Most businesses turn to their managed service provider (MSP) to solve a specific pain point, and if things are running smoothly, there’s little ongoing communication. However, having a regular chat with your MSP can not only identify issues that need solving, but also help you grow your business while improving their service delivery.

Having a channel open to your MSP is an opportunity for you to share your operational challenges so it can identify potential solutions. You may already rely on your MSP for cloud backup services, but not realize it can assist you on other fronts – better deploying applications and services for remote workers, for example, or bolstering your endpoint security.

Even if your MSP is already taking care of more than one process or application, there may other opportunities to better leverage them or even combine them to realize new efficiencies. Fully exploiting technologies can also provide a foundation for launching new services for your customers and improving their overall experience.

But if you’re not collaborating with your MSP, you’re not going to be able to fully capitalize on those opportunities.

How to keep the lines of communications open

Any MSP that cares about its customers will have some framework in place to have regular conversations with its customers.

If you’re not already checking in with your account manager at your MSP, you should get into the habit of checking in at least quarterly – if they’re not pushing for it, you should be. Scheduling a regular chat is that opportunity for you to share feedback about the services you’re already using and what other issues you’re having that they can help you with.

Beyond a regular one-on-one conversation, check to see if your MSP has anything more formal or expansive if place to keep the lines of communication open. Some MSPs run a customer advisory board (CAB) so they can keep tabs on how their customers are doing, their challenges and how they see technology playing a role in growing their business. They may also run webinars around specific offerings, sometimes in collaboration with vendors and research analysts.

Participating in your MSP’s CAB allows you to share in the impact of their service offerings on your business as well as learn how their other customers are using their services as well as technologies from different vendors. Another customer may have solved a pain point you’re looking to solve or have leveraged technologies you haven’t to grow their business and improve customer satisfaction.

Whether it’s through a CAB or something less formal, regular conversations with your MSP can also open a channel to vendors and industry experts such as research analysts who can share insights on how different technologies are evolving and the opportunities that come with them. You may even be able to test some applications and services free of charge to provide feedback that improves them.

The more interaction you have with your MSP, vendors and other customers, the more opportunities there are for knowledge gain that can help overcome challenges and grow your business.