Marketing 101 for MSPs: Associations, Events, and the Long Game

If you run an MSP, marketing is probably one of the things that keeps you up at night. You know you need to do it, but nothing seems to work, and you’re not sure why. I recently sat down with Jaimi Koechel, a fractional marketing professional with over 24 years of experience in professional services marketing, to talk through the fundamentals. Jaimi works with both MSPs and CPA firms, and her perspective is practical, direct, and worth your time.

Marketing is a Long Game

The first thing Jaimi will tell you is that marketing takes time. Real time. Organic marketing efforts typically take a minimum of 12 months before you see meaningful ROI. The average is 18 months, and 24 months is not unusual. As it happens, I agree wholeheartedly with her on this.

If you’re three months into a new initiative and wondering why the phone isn’t ringing, you’re not failing. You’re just early.

The frustration most MSP owners feel comes from expecting marketing to work like flipping a switch. It doesn’t. It’s a long-term investment of time, money, and patience. If you go in with that mindset, you’ll make better decisions and stick with things long enough to see results.

As technical people we’re used to things just working right away. Almost nobody I know started an MSP to become an MSP Marketing expert. Marketing, and what we’re really talking about is lead generation for MSPs takes consistent effort over time.

Know Your TCP/ICP Before You Do Anything Else

One of the most common and costly mistakes MSPs make is defining their ideal client profile as “any small business in my area.” Jaimi’s take: that’s not a strategy, that’s throwing money in the air and hoping something sticks.

Knowing your ICP means getting specific. What industry are you targeting? What does the decision-maker look like? Who else influences that buying decision (office managers in dental practices, for example)? What keeps them up at night? Where do they spend their time?

When you know who you’re talking to, your content gets sharper, your outreach gets more targeted, and you stop looking like a generalist. Prospects want to feel like you understand their business, their software, and their problems. Broad positioning makes that impossible.

The key here is that by defining a target client profile for your MSP marketing efforts allows you to focus your efforts. When you focus your efforts you can use language that your target clients use and stand out from your competition. If you know how thier business works and can quickly show them that, you’ve built early trust in that prospect.

The Marketing Funnel: Don’t Skip Steps

This is where a lot of MSPs go wrong. They skip brand awareness entirely and jump straight to trying to convert leads. Then they’re frustrated when it’s not working.

The funnel goes: Awareness, Consideration, Conversion, Retention. Each stage matters. Before someone considers hiring you, they need to know you exist. That means showing up consistently with content, social media, speaking engagements, and events. You need to reach prospects somewhere between 13 and 15 times before they’re ready to have a serious conversation with you.

A couple other things worth noting here:

Don’t only measure the last touch point. When someone fills out a form on your website, that’s not proof your website is working in isolation. It’s proof that your whole marketing mix is working together. They saw you at a conference, Googled you, read a blog post, watched a webinar, and then filled out the form. Give credit to the whole chain.

Don’t ignore retention. Once someone becomes a client, you still need to market to them. Newsletters, webinars, and valuable content keep clients engaged and feeling like more than just another account.

Associations: The Most Underutilized MSP Marketing Strategy

This is the part of Jaimi’s presentation that I think is the most valuable for MSPs, and it’s the thing many MSPs aren’t doing well. If you want to build brand awareness in a target industry, get involved with the associations that serve that industry.

Here’s why it works: association members already trust their association. When you show up as a partner or sponsor, you’re borrowing some of that credibility. You’re not starting from zero.

However, being a member isn’t enough. You have to own it. That means showing up to every networking event, sponsoring conferences, raising your hand for every speaking opportunity, submitting articles for their newsletter, and building genuine relationships with the association staff. You want to be the person they call when they have unexpected ad space or need a speaker on short notice.

Jaimi recommends pursuing preferred provider or preferred partner status when it’s available. It costs real money (state associations typically run $10,000-$20,000 per year, local associations around $5,000), but it’s an investment, not an expense. It also blocks your competitors from taking that same position. You may find a cheaper way in, but don’t be afraid to lean into associations in a big way. This really sets you apart with your Target Clients.

One heads-up she gives, and it matches my experience: associations are not easy to break into. It can take months just to get a first meeting. Don’t let that deter you. Keep showing up and keep reaching out. Persistence is what separates the MSPs that make association marketing work from the ones that write it off after one conference.

A Simple Pre/During/Post Event Framework

When you do attend events, have a plan. Jaimi walks through a framework that’s worth adopting:

Before the event: Request the attendee list and identify the top 10 people you want to meet. Send an email blast announcing your presence (or ask the association to send it for you). Post on LinkedIn so your network knows you’ll be there.

At the event: Post on LinkedIn and tag appropriately. Run a raffle to collect contact info and draw people to your table. Take mental notes on who’s an A prospect and who’s a B contact. Network with vendors too. They share your TCP and can be great referral sources. These folks are who you want to get to know as when you have someone in your network that has the same Target Clients as you that’s a natural relationship worth building.

After the event: Announce the raffle winner. Connect with everyone you met on LinkedIn. Add contacts to your CRM and nurture list. Do individual, personal outreach to your A-list. Not a mass email blast. Reference your actual conversation. Send a relevant article. Invite them for coffee. You’re still building the relationship.

And always debrief. What worked, what didn’t, how many contacts did you collect, and what was your cost per contact? This information makes every future event more effective.

Start Simple, Stay Consistent

If you’re earlier in your marketing journey, the message is simple: start with the basics and don’t quit. Write content that speaks to your ideal client’s pain points. Show up where they hang out. Build relationships over time. It takes longer than you want it to, but it compounds.

Jaimi put it well in our conversation: you’re not selling widgets. You’re selling relationships. And you can’t shortcut that with an ad campaign.

Connect with Jaimi on her Website or on LinkedIn.