Is your MSP the same as the next?

Do you have the same employees and the same management? I hope not, because no two business models are ever the same, so you shouldn’t expect the same marketing tactics will work from every company.  

Some marketing companies would lead to you believe that content is king, and you need to start writing content today. While content is king, you need to plan out what you are creating before you waste your time. With service providers, your business has more similarities than you may realise.

In this post, we are going to explore the buyer’s journey, and how getting this right will improve the effectiveness of your content.

When planning your marketing campaigns, it’s essential to understand the buyer’s journey and what content you should be producing at each stage. The buyer’s journey is an essential element in your marketing strategy. For your plan to be successful, you should create content for each stage of the journey, along with your advertising and messaging that also aligns.  

What is the buyer’s journey?

The process of buying a new service or solutions varies for every individual or company. 

As you’re probably aware personally, you can make a snap decision to purchase some goods, but if you buy something for work, there is a mirid of channels you need to go through to buy something. 

There are three core stages to the buyer’s journey; the process is not linear and can take anywhere from three months to three years (let’s hope not!) for a sale. 

Did you know? 83% of buyers access digital channels even in the late purchasing stages.

#1 Early – Problem Aware

The buyers are aware they have a problem, but just starting to understand what their issue is. They’ll be conducting basic web searches and discussing their issue with other people in the industry. Depending on the buyers level of maturity, this stage can be skipped altogether. 

Do not forget the early-stage. Many companies skip this stage and go straight to solution mode; then later on wonder why they run out of new leads. It’s because they focus on the solution (mid-stage) too much.

• Establishing a need
• Searching for this need

#2 Mid – Solution Seeking

Your buyer is educating themselves on the problem and looking for vendors who suit their needs. 

They have a few options in mind, and is where you can assume they are refining their searches for “X solution” or “service in area X”. 

• Comparing your company with others
• Most likely reach out to sales reps

#3 Late – Decision Making

On the last stage, they have already contacted a few vendors, or have them already on their list. 

They’re aware of features, benefits and talking with their team about the vendors they have selected. In the late-stage are looking at features, proof points and the overall cost to their business. 

Did you know? 65% of buyers rely more on peer recommendations and review sites.

• Proof points
• Reference checking (case studies)

Content for each stage of your marketing campaigns

Since your business is unique, finding the right content can be a challenge. Luckily for you, we have put together a list of content you should create at each stage of the journey in your B2B marketing campaign.

Early – Keeping up to date

• Advertising 
  • Google Ads
  • SEO
  • E-nurture/newsletters
• Trend reports
• Articles
• Analysist reports (Gartner, CIO)
• Infographics
• Video

Mid – Interested in a solution, you should be capturing their information

• Advertising
  • Google Ads
  • Google Remarketing
  • SEO
  • E-nurture/newsletters
• Whitepapers
• eBooks, Playbooks, How-to’s and guides
• Webinars
• Self-assessment & calculators
• Feature guides & data sheets
• Case Studies
• Video

Late – decision making, proof points

• Advertising
  • Remarketing
  • E-nurture
• ROI Calculators
• Pricing Guides
• Customer testimonials/Case studies
• In-person events

Need help with your MSP  marketing strategy?
Contact us and one of our MSP marketing experts can give you some obligation-free advice.