If you want to take your MSP from average to World Class, you’re probably focusing on areas of your business such as packaging and pricing or your sales model. While those are essential business functions, there’s another area of your business that might need more attention: customer service.
Being a World Class MSP doesn’t just mean your clients like you. It means you’ve built long-term, profitable business relationships with your customers. Find out why these relationships matter, and learn some MSP customer servicestrategies you should adopt in your own business.
Why Do Long-Term Relationships Matter?
It’s a lot less expensive to maintain customers than to replace them after they’ve gone. In fact, it can cost up to 25 times more to acquire a new customer than it costs to retain a customer you already have. That’s why it’s so important to provide the best customer service possible.
You also need a steady flow of monthly recurring revenue. The higher the number of ongoing customers you have, the more stable your profit margin becomes. When you have profit margins that fluctuate greatly from month to month, it’s hard to plan for your business expenses and growth.
Don’t forget the benefit of referrals, either. The happier your customers are, the more likely they are to refer your MSP to other companies in need of an IT service provider.
Keeping your customers happy is essential for having a stable business and generating revenue. Explore three important MSP customer service strategies you should implement to ensure you have profitable long-term relationships with your clients.
Become A Partner, Not Provider
A huge mistake that many MSPs make is sticking to IT services. While that’s what most MSPs view as their only function, you need to add strategy to the mix.
To become a partner, not a provider, you need to give your clients strategic direction on how the IT services and solutions you provide can help them achieve their business goals. Instead of talking to your point of contact weekly or monthly to give status updates, start meeting with decision makers to advise them on how to leverage IT solutions for business success.
Learn Your Clients’ Businesses
To provide strategic IT direction for a client’s business, you have to learn about their business. Get to know their industry, their competition and their goals. The more you know about their business, the better equipped you’ll be to provide strategic advice.
Once you know something about how that client’s business operates, stay updated on industry trends, especially ones that pertain to how technology is being used. Look for new software you can recommend to your clients, instead of waiting for them to ask you to update their systems.
Be Proactive
Just as you might provide proactive advice on new software your clients should adopt, you also need to take a proactive approach to how you manage their current IT solutions. Monitor their solutions regularly to ensure they’re in line with the standards you have set for them.
When you catch potential problems before they occur, you’ll prevent breaks in productivity and minimize downtime. The less downtime your customers face, the more they’ll appreciate your services. You’ll help clients’ bottom lines and solidify their reliance on you as a strategic partner.
Taking a proactive approach to your IT services is a smart MSP service strategy and a compelling selling point for new clients, as well.
Implement these MSP customer service strategies now and build strong long-term relationships with your customers.
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