LAST UPDATED: JULY 2026
This is a deeper dive on the same topic. There's no workbook question here, since you already answered it in the 101 lesson. Read for the extra detail, then continue to the next topic below.
Segmenting and Prioritizing Your MSP's Customer Types
The 101 lesson showed how to define one ideal customer type from your best current clients. That works cleanly when your client base is fairly uniform.
In practice, most MSPs accumulate a mix: a few law firms, some medical practices, a cluster of small manufacturers, a handful of non-profits.
Not all of them are equally good.
This lesson shows you how to turn that mix into a priority order so your marketing resources go where they'll produce the best return.
Why It Matters for MSPs
Early-stage MSPs say yes to nearly every opportunity. That's appropriate: you need revenue, you need experience, you need to learn what kinds of clients you serve well.
The result, after a few years, is a client roster that reflects opportunity more than strategy. You have the clients you were able to get, not necessarily the clients you'd choose if you could start over.
This isn't a problem to fix by firing clients. It's data.
Your mixed client base tells you which types of businesses actually buy from you, what they pay, how hard they are to serve, and how long they stay.
Going Deeper
Building the Scoring Matrix
Group your current clients into two to four distinct types.
"Types" can be defined by industry, by size, or by some combination that makes meaningful distinctions in how you serve them and how much they're worth.
TOOLS CAN HELP WITH THIS
Free spreadsheet tools exist to help with this. Book a free call with us to see what we recommend for your MSP.
For each type, score across three dimensions on a simple 1 to 5 scale:
- Revenue potential. What's the typical monthly recurring revenue for this type, and how much room is there to grow the relationship?
- Ease of serving. Which types generate the most support tickets? Which ones comply with your processes and implement your security recommendations?
- Longevity and referral value. Which types stay the longest? Which refer other clients?
Add up the scores. The type with the highest combined score is your primary marketing target.
Example: "Lakeside Systems" in Chicago analyzed their client base and found that while their manufacturing clients had the highest MRR, their CPA firm clients scored higher on "Ease of Serving" and "Longevity." They decided to make CPA firms their primary marketing target.
Choosing Which Segment to Market to First
Once you have scores, the math is straightforward: market to your highest-scoring segment first.
That doesn't mean you stop taking clients from other segments.
It means your website, your content, your networking, and your outreach are aimed at attracting more of your best type.
There's one important exception: if your highest-scoring segment is very small, treat it as a hypothesis worth testing rather than a proven target.
Adjusting MSP Marketing Messaging for Each Segment
Your core message stays the same across segments. What changes is emphasis and vocabulary.
A law firm cares about data security, client confidentiality, and zero tolerance for downtime. Your messaging for that segment leads with those concerns.
A dental practice cares about HIPAA compliance, imaging reliability, and fast response when something breaks between patients.
You don't need a completely separate website for each segment. A single website with industry-specific service pages, case studies, and testimonials covers most situations.
When to Add a Second Marketing Target
The instinct is to go after multiple segments simultaneously because it feels like more opportunity. Resist it.
A marketing program aimed at two segments equally is usually half as effective as one aimed at a single segment with full commitment.
Add a second segment when your primary segment marketing is working reliably: you're generating consistent inquiries, and your conversion rate is predictable.
FOR MSP OWNERS SPECIFICALLY
One pattern comes up repeatedly: the client type that generates the most revenue isn't always the most profitable. Healthcare practices often have high MRR but also high compliance complexity and demanding uptime expectations that require more staff. Run the "ease of serving" score carefully; the all-in cost of serving a difficult segment often erases the revenue premium.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't let revenue numbers blind you to the cost of service delivery. A high-revenue, high-ticket-volume client can be less profitable than a modest-revenue, low-ticket client.
Avoid spreading your marketing too thin by targeting more than one or two segments at once.