Most MSPs win their first clients the same way: a referral from a friend, a former colleague who needed help or a local business that took a chance. That's a great way to get started, but a risky way to run a growth strategy in 2026.
The 2026 Kaseya State of the MSP Report found that winning new customers has become the biggest business challenge for 71% of MSPs. The old playbook of delivering great service and waiting for word to spread is not keeping pace with how competitive the market has become. To win more customers, MSPs need to think like marketers, not just IT providers.
Here's what that difference looks like in practice.
A regular MSP waits to be found
The marketing-minded MSP makes sure they're visible
A typical MSP invests almost everything into service delivery. The assumption is that good work speaks for itself. And it does, but only to the clients who are already in the room.
Take the case of a business owner who just had a terrible experience with their current IT provider and is actively looking for someone new but has no idea you exist. They're Googling, asking peers and scrolling LinkedIn. If you're not showing up in any of those places, you're not in consideration, no matter how good your service is.
A marketing-minded MSP treats visibility as a business priority. That means showing up wherever potential customers are looking, whether that’s through useful content, industry events, vendor campaigns, referrals, LinkedIn or a strong website. The goal is to stay visible, build credibility and make it easier for prospects to choose you when they’re ready to buy.
A regular MSP networks
The marketing-minded MSP builds a system around it
The MSP Global State of the Industry Report 2025 Summer confirms what most experienced MSPs already know: relationships still drive new business. About 71% of MSPs say attending industry events is one of their most effective growth tactics, and 51% point to customer referrals.
The regular MSP attends an event, has good conversations, collects some business cards and follows up once. The marketing-minded MSP treats every event as the start of a pipeline. They follow up with a specific reason to reconnect. They connect on LinkedIn within 24 hours and engage with that person's content. They stay in contact through a simple nurture sequence so that when they are ready to buy or refer, they remember exactly who to call.
Tip: A simple 30- to 60-day nurture cadence helps you stay in front of them. Instead of sending repeated sales pitches, use each touchpoint to give them a reason to keep engaging. Start with a useful follow-up after they download a guide. A few days later, share a relevant customer story. Later in the sequence, offer a consultation, assessment or another practical resource.
Referrals work the same way. A satisfied customer will refer you if you make it easy and if you stay top of mind. The marketing-minded MSP deliberately asks for referrals, not apologetically, and gives customers something concrete to share, whether that's a one-pager, a case study or simply a clear articulation of whom they help best.
A regular MSP ignores vendor programs
The marketing-minded MSP funds their growth with them
Here's something most MSPs don't know or don't act on: the money to market your business may already exist.
Kaseya's Market Development Fund (MDF) program provides qualifying partners with funding specifically for marketing activities. Local events, webinars, customer-facing content and co-branded campaigns. This is the budget available to MSPs who apply for it.
The marketing-minded MSP looks at vendor relationships not just as a way to get better technology, but to grow their business. Co-marketing with a vendor means shared reach, shared credibility and often shared cost. That's a significant advantage when you're building a marketing program without a dedicated team.
Shifting how you think changes what you do
The Kaseya 2026 State of the MSP report also found that about 70% of MSPs want to improve their marketing efforts.
The best way to justify marketing is to connect it to business outcomes. Set a target for qualified leads, then track how many turn into sales opportunities and how much revenue they generate. It’s important to evaluate what one new customer is worth to your MSP over the life of the contract.
Once you know the value of a new customer, you can decide how much to invest in marketing and which activities are worth continuing. Marketing should have a clear place in your growth plan, with a defined budget and goals tied to sales.
Want to see where the MSP market is heading and what other providers are prioritizing? Read the 2026 Kaseya State of the MSP Report and use the findings to shape your growth strategy.
