MSP Business
How to differentiate your Cloud Backup business
27 November, 2013
Everyone is selling online backup these days. In such a crowded marketplace, it can be hard to make the service you offer stand out.
It doesn’t help that you have to compete with the marketing clout of the household names. As just one example, Apple are convincing plenty of your potential customers that iCloud can be all things to all people. Although it is a great service, it does have some serious limitations (especially when it comes to file synchronization) that are not instantly apparent.
So, with this in mind, how can you clearly differentiate the backup service you offer from the many others that will appear on your client’s radar?
There’s no simple answer, but the best way to drill down to the best marketing strategy is to consider all the elements of your service and come up with a compelling package that you know will fit your customer’s requirements. Here are the things you should consider:
1. Service
If customers choose a “big name” backup service, it’s very unlikely that they can call a number for instant, one-to-one expert support from someone who knows them as an individual rather than an account number.
Your business, however, can probably offer them this kind of support – so make sure you highlight the fact.
2. Features
Cheap online backup services usually have plenty of hidden limitations. The ability to backup Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and SQL is rarely included in a basic package. If you can bundle this kind of functionality, you will rise above much of the competition.
3. Price
While undercutting all of your competition is probably unrealistic and unprofitable, you can still work to make your price as competitive as possible.
4. Reliability
After your backup service has been available for a short time, you can begin to produce compelling reliability figures to form part of your sales proposition. Quoting things like “100% successful restores” will help to sell your service.
5. Infrastructure
Businesses are wising up to some of the risks associated with cloud services. Some may have concerns about data being stored or mirrored in other countries. Others may be aware that using an un-mirrored cloud service can carry just as much risk as holding data locally.
By pre-empting these concerns, you can be ready to offer a service that allays your client’s fears. Put yourself in a position where you can describe exactly where data ends up, and what resilience features are in place.
Cloud backup can be a great money maker, not least because most businesses are now convinced of its benefits – either as a sole backup solution or (better) as a complement to an on-premise regime. All you need to do is make sure that the service you offer is the best fit for your clients.
Luckily, GFI MAX offers a Disc-to-Disc-to-Cloud solution which is reliable, ultra-secure and best of all it is automatic, removing the risk of data loss. As it is ready to use alongside your existing remote monitoring and management solution it is both easy to deploy and easy to manage. If you would like to find out if GFI MAX Backup can help you offer the best fit for your clients why not sign-up for a free trial!
Have you found any great ways to differentiate your cloud backup business? Share your advice with a comment below!
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