Managed service providers (MSPs) can help you achieve your digital marketing goals. They have the tools to scale your promotional efforts while reducing marketing costs. Elevate your business services marketing with an MSP.

Your customers interact with multiple channels before they make a purchase. For example, they will see an ad on Facebook and then recognize your brand name in the SERPs or engage with your email marketing before they convert. As more businesses understand the typical customer journey, their digital marketing efforts are expanding.

According to a report by CMO, more than 65% of businesses are expanding the number of channels they use to promote their brands – including 58.6% of B2B service providers. But unfortunately, it’s not easy to scale your efforts and launch new marketing programs with your existing resources. As a result, your business risks losing market share this year as your competitors ramp up their efforts.

There are solutions available to you. For example, managed service provider (MSP) marketing might be able to help you expand your digital efforts effectively. Learn more about this business services marketing option and how it can work for you.

Who needs managed service providers (MSPs)?

MSPs help businesses of all sizes, industries, and budgets but are particularly beneficial to firms that offer business services. Whether you run a niche SaaS company or provide support for healthcare brands, you can work with MSPs to achieve your marketing, sales and retention goals. Here are a few situations when an MSP can help your business:

• You can’t afford to grow your marketing team. The average salary for a digital marketing professional (as of December 2022) is $57,337 per year. However, salary expectations can range above $100,000 for specialty roles and job postings in cities with high costs of living. Instead of hiring in-house specialists, you could scale your efforts to a higher level by contracting an MSP.
• You don’t have a marketing team at all. Small business owners, in particular, can benefit from MSPs. You can focus on managing your operations and running a profitable company rather than keeping up with the latest digital marketing for business trends.
• Your company wants to add a new channel. Digital marketing is an incredibly diverse field. You can’t expect your in-house content marketing specialist to keep up with SEM trends. Instead, you can hire an MSP to take over your paid ads and focus their time exclusively on these efforts.
• Your company wants to dominate the market. Business service enterprises that lead the way in their fields often have a control hub of in-house employees working with specialized MSPs. If you have significant growth plans for 2023 and beyond, consider hiring a provider that can meet your current needs while preparing to execute your vision for growth.

These are just a few examples of companies that can benefit from MSPs for business services marketing. An effective MSP will evaluate your budget, industry, and goals before providing marketing strategies for business service growth.

What are the benefits of hiring managed service providers?

Your marketing strategies will evolve as your business grows and changes. There’s a big difference between the marketing needs of a startup and the enterprise it will grow into. Managed service providers can develop marketing strategies that produce new leads, convert customers and increase retention rates. They offer ongoing analyses of the changing market and strive to stay ahead of consumer demands.

Here are a few benefits of MSPs:

• Stay on top of the latest trends. The success of an MSP depends on its ability to provide relevant strategies and innovative plans to clients. Hire a firm to keep up with the latest changes to Google’s search algorithm or popular social media platforms so you don’t have to. An effective MSP should follow the latest trends and come to you with ideas to improve your marketing efforts.
• Scale your efforts. You can enjoy faster results when hiring an MSP instead of hiring an in-house team member. Skip over the recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training processes by working with an experienced service provider. Remember, it can take up to 12 months for the average employee to reach their full performance potential.
• Reduce your workload. A trusted digital marketing partner will remove items from your workload. They will be accountable for reporting their success and will take steps to troubleshoot issues. This allows you to take on more of a supervisory role over your digital marketing footprint.
• Save money. Find an MSP that meets your budgetary needs. Digital marketers usually charge between $1,000 to $11,000 per month for SEO services with similar rates for social media marketing. Email marketing providers charge between $335 to $3,500 per month. Some MSPs offer discounted rates to companies that hire them to manage multiple digital marketing channels at once.

MSPs also provide lower risk levels for business services marketing. For example, if you aren’t happy with your service provider, you can leave them and find another firm to work with. This is easier than developing an in-house team and counting on your staff to be successful.

How do managed service providers ensure success?

When you hire a managed service provider, the team will work closely with your business to understand which key performance indicators (KPIs) you need to improve. Then, they will set high-level goals based on your business needs (ex., increased brand recognition and reduced churn) and tie specific metrics to these goals. For example, an SEO agency will track your brand’s search demand, indicating name recognition within the industry.

From there, your MSP will set windows to meet these goals and report on their efforts. At first, you might have a weekly check-in with your MSP as their efforts ramp up, which expands to monthly reviews with the organization.

Remember that different digital marketing channels come with different windows to see results. A company that runs paid ads or launches an email campaign can report results within a few weeks. SEO and content marketing companies might need longer windows (at least six months) for their efforts to drive results.

As long as you are aligned with your MSP on the metrics you expect them to track – and the goals they need to meet – you can continue improving your digital marketing efforts.

What should you look for in a managed service provider?

MSPs are as diverse as the companies they represent, so you must shop around to find a good fit for your business. However, a quality MSP can provide a long-term partnership that lasts for years. These companies can help you grow your business and evolve within your industry.

Here are a few factors to review as you search for a digital marketing service provider:

• Industry experience. Look for a firm that has other clients within your industry. These don’t have to be competitors in business services, but they should operate within your field. This ensures the MSP understands your customers, your terminology, and any legal limitations related to your marketing efforts.
• Average client size. What kind of companies does the MSP typically represent? If your business is the firm’s biggest client, your growth options might be limited; however, if your business is the smallest client, you might not get the attention you deserve. Look for MSPs that are used to working with companies of your size.
• Specialty or full-service capabilities. Decide whether you want to work with different agencies to handle each aspect of your digital marketing efforts or a firm that can handle everything. If you are interviewing full-service MSPs, ask about packages to receive discounts on your digital marketing plans.
• Cost. Consider the cost of the MSP compared to the services they provide. The best MSP for your needs might not be the most expensive (or cheapest) option. Also, check each company’s different pricing plans; some MSPs charge flat-rate prices while others base their fees on marketing spending or sales.

During your search, ask to see case studies from previous or existing clients. Request samples of reports to see how firms prove results and sample contracts to learn how you can hold your MSP accountable. This will allow you to take action if you aren’t happy with the work they provide.

Setting up the standards for MSPs

When considering an MSP for your business, deliver your goals to your future contractor and decide whether their services and software platform makes it easy to manage all your digital efforts. Check if they have a full-service system that can handle all types of your marketing needs, for example:

• content marketing,
• video content,
• influencer marketing,
• email campaigns.

If you chose partnership with Tempesta Media, we will start with the Prova assessment. This is a comprehensive tool that analyzes more than 90 aspects of your current digital marketing program to identify opportunities to drive better results. We will assess your social media presence, brand positioning, and content marketing performance while initiating improvement strategies.

By studying the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, we will be able to capitalize on any identified areas of weakness that will yield insights benefiting your company. This will give the possibility to highlight why potential customers should choose you over the competition, driving leads to your company.

Take the first steps to work with Tempesta Media and schedule a meeting with us to get your marketing assessment.