating leads.
- A/B testing: Regularly test different versions of your CTAs, landing pages, and even navigation to see what works best to generate leads. A/B testing can provide actionable insights that help refine your approach.
- Feedback loops: Consider incorporating feedback forms or surveys on your website to gather direct input from users about their experience and what improvements they would like to see.
By following these strategies, you can ensure your website not only attracts traffic, but also captures sales-qualified leads, helping to grow your MSP business.
How to create content for MSP lead generation
Lead generation strategies require content that appeals to your target audience at different stages of the buying cycle. These four types of content help MSPs connect with leads and turn them into customers:
Blog posts
Blog posts are a great medium for incorporating relevant keywords that help your ICP find you via a search engine. Conduct keyword research to understand the terms your ICP might use when searching for an MSP. You may need high-level blog posts that explain what an MSP does, as well as in-depth guides that compare MSPs and position your business as the best solution.
Use your blog posts to segue into a paragraph about your solution and encourage readers to sign up for your email list or book a demo.
Thought leadership pieces
Thought leadership pieces incorporate original insights from experts, building trust and credibility that positions your brand as an authority. Consider interviewing internal experts and sharing their insights, or hiring a ghostwriter to create content on behalf of your CEO. You can also reach out to external industry experts and invite them to share their thoughts, then create an “expert roundup” piece that they’re likely to share with their networks.
Landing pages
Funnel leads into your email list and MSP CRM with persuasive landing pages. You can run ads to your landing pages that target your ICP. Decide what action you want visitors to take when they arrive on a landing page, such as signing up for your newsletter or booking a demo, and include a single CTA for that action.
Case studies
Showcase the experiences you create for customers with a handful of strategic case studies. These should highlight the challenges each customer faced before investing in your solution and the results they went on to achieve because of it.
Strategies for generating leads
Once you have the foundations in place, you can implement lead generation strategies to attract leads and convert them into customers.
Here are some lead generation ideas MSPs can use to attract new clients and support sustainable growth.
Use digital ads
Search engine and social media ads can drive high-intent traffic to your landing pages. Most ad tools have powerful targeting capabilities you can use to create different campaigns for various segments of your target audience. You can also A/B test ad copy to see which ads are most effective.
Gate content
White papers, reports, and e-books appeal to people who are seriously considering becoming a customer but want more information before making a decision. That’s why this type of content is typically gated — you ask for an email in exchange for content to ensure your sales team can follow up with valuable leads.
Make calls
Picking up the phone still has its place in modern-day lead generation. Cold calling can be a useful lead generation tactic, especially for service providers entering the market or operating in smaller areas.
Sometimes the best way to connect with a prospect is to have an authentic conversation with them on the phone. It’s a good way to generate rapport with decision-makers.
Leverage social campaigns
Increase visibility around your brand by showing up on social media. Share photos, videos, reviews, and useful content for your ICP on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
The best social campaigns meet MSP leads where they’re already spending time, so revisit the ICP info you established earlier to ensure you’re targeting the best platforms. Additionally, consider incorporating LinkedIn outreach to engage potential leads with personalized messages and leverage tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator for enhanced relevance.
Form partnerships
Join forces and form strategic partnerships with businesses that aren’t direct competitors but operate in a similar vertical. This can introduce you to a relevant audience and help you capitalize on pre-built trust. Try guest blogging on relevant sites, launching formal referral campaigns, or collaborating to sponsor events to generate qualified leads.
Outsource lead generation
Outsourcing lead generation allows you to concentrate on your primary business functions instead of diverting time and resources towards marketing and sales. The cost of outsourcing MSP lead generation services to an expert is a worth investment, if it reduces the strain on internal resources.
Cultivate referrals and testimonials
While referrals shouldn’t be your only source of new leads, a referral program can boost your marketing efforts significantly. The foundation for any referral program is outstanding service and happy customers — and incentives always help! For example, consider offering a discounted service in exchange for a referral
Getting solid testimonials from previous and current customers adds social proof to your MSP lead generation strategy. People are more likely to trust your customers’ opinions over any MSP marketing content you create.
Boost revenue with essential marketing strategies
The managed services space is competitive, but with the right lead generation tactics, and defining who your ideal clients are, you can generate a healthy sales pipeline and turn leads into new customers.
Need more lead generation ideas? Take a look at our eBook on marketing strategies for MSPs.
Share