VARs, MSPs Fail To Listen To Customers

By The Business Solutions Network

Did you know that one in four Business Solutions subscribers has a software development component to their business? What we’ve learned is that software development brings a unique set of challenges that traditional VARs and MSPs don’t face in their day-to-day businesses. It’s the reason why we love to feature ISVs on the cover and in case studies and other content sprinkled throughout each issue.

With this in mind, we wanted to make it easy for readers to identify content that might appeal to those who develop software. You’ll notice that this is our first issue whereby software developer-specific content will be called out with a handsome little graphic in the margin. I hope it makes your reading of BSM each month more enjoyable.

How well are you addressing the needs of your customers? If you interact with an IT department, you might be doing a poor job. LogicNow, a provider of MSP support tools, recently published a “Global IT Service Providers Harmony Report,” based on results from a survey of 1,300 IT departments and nearly 700 MSPs across eight geographies. The US-specific data is very interesting. For instance, here are some key findings:

• Seventy-one percent of IT service providers want a more strategically focused customer relationship, while only 13 percent of IT departments feel the same.
• Forty-five percent of IT service providers invoice in a way that frustrates IT departments. According to the report, IT departments want a single invoice on either a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis that encompasses all the charges for all their IT security needs — technology licenses and associated services combined. The majority of solutions providers are invoicing on an ad hoc basis, and 53 percent are not planning to change.
• The report also indicates that there is significant misalignment between what services IT departments want to buy and what IT service providers try hardest to sell. One shocking discrepancy concerns the notion of the outsourced CIO. Many MSPs aspire to be such a thing to customers; however, the survey shows that an ability to provide CIO-level consultancy ranks last among IT departments.
• Additionally, the survey asked where managed security offerings should improve. According to the results, IT departments are most keen to see better email security, better Web protection, and better anti-virus. However, IT service providers are planning on prioritizing security consultancy and offering more proactive system updates and patching. Unfortunately, IT departments ranked both of these improvements to the managed security offering toward the bottom of their priorities.

So what does all this mean? First, don’t assume that you know what your customers want. This report is a good reminder that you’re in business to serve your customers. You can’t serve them without an accurate understanding of their needs. Second, make sure you’re easy to work with. As an MSP, it’s important to establishing processes that give you the efficiency gains you need to run a profitable business. However, make sure your processes don’t cause your customers pain or additional work.

With all this in mind, I encourage you to begin a round of information gathering with your customers. If you can pull it off, do it one on one. If you have too many customers or lack the time to get face-to-face, perhaps you could run your own survey similar to LogicNow’s, whereby you have your customers tell you exactly what they’re hoping to get out of your relationship. In either case, it’s in your best interests to get closer to your customers.