While security is now within your day-to-day job responsibilities, it’s also a great opportunity for your business. It can help you expand the services you offer (and bring in new customers), reassure the customers you currently have, let you expand within those accounts, and it can also become a strong selling point for your MSP business. Here are some tips on leveraging security:
- Emphasize your own security
First, make sure you’re taking care of your own house. Software companies often publish information on their own security practices to reassure customers. You can take a page from their book and mention your security policies in marketing materials, sales presentations, and website copy. As long as you practice sound security practices like patching, monitoring your systems, and using good password policies, consider making customers aware as a way of building trust. A big part of security is also response. Highlight how you will respond when something happens to make sure your customers understand you will be there to help. - Win new business
Offering wider security services lets you appeal to security-conscious prospects. But beyond expanding your offerings, security can become a great foot-in-the-door with prospects. Try offering a low-cost security audit for prospects that lets them get a taste of your services without having to go all-in immediately. This also gives you much-needed intelligence you can use for a stronger pitch. After your audit, you can report on the primary vulnerabilities of a business, then offer a pitch on how you’ll protect them. - Strengthen customer relationships
Security can be a scary topic. But when you’re handling security for your customers, you can give them much-needed reassurance and peace of mind that they’re protected. With frequent updates and reports, you can continue building customer loyalty by keeping them assured you’ve got their back. Additionally, spotting problem areas lets you pitch new services to existing clients. - Build a strong reputation
Finally, it’s worth noting that it’s important to develop a reputation for security now. As cyberthreats continue making headlines, more MSPs will likely expand the security services they offer. If you build a strong reputation now, you’ll be further ahead of the game and may be able to get an edge, especially with word-of-mouth referrals. Ultimately, that reputation could help you stand out in a crowded marketplace. Bring the conversation back to business risk. That is something most customers understand. If a breach does occur, it could cost a great deal. But taking proactive measures helps to reduce the risk.
Security: the reality
Cybercriminals won’t stop any time soon. As long as businesses have data cybercriminals can steal and sell, they will continue attempting to attack businesses. This means you may have to take on additional expertise to tackle this problem, either through employing techs that have specific cybersecurity experience or through training your existing techs. But it also offers a lot of opportunity for your business to grow. Just take a few of the tips in this article and you can turn security into a strong driver for your MSP business.
This article mentioned the importance of internal MSP security both as a problem and an opportunity. SolarWinds® Passportal can help you maintain strong password security within your MSP business while offering one-click access to essential accounts. By automatically generating strong passwords and helping you enforce password best practices, you can make an essential element of your security almost automatic. And you can help reassure your customers and prospects that you take password security seriously. Learn more today at passportalmsp.com.
Tim Brown is VP of Security for SolarWinds MSP. He has over 20 years of experience developing and implementing security technology, including identity and access management, vulnerability assessment, security compliance, threat research, vulnerability management, encryption, managed security services, and cloud security. Tim’s experience has made him an in-demand expert on cybersecurity, and has taken him from meeting with members of Congress and the Senate to the Situation Room in the White House. Additionally, Tim has been central in driving advancements in identity frameworks, has worked with the US government on security initiatives, and holds 18 patents on security-related topics.
