5 Ways MSPs Can Humanize the Customer Experience

While managed services providers (MSPs) function in large part to assist their customers with support and delivery of their latest technology needs, in reality, this is only part of the equation, as MSPs should also consider how they can step beyond the speeds and feeds of the technology and humanize the technology experience for their customers. In this article we explore 5 ways MSPs can humanize the customer experience.

The results for businesses that add the human element are clear; companies with a customer experience mindset are shown to drive four to eight percent higher revenue than those who don’t, and companies that lead in customer experience outperform their competition by 80%. What’s more, 96% of customers say that customer service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand.

Why is this? Customers like to work with and buy from people they feel connected to. By investing in the customer experience and building a human connection, MSPs can establish long-lasting relationships with their customers, as well as potentially deepen those relationships with additional services over time.

Here are the 5 ways MSPs can humanize the customer experience

Here is how MSPs can humanize the customer experience across every stage of the relationship:

1. Put a Human Face on Your Business

2. Train Employees to Excel

3. Personalize the Service

4. Tell Your Business Story

5. Be true to yourself

Put a Human Face on Your Business

While an MSP’s services might be conducted significantly over email or chat as they look to close tickets, MSP business owners should consider how they showcase themselves and their employees. Getting a reassuring email or a phone call from a leadership team would mean a lot for a customer in crisis mode. Furthermore, MSPs should consider showcasing their entire team – not just on their website, but also across their social media platforms. This transparency helps clients feel more connected to the individuals supporting their technology infrastructure. Adding a human touch to technical solutions involve:

1. Personalized communication for MSPs

2. How MSP owners can connect with clients

3. Humanizing support in critical moments for MSPs

4. Show casing your MSP team from the first day

Train Employees to Excel

Building a solid customer experience starts with the MSP’s employees. MSP business leaders should ensure that they’re training their employees thoroughly on delivering excellent customer service and emphasizing how to tell the brand story. In doing this, an MSP can ensure consistency across the customer experience for all its clients.

1. Comprehensive customer service training

2. Weaving narratives into every client interaction

3. Delivering a seamless customer experience for MSPs

4. Evolving your MSP team

Personalize the Service

Instead of just being an email address behind the screen when they deliver services, an MSP should consider ways they can put a face on their services; for instance, showing up at client offices when possible and appropriate, or using tools such as video chat that can help put a human face to communications from afar. MSPs might also consider providing photos of all the team members, not only on their website but also on social media. This kind of unique transparency helps clients feel more connected to the individuals supporting their technology infrastructure. Consider  the following:

1. In-person and video interactions for MSPs

2. Real interactions during remote support for MSP Clients

3. Building connection through visual design

4. Tailoring MSP services to individual client needs

Tell Your Business Story

When presenting your business, take the time to tell the story behind the scenes of who you are as a leader, who your team is, and the values behind the business. This could include videos or content that’s shared with potential customers directly or via the website, or reiterated with existing customers through regular customer communications. This will only serve to further reinforce the human aspects of your service delivery. For existing clients, regularly reiterating these aspects through consistent customer communications further reinforces the human element of your service delivery, fostering a deeper sense of partnership. Keep these in mind, you will thank me later:

• Sharing your founder's vision and values

• Introducing the faces of your MSP Team

• Communicating your core principles

Be True to Yourself

In all these areas, above all, an MSP must be true to itself. If the team is more formal — be formal! By being genuine and authentic in the brand and customer touchpoints, an MSP can build a human customer experience that will make an impact.Authenticity resonates deeply with clients, fostering trust and strengthening the partnership. Here are four key aspects that can help you elevate your story:

1. Define Your MSP's unique voice and style

2. Reinforcing your MSP brand identity

3. The foundation of MSP client relationships

4. Empowering MSP teams tobe themselves

5 Ways MSPs can humanize the customer experience in a nutshell

Part of what makes an MSP unique is its ability to act as an extension of the customer business. That’s why it only makes sense that customers want to work with someone they feel is a genuine partner that complements and supports their business. By reinforcing these attributes, an MSP can build a long-lasting partnership for many years to come.

MSP Sales Pitch: 6 Tips from a Real MSP

Read our guide for tips on:

• Prospect research
• Discovery call
• Main parts of a sales pitch
• Creating a sales deck (a structure example is included)