December 2018

Naturally, as companies become lucrative and profitable they will start to grow. And with growth comes more work and more demand for your departments. If your business relies heavily on computers, networks, and servers to run, you may see a higher demand on your IT department the more your business grows.

That’s where managed IT services come in. It allows businesses who may not be able to afford a large on-site IT staff to have their IT needs handled by an off-site service provider.

If you think your business could benefit from managed IT services, check out these 10 ways to get the most of your service provider.

1. Identify Your Needs First

Whether you’re looking to hire an MSP or have been working with one for a while, be sure to identify your needs. Knowing what your business needs are from managed IT services will assist in choosing the right MSP or in determining if your current MSP is meeting your needs.

You’ll want to know what functions you want the MSP to handle, as well as where it can best augment your current IT staff. This will help to choose the right MSP for your business or discern if your current MSP is still meeting your needs.

2. Do Your Research

This is pretty generic advice when making any kind of a choice, like which MSP to go with. Obviously, you want to do your research and choose the best option for your needs and budget. However, even if you’ve been using the same MSP for a few years, still do your research.

Remember all companies could be guilty of complacency, meaning the MSP you currently use may not be as cutting edge as it once was and shows no signs of changing that.

It’s a good idea to continue to research the different options managed IT services can provide and address any concerns you have with your managed services provider. This will help to ensure you get the most out of your MSP or to determine if you should change providers.

3. Don’t Replace Your IT Staff

This is key. Managed IT services and managed services providers are not replacements for any IT staff. They are there to augment your IT staff.

By focusing your needs on augmenting your IT staff or department and choosing the best company to meet those needs you’ll be able to free up your staff to focus on strategic projects. Your IT department will be able to develop new and innovative ways to enhance efficiency and increase production.

However, should the MSP fail in some fashion, the IT staff is still available to troubleshoot any issues, monitor the equipment and users, and conduct routine maintenance.

4. Create Data Back Up and Recovery Procedures

Work with your managed services provider to develop procedures and policies for backing up your data and any recovery options and procedures in the event of data loss.

Machines fail all the time and often with little to no reason at all. It’s a good idea to back up your data frequently and to have a way to recover that data quickly in the event of a catastrophic incident and data is lost.

Working with your MSP on this will allow the MSP to handle this part of your needs without needing to free up other IT personnel.

5. Build a Rapport with Your MSP

Be sure to build a rapport with your MSP. This will help to ensure everyone knows what is going on, and to ensure you and your MSP stay proactive. You’ll have a better chance of bringing things to your MSP’s attention with rapport than if you don’t have a trusting relationship with one another.

6. Heed the Advice From the Experts

They are the expert after all. Now that doesn’t mean follow them blindly. Rather it means to trust in them to make the right choices. Especially since you’ve presumably done your research and chosen your MSP based on how knowledgeable they were.

A good MSP will also act as a security consultant. Sometimes a company will hire a consultant only to discover they simply need managed IT services.

7. Determine Security Features Offered

Make sure the security features your provider offers is in line with the security needs of your company. You should have your current MSP or any you are looking at using, discuss with you how they plan to keep your data protected and secure.

Especially if you have a lot of clients or customers information stored, you’ll want to be sure your MSP can keep their information protected and secured as well.

8. Analyze Cost Effectiveness

One of the benefits of managed IT services is it can save a company money. Take a look at what it would cost without the aid of an MSP and how much it costs with one. If there isn’t a big enough gap to make it worthwhile it may be time to move on to a different MSP.

9. Productivity and Efficiency

MSPs should also be helping to increase productivity and enhance efficiency amongst your employees. One of the benefits of using managed IT is freeing up time for your employees.

Employees with more free time will have higher morale, but will also have more time for special projects and finding new ways to keep a competitive advantage.

10. Be Ready to Find Another MSP

Don’t be afraid to go with a different MSP than the one you are currently using. Sometimes MSPs aren’t equipped to handle companies that grow to a certain point, no matter how long they’ve been a client.

If your MSP is no longer meeting your needs because you’ve outgrown them, find an MSP who will meet your needs and be able to provide you with the services you require.

Staying On Top with Managed IT Services

Whether you’re looking for a managed services provider or have been using one for a while it helps to stay on top of them and make sure you’re getting the best service you can get.

Conduct your research, know your needs, and don’t be afraid to build a rapport with your MSP and let them know when they aren’t meeting your needs. Also don’t be afraid to choose a different MSP if you need to.

Staying on top of your managed IT services will allow you to stay on top of the competition and help you keep your competitive advantage.

If you want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your managed IT services contact us today!

An impressive 87 percent of marketers said that using social media in their business strategy led to more exposure for their company.

Increased exposure and traffic are a few of the many benefits of social media for business. Along with bringing more traffic to your website, using social networks can lead to more leads and sales as well.

If you’re not using social media marketing, you’re losing out on these key advantages.

Using the right marketing tactics is vital to your success. Want to learn why social media marketing is important?

Read on to discover the top ten reasons to start marketing with social networks right now.

1. You Can Reach a Wider Audience

Online, your marketing messages reach potential customers without the restrictions of business hours. Since you’re not limited by time zones and locations, your posts can be viewed and shared by people all over the world.

Because there are more users hopping on social media every year, the more people you can reach the more chances you have to grow your audience.

2. More Effective Customer Service

Having a social media page allows users to send you questions either in private or in public. If you handle an issue or answer a question on your page other users can see your company’s compassion and willingness to listen.

Interacting with your followers on social media is also a great way to show your business’ persona and professionalism.

3. More Inbound Traffic for Your Site

Social media exposure is a great way to increase your number of conversions. Younger users, such as millennials, use social media as a way to find new products and companies to follow.

Certain users prefer different social networks for various reasons. For example, an older individual might find you on Facebook, while a millennial could discover you on Instagram.

4. Create a Brand Personality

One of the advantages of social media marketing is that it’s an easy way to give your brand a voice. Is your business voice funny and laid back? Or are you aiming for knowledgeable and reliable? Depending on your target audience, social media is the best way to humanize your brand and give it a face.

Giving your business a personality can help you can build customer trust. People are more likely to stay loyal to a brand or company that they can relate to.

Wendy’s Twitter account is an excellent example of how brand voice can generate a buzz about your business.

5. Discover More About Your Target Audience

Interacting with your followers on social media is the easiest way to learn more about them. You can post questions to encourage engagement and get immediate responses.

Plus, marketers that ask questions or reach out to their customers increase their chances of conversion. Not only are you building customer trust and loyalty, but you’re also communicating your brand message.

The easiest way to track the success of your marketing strategies is with a social media management service. Once you know what works, you can stick with it and focus on communicating your message.

6. Learn from Your Competition

An obvious benefit of social media is that you can watch your competition. Chances are if a user follows your competition and you sell a similar product, they’ll be interested in following you as well.

You can engage with your competition’s followers, or keep an eye on what other businesses are doing to reach out to their audience.

By watching your competition you can also better understand your consumers. Find out what types of advertising were successful and use those tactics yourself.

7. Boost Your Sales

Networks like Facebook still play a key role in marketing. With over $4 billion generated in revenue, Facebook ads are clearly working.

According to the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 94 percent of marketers still use Facebook in their business strategy.

Social media continues to grow, increasing the necessity of social marketing. With more people using social networks, it’s more important than ever to promote your business online.

8. Generate More Leads

Generating more leads is just one of the benefits of advertising online. According to the Social Media Examiner, about two-thirds of companies using social media marketing led to an increase in leads.

Using a social network to promote your brand or service is a simple and effective way to reach new users. An example is to encourage new leads by reaching out through Facebook lead ads, which work well on mobile phones.

9. An Increase in Brand Recognition

Providing your followers with interesting and useful content increases awareness of your brand. By promoting your products or services on social media, people will be more likely to trust your business and listen to what you have to say.

Interactions online can be as simple as answering a comment or liking a post. Communicating with your audience lets them know that you are willing to listen and handle problems.

10. Better SEO Rankings

Not only can you understand your target audience’s preferences by using social media, you can rank higher on search engines and improve your SEO rankings.

By adding social media marketing to your business strategy, you will rank better on Google. Check your business name online and it should pull up your social network pages along with your website.

New users will click on your social media profiles or website instead of on outside sources to learn more about your services.

The Many Benefits of Social Media for Business

With an ever-expanding audience using social networks like Facebook and Instagram, it’s more important than ever to keep your brand profiles active and relevant.

There are plenty of benefits of social media for business including an increase in traffic, leads, and sales. You can also communicate with your consumers and build brand loyalty.

Not only do you rank higher by keeping your social media pages active, but you also have a faster way to solve customer problems online.

Start taking advantage of these key benefits today. And if you have any questions about how to improve your social media strategy, reach out to us.

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Monthly Archives: December 2018

10 Ways You Can Get the Most out of Your Managed It Services