5 Ways to Generate Leads For Your MSP Business in 2024

According to the N‑able MSP Horizons Report 2024, which was conducted by channel research specialists Canalys, the current number one challenge for MSPs is New Customer Acquisition. So, as we continue to look helping MSP build out their marketing plans, how are you looking to stand out from the crowd and generate the leads you need to grow your MSP business?

While email and calling campaigns are the tried and true ways to generate leads, with so many businesses fighting for the same air space, cutting through the noise in the market can be a real challenge. This is especially true for smaller MSPs with limited marketing budgets. Although a solid lead generation program will lean heavily on both email and calling, you should make sure you are also including other channels and tactics in your marketing program, whether that’s social media, blogs, or ebooks etc.

If you’re an N‑able customer already you have access to a wealth of campaign collateral across multiple channels with MarketBuilder.

MarketBuilder is a resource that is included as part of your N‑able product subscription and contains content and campaigns that can help you attract new customers, and retain your existing ones. If you’re an N‑able customer, you can sign up for MarketBuilder now.

All the assets in MarketBuilder are perfect for driving your lead gen activity in a range of different areas—from positioning the value of general managed services to network management, or from security to data protection. In fact, MSPs using content and campaigns in MarketBuilder generated a total of over 10,000 leads in 2023 for their businesses.

With all that in mind here are some things to think about that help you get your lead gen engine purring nicely…

1. Are you differentiating your business?

Whatever type of business you’re targeting, remember to showcase your unique selling points in your social posts and your content. If you’re not sure where to get started, simply login to MarketBuilder and download the brand house template that will help guide you through this process.

2. Are you capitalizing on your reviews and referrals?

As Stefanie Hammond explains in her blog Your MSP growth habit for February: focus on social proof, ‘social proof’ is the key way business owners in today’s environment make their purchasing decisions. “If a business owner is unsure about a particular product or service, or unsure about partnering with a specific organization, they will proactively seek out recommendations and reviews from others to see what their experiences has been,” she explains.

User reviews and testimonials are one of the most powerful ways to drive social proof, so if you’re not maximizing these for your business then you are missing out on an opportunity to drive leads and grow your business. And don’t forget, when you posts a testimonial or review, make sure you tag the customer who gave you the review, that you can encourage them to share it as well.

You can use MarketBuilder to help extend your reviews to social posts and your email program.

3. Are you spreading the social love?

You can also use MarketBuilder to create and manage your social posts and call out your customers when they have reached a specific milestone—like an anniversary of service to the community or they win a specific industry or regional award. And while we are on the subject of social media posts remember that consistency is important—once you start posting keep it up! There’s nothing less appealing to prospects than untended social channel.

If you want more guidance on building out a social media strategy, then check out this other blog I wrote: How to build an MSP social media marketing strategy.

4. Are you creating the content you need?

Content wins hearts and minds. It plays a crucial role in helping you build that all important level of trust with your prospects, which is a crucial element in guiding them through the buying funnel. But it needs to be relevant, timely and readable, and not everybody has the time or skills to write—well, at least, not in the way you need to in order to capture your prospects’ attention.

As I highlighted in another blog I wrote recently, Top 5 Steps to Create Quality Content, if your time is limited you can use AI to help you generate blogs for your website and this can be a great way to help create a consistent flow of content onto your website… because again as I mentioned with social above once you start a blog consistency is critical!

5. Are you thinking outside the box?

It’s always good to push your boundaries when you can, so try some new ideas:

• Why not record a quick video of you talking about your business or the subject matter of your blog and use that in your social media to create some interest in your blog.
• Share your content—if you are a member of a local business organization, why not ask them if they will publish your blog content. This is a great way to extend the life of your content, continue to raise the awareness of your company and your services
• And while you are thinking about how to work with your local business association, why not offer a lunch and learn series or brown bag series on a topic that relates back to your blog. This is a great way to continue to extend your brand and to be seen as a trusted advisor for businesses in your area

We want you to be a success, because when you succeed we succeed. Our own blog has plenty more tips to help you build your MSP marketing program, and MarketBuilder has blog posts on many of its campaigns, as well as social posts, landing pages, battle cards, email copy, and presentation decks that you can customise to build your brand, and help you generate leads for your business.

If you need any help or guidance with MarketBuilder, feel free to reach out to me directly at [email protected]

Tracy Trottier is marketing manager and heads up the MarketBuilder program at N‑able