Do You Stay In Touch With Your Managed Services Customers?

A simple communication breakdown -- believe it or not, consequences from this can be terrible. When you manage things so well remotely there's never an on-site problem, a client can begin taking you for granted quickly. They never see you around, and systems always run smoothly. What reason do they have to suspect that you're doing anything but sitting on your thumbs in the distance? Some clients begin to believe the MSP they're using is overcharging them for services, and start shopping around. So in the above scenario, this happened, and the client fired the MSP provider, only to find that in reality, their older provider was doing a much better job than many other comparable options.

How Such a Situation May Have Been Avoided

It may sound simple and a little bit unnecessary, but what you want to do is check in with your IT services clients in San Francisco on a regular basis. There may be no direct need for doing this on paper -- right now. But in future, your client's human nature will take over; and you can bet budgetary constraints are going to push them into decisions that involve trimming unnecessary fat where it can be found.

A great way to check in with your clients regularly is through what's called a CIO meeting. Diligently set them up about once a quarter and touch base -- just do it. Another thing you can do is have technicians visit sites you manage regularly. They'll do a walk through and maybe ask a few employees how things are progressing. It's a good idea to chase down unreported bugs; oftentimes employees get into a habit of not reporting minor things because the process is too involved and ultimately leads nowhere. Have your MSP sales staff drop in on management every now and again as well -- maybe with donuts or something. You want that client satisfied with your service and continuously cognizant of your presence so that the idea of using another provider never even enters their head.

Make a Show

A lot of MSPs will meet clients at conventions, give gifts, and invite potential clients to exclusive get-togethers. If you've done something like this, don't neglect fostering that relationship through gift-baskets and regular invitations to company events. Some common areas to touch base include:

• Lunches
• Golf tournaments
• Mixers

Retaining Clients

IT services shouldn't be constrained to a closet. Your clients need to know you're there! If you make an impression, be sure to maintain that impression. A relationship is a lot like a plant: it requires cultivation and nourishment, or it will wither.

About the author

Mark McGarvey is President of

OneClick Solutions Group, a Security andIT Support Provider in San Franciscoserving small and mid-sized businesses in the Bay Area. Mark began his career in IT in the 90s as a senior support technician for a then-small company in Austin, TX called Dell. After working for a number of organizations in desktop support/management and systems administration, Mark realized a passion for two things: Ensuring computer systems ran smoothly and keeping the people that used these systems happy and productive. As a small business owner, Mark empathizes with other business owners and understands the things dearest to them: Increasing productivity and efficiency and keeping costs low and ROI high.

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