MSP Basics: Who is Your Customer ?

Whenever a business is starting up, the most important thing you need to do is figure out who your customer and what of their problems you actually solve.

For MSP’s this is an interesting quandary as it’s fairly obvious what problem we solve: Cost Controlled IT Services that secure data and protect against costly outages or work stoppages. But these factors are vital in figuring out your ideal customers

• Industry: What industries are you most interested in working with?

• Size: What size businesses are you targeting?

• Location: Where are your ideal customers located?

• Budget: How much are your ideal customers willing to spend on IT services?

With this in mind.. the question to ask yourself is this… who do you want to serve?

• Consider your experience in IT

• What types of clients/people do you work well with

• Have you been working in a specific market/vertical?

As you consider the above, then get more granular…

• How many users feels like a good fit for what you offer?

• Are there servers in the environment?

• What industry do you want to focus on? (hint.. you can focus on more then one)

Get more indepth:

• What is the owner like?

• What issues does this owner face on a daily basis that you can solve?

• Are the employees in an office or remote?

The more granular you can get about the customer and their profile, the clearer avatar will be that will guide you in your prospecting.

Before going out to look for customers, its vital for you to determine who you are looking for. Just like dating, if they are not a fit.. swipe left.. if they look like a good customer for you.. swipe right!