By specializing in vertical markets, managed service providers (MSPs) gain new opportunities to build industry expertise that helps differentiate their business from the competition. Acquiring valuable knowledge about the systems and processes of a particular type of business enables MSPs to transition from generalists to market experts and add greater value to clients in specific sectors. In our white paper series The MSP Guide to Vertical Market Success, we lay out the benefits of dedicating your focus to a vertical market, and so far we have explored the markets of professional services and education. Our newest installment takes you into the world of the healthcare industry.

The benefits of the healthcare vertical

The healthcare vertical — including facilities such as physician offices, clinics, imaging centers, surgery centers, small hospitals, labs, walk-in clinics, and dental practices — represents significant opportunities for your MSP business. Healthcare organizations are increasingly being hit with cyberattacks, in addition to having to meet escalating levels of compliance, such as HIPAA audits in the U.S. As a result, these organizations are investing more money in solutions that support data security and foster compliance. They are looking for dedicated MSPs.

How to approach the healthcare vertical

When selling to healthcare providers, identify the key decision maker. In most healthcare organizations, this will be the office manager, practice manager, or practice owner who is responsible for administrative and IT systems. Our white paper provides the five key questions you should ask this decision-maker up front to best assess and define their concerns and needs.

Avast Business partners who are servicing the healthcare vertical report that 80% to 90% of their new business comes from word-of-mouth. Marketing materials are useful, but getting these into the hands of the right decision maker at the right time can be challenging. That is why networking within the industry is very important. Some ways to achieve this is through the following:

• Attend events and trade shows — You can attend and network, or even exhibit with a small booth. Many of our partners also look for ways to speak at these events and address IT issues specific to this sector.

• Advertise in select publications — This is another great way to increase the visibility of your MSP business and your services to a qualified audience.

• Demonstrate your knowledge — In the healthcare vertical, this means being knowledgeable about compliance and its implications on the client’s IT operations. Similarly, knowledge of the pros and cons of core products being used, such as EMR, is important and shows authority of the field.

• Offer a complimentary network assessment — This approach is useful, as the analysis may reveal potential issues or points of vulnerability that can be followed with specific remediation actions and costs. The analysis provides immediate value to a potential customer while also enabling you to demonstrate your IT expertise.

• Know your products well — A final key success factor is to understand and deploy a finite number of products into the client’s network. Know your products well and make the deployment of these known, trusted products into the network a condition of doing business.

The healthcare market represents an important vertical for MSPs. Successfully servicing this market requires an in-depth understanding of the industry, its compliance and IT challenges, the key decision makers, and the critical business systems required to run all aspects of a healthcare facility — whether it is one dental office or a major hospital network. To learn more, download the full white paper, which goes more in depth into the ways and means to build MSP success in the healthcare vertical.