How you deal with mistakes often shapes your MSP marketing success! Many business owners overreact to a single mistake, which can create a ripple effect of other mistakes. When mistakes are not properly resolved or are treated with extreme negativity, it can cast a negative cloud over a business. Here are reasons why it’s better to choose a corporate culture based on confidence rather than on fear:
Why MSPs Must Avoid a Negative Atmosphere
One of the dangers of projecting a negative attitude based on one small mistake is that negativity can snowball over time into more disasters. An employee who makes a mistake may take the criticism personally and begin to think of the employer as a rival. This scenario can hurt loyalty and productivity, as the employee focuses on strategies how to find other work. As the employee interviews with other potential employers, they may spread negative information about the company.
If the employee isn’t thinking as much about defending the company, they may become more careless. They may not guard against cybercrime as closely as a more dedicated employee would. A more conscious employee that wants to protect his or her employer isn’t going to click a lot of random links through email or search results, which can lead to system infections.
The worst thing that can spawn from a negative atmosphere is when employees get careless about customer information or the manner in which they treat customers. The MSP marketing industry hinges on relationships and cannot afford to lose sight of building relationships as a long-term business strategy.
MSPs Should Be More Human Than Robot
The key to creating a positive workplace atmosphere without being riddled by mistakes is to use mistakes as learning experiences. Lessons should be learned while mistakes are forgiven and forgotten. Unless the intent of the mistake was to cause harm to the company, it should be dismissed and not used as a recurring reminder of failure.
Despite the emergence of artificial intelligence, today’s MSP companies are run by humans and not yet robots. Personality is a factor in building business relationships, but MSP marketing should stay close to a presentation that represents technological expertise. It should be expected that human error comes with the job and that these errors are learning opportunities.
That’s why in times of disaster, employees must take a non-judgmental approach. Staying close to the facts and keeping emotion out of the equation is essential in high-pressure situations. Sometimes long lasting relationships can suddenly come apart over an unexpected crisis. Punishing someone or accusing them of not doing their job is not the best way to grow from mistakes. Negative reinforcement runs the risk of damaging a relationship quickly.
Steps for MSPs to Handle Mistakes
1. Postpone judgment and collect facts on the situation
2. Understand why the mistake occurred
3. Point out the mistake and how to avoid it in the future
4. Forget about it and move on
Most mistakes do not need to be documented, especially if they do not result in losses. The threat of “write-ups” should only be used in extreme cases in which an employee shows a pattern of mistakes without a sense of learning from them. It’s important to minimize human errors, but it should be handled in a way that doesn’t cause the employee to distrust the company.
One of the main mistakes any company can make when it comes to digital marketing is to do too much of it and expect quick results. Sometimes this strategy becomes costly to the point of using up a marketing budget too quickly with nothing to show for it. Ultimately, you’ve got to learn to be more patient and it won’t help to blame someone. Studying analytics more objectively is the better solution.
Conclusion
Whether you or someone under you makes an MSP marketing mistake, don’t let it haunt you. Part of modern marketing is experimental, so you should expect to make mistakes with the understanding that every error is a chance to gain knowledge. The key to a successful MSP business revolves around trust, which is built with knowledge and personal treatment. Make sure you treat others kindly since positive energy helps build trust.
