Simple Misunderstandings
IT services are complicated, and sometimes excellent providers are fired for doing too good a job. Here’s a hypothetical scenario. You’re an excellent MSP. The services you provide are always top-notch, and there’s seldom anything lacking from them. If there is, you find the problem and are sure to fix it before your client even knew an issue existed.
In fact, you’re such a substantial MSP, your client hasn’t seen you in months. You manage services remotely, and do a great job of it. Then, out of the blue, you’re fired for no reason. You can’t get any information from your client, you have no idea what you did wrong, and that particular revenue stream has dried up. At this point you think the story is over, but it turns out you were just at the halfway point; because your client comes back. It’s been a few months, they tried another provider who was regularly on-site, and didn’t do near the job you did. The client is confused and so are you — what happened?
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 and IT Support Provider in San Francisco serving 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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