Information Technology (IT) companies that provide managed services generally describe themselves as managed service providers (MSPs). They are engineering companies at heart. In the early stages, a real focus on providing service brought enough referrals from happy customers to start the company growing. But, marketing a technology company is very different than providing service. To really succeed over the long term, MSPs need a growth strategy beyond the referral base. They need a process of finding and converting new customers. The difficulty is that most potential customers are already working with someone, and there is no visible trigger as to when a company will switch providers. It takes a creative strategy and commitment of time and money to raise awareness of their service.