Measuring Marketing Success for MSPs: What You Really Need to Know

If you’ve ever spent time and money on marketing your MSP and wondered, “Is this actually working?”, you’re not alone. Privacy changes, complex buying journeys, and the shift to remote work have made it increasingly difficult to connect marketing activities to actual results.

In one of our previous webinars, we walked MSPs through these challenges and shared practical ways to measure what matters. This blog summarizes the key takeaways.

Why Measuring ROI Has Become Harder for MSPs

For MSPs, building predictable monthly recurring revenue is the goal. Naturally, you want marketing to deliver predictable outcomes too. The problem is that marketing has changed, and the old ways of tracking don’t work as well anymore.

1. Privacy Limits Visibility
Prospects are more protective of their data. Many use VPNs, ad blockers, and browsers that limit tracking. Regulations like GDPR and CCPA further restrict the data you can collect.

2. Buying Decisions Are Complex
MSP sales often involve multiple decision-makers: IT managers, finance teams, operations leaders, and executives. Mapping every touchpoint from first click to closed deal is rarely straightforward.

3. Remote and Hybrid Work Add Complexity
Prospects aren’t just browsing from an office desktop. They’re working from home and switching devices. That makes connecting marketing activity to conversions more difficult.

What MSPs Should Be Tracking

The good news is that there are still plenty of ways to measure your marketing. The key is focusing on the metrics that help you make better decisions.

• Use several KPIs to see the bigger picture
• Compare performance month over month
• Pay attention to activities that create engagement and conversations

There isn’t a single metric that tells you if your marketing is working. But here are some of the most useful KPIs:

1. Website Engagement
Your website is often the first place prospects explore your services. Tools like Google Analytics can show you:

• How many people visit
• Which pages they view (service pages, security audits, network assessments)
• How long they stay
• Whether they leave quickly (bounce rate)

2. Tracking Phone Calls
For many MSPs, inbound calls are still one of the most valuable lead sources. Using tools like CallRail, you can assign unique numbers to campaigns to see which ones drive new business calls (as opposed to support requests). This helps you know which marketing efforts are creating real sales conversations.

3. Form Fills and Conversions
Common MSP conversion goals include contact forms, “book a consultation” pages, or free IT assessments. With basic conversion tracking, you can see:

• Which pages generate the most leads
• Where prospects drop off
• Which offers convert best (e.g., a free cybersecurity audit vs a generic contact form)

4. Qualified Leads
Not all leads are equal. Separating marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) from sales-qualified leads (SQLs) shows which prospects are worth pursuing. Platforms like HubSpot can score leads and track the journey from first download to signed MSA.

Watch the Webinar Replay

This blog is based on one of our earlier webinars, “Measuring Marketing for MSPs.” If you’d like to dive deeper into the discussion, you can watch the full session here.

Need Help Marketing Your MSP?

We work with MSPs and IT service providers every day to help them generate more leads, improve ROI, and grow recurring revenue. If you’d like a clearer marketing strategy for your business, we’d love to chat.

Contact us today and let’s explore how we can help your MSP stand out.