MSPs access $255K in MDF from Cisco to boost digital footprint with Vendasta
Historically, marketing development funds have been a massive challenge for MSPs to execute and implement. Vendasta sought to partner with leading IT manufacturer Cisco to raise awareness, streamline the use of these funds, and provide digital marketing support to MSPs who needed it.
The Vendasta | Cisco partnership contributes to the utilization of more than $255K in marketing development funds
$750K
Quarterly MDF
available to MSPs
318%
Increase in
MDF utilization
15
MSPs onboarded
with Vendasta
Background
Objectives
- Raise awareness and remove barriers for MSPs to utilize marketing development funds (MDF)
- Help MSPs attract new clients and retain existing business by improving their online presence.
- Create packages of valuable digital marketing solutions that will help the MSPs grow and improve their lead-generation efforts beyond word-of-mouth referrals
The approach
Education and awareness
To kick off the partnership, Vendasta co-hosted a webinar event with Cisco to educate MSPs on the importance of marketing development funds.
“It’s free money. You have done the hard work and partnered with an IT manufacturer. You’re trained and certified; you’re selling it through to your customers. You’ve earned that money,” says Vendasta Director of Sales, IT Channel, Andrew Down.
“MSPs are technically minded, they’re not sales and marketing focused. Marketing development funds are a great avenue to kickstart some marketing for your business. Historically, MSPs have grown largely by word of mouth with referrals and relationships in their local markets. It doesn’t hurt to have some potential inbound lead flow or content creation and collateral that you could use in sales motions long term.”
Global Partner Sales Leader at Cisco Michelle Ragusa McBain mirrors Down’s remarks.
“MSPs are amazing advisors, technicians, strategists, business leaders, and visionaries, but when it comes to marketing, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
“Consider what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are, and look at that weakness as an opportunity to partner with those people who can do it with you and help enable your success,” Ragusa McBain says.
Marketing development funds: Overcoming barriers
“By partnering with Cisco, we were able to agree on what would qualify as fundable marketing content and solutions. One of the big risks as an MSP owner is spending the MDF they have available with no guarantee it would be approved. So we were able to get in front of some of the requirements,” Down says.
Execution
Managed service provider outreach
Vendasta reached out to dozens of managed service providers, making more than 100 calls to MSPs to offer support and options for utilizing their MDF.
Through a selection of purpose-built digital marketing solution packages, MSPs were able to work with a dedicated Vendasta representative to select a set of solutions that best fit their business goals and budget. Once on board, the MSPs have the advantage of managing their online presence and viewing proof-of-performance reporting built into the managed service provider software on the Vendasta platform.
“We were really excited to partner with Vendasta. [They] came to us when we were just beginning our true marketing effort. [They] have a team for me to navigate through my options,” says Managed Service Provider and President of IP Consulting, Cherri Mosey.
“This method will help us meet our leads where they are at, capturing prospective clients who are wanting to buy and coming to us for education, ” Mosey says.
Partnering to help MSPs define their marketing strategy and grow their businesses
No longer can MSPs afford to adopt the field-of-dreams mentality of “we will build it, they will come.” It’s imperative that managed service providers are meeting a growing millennials customer base where they are already interacting online.
“85% of decision makers look for up to 5 pieces of content before they even talk to a sales person. MSPs need to look at that and ask themselves if they have that content,” Ragusa McBain says.
Consumers are much more frequently conducting independent research before they make a purchase decision, making digital marketing and the utilization of marketing development funds essential for MSPs and IT specialists in 2023 and beyond.
WATCH: Learn more about streamlining MDF utilization from Michelle Ragusa McBain, Cherri Mosey, and Andrew Down at a recent webinar: Tales of MSPs leaving MDF on the table.
“Vendasta understands this landscape. When we partnered together, we saw a big jump from 8% to 34% utilization of available marketing development funds. It’s about building awareness, creating the right content, and having the right people to execute.”
Michelle Ragusa McBain
Provider Elevate, Leader for the Global Partner Organization, CISCO
Bundling digital solutions to help MSPs succeed online.
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The conclusion
By expanding its reach, Vendasta is positioning itself to streamline MDF use for more MSPs in the future.
This is what partnering with Vendasta feels like
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David R.
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Mathew
CEO in the US
“I love Vendasta because the entire software system is so streamlined. Everything is incorporated into one platform that helps agencies grow and scale. Their software platform gives your clients a portal to manage everything related to their business marketing online.”
Mitchel T.
Principle Consultant
“The Vendasta platform helps me grow my digital marketing agency by providing everything I need to succeed, including a Partner Center, Task Manager, Vendor Center and built-in CRM.
Their online marketplace has over 200 digital solutions, allowing me to provide all of the digital tools and services that my clients will ever need. It also allows me to add my own products and services to my online store, enabling me to include up-sells and additional value-added services to my clients.”
Michael K.
Owner
“Having a product offering that is well-rounded and possibly unique from my local competitors definitely gives me an edge. Having more tools also helps me become more confident. Highly recommend.”
Justin
CEO in the US
“I highly recommend Vendasta to anyone operating a digital marketing agency. They help you focus on growing your business by taking over the heavy lifting of doing the detail work for you. You can stay focus on the big picture and not get bogged down in the trenches. Without them, I would never have been able to scale my business, we stayed lean but expanded our offerings.”
Scott K.
“Vendasta’s agency tools have allowed us to provide our clients the tools and services they need to stay on top of their online reputation and social media. We’ve gained market share from our competitors, provided our clients with the latest technology to be successful online and increased our retention of clients to over 97% after their initial contract terms.”
Terry B.
CEO
“The main benefit is that I can run a business without a bunch of employees. Even when I am big enough to need a few employees I will still need far less than if I were to run the business without Vendasta.”
Thomas F.
Agency Owner
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