MSP 501 Profile: Magnitech's Marketing Investment Pays Off

Company Name: Magnitech

Magnitech Founder and CEO: Tim Pabich

Company MSP 501 Rank: 48

Twitter: @magnitechit

Primary Services:

MSP Magnitech developed a sales and marketing department last year and reaped the benefits, according to CEO Tim Pabich.

Magnitech’s Tim Pabich

Pabich founded the company in 2010 to provided outsourced IT to the SMB segment. Now the firm has landed in the top 50 of the MSP 501 list. Pabich attributes much of the company’s success to the decision to form a sales and marketing department. The MSP hired a chief marketing officer and account executive to take the strain off employees who work better on the operational and technological side.

“A lot of MSP owners wear many hats and areas like marketing are the first to take a hit on the priority list,” Pabich told Channel Futures.

Pabich spoke to us about his company, its business model and the IT channel.

Channel Futures: What new opportunities and challenges came with the COVID-19 pandemic?

Tim Pabich: We saw COVID-19 as an opportunity for the industry. As soon as companies started to go remote, we had some work to do to get our existing clients settled into their new environments. After that, we went completely remote ourselves. We had to tap into a new form of working and adapt to the new world just as quickly as our partners and clients did. This was a challenge, but we were up for it. We found we had more in common with our clients than ever before. We hit the marketing aspect immediately by creating enjoyable content all around team-building while working from home. Check out our “Don’t drop the ball” video below to see more.

It was through these efforts that we connected not only as a team but with the community and with our clients. Going forward, the business world is changed forever. There lies the ultimate opportunity for our industry. The entire work world needs to have technological infrastructure prepared and in place so they can go remote at the drop of a hat. That’s where MSPs come in. We are the people who can get this done for businesses and support them every step of the way. This should be the message going forward.

CF: What do you love about the IT channel? What do you hate about it?

TP: The IT channel is exciting and enjoyable because technology is constantly changing. This forces us as individuals and as a company to continue to evolve and grow as quickly as the technology evolves and grows. The days are fast and exciting, and there’s never a shortage of work. We have found multiple friends and partners by …

… connecting with vendors. Once in the industry you’ll quickly find that it’s a tight knit group of people, and everyone has a different take or viewpoint that can help scale your business or take it to the next level. We have been very thankful for those partnerships over the years.

The IT channel is also flooded with a lot of companies who do the same thing, or very similar services. This can present a challenge when you are neck and neck with another provider and trying to differentiate yourself. It’s times like these to focus on branding and service delivery to ensure you are at the top. I’d say that’s the most difficult thing about the channel. But overall this is the best industry to be in, and we are at a time in this world where technology is crucial to business survival. It’s never been a more exciting and enjoyable time to be in IT.

CF: What was the single biggest technology or business decision that drove your company’s growth in 2019? How did it do so?

TP: The best business decision we made was to invest in an in-house marketing and sales department. This did a few things for us. First of all, it removed this responsibility from me so I could focus on high-level business strategy and overall sales. A lot of MSP owners wear many hats, and areas like marketing are the first to take a hit on the priority list. We have a dedicated chief marketing officer and a dedicated account executive. These two individuals work as a team and develop and execute our marketing and sales strategy from beginning to end. We have seen a 60% year-over-year increase in leads after hiring an in-house CMO.

Our marketing strategy doesn’t only focus on incoming leads but has fine-tuned our overall brand and community integration. I would advise all MSP owners to look for the right people who can take on roles like these. If you can’t get someone on staff full time, look even for part time. Marketing takes time and consistency but it is worth it when you start to gain traction. Having dedicated marketing and sales professionals on staff who see the vision has been crucial to our overall company growth and brand development.