Why the Managed Service Providers Association of America Chose Channel Mastered’s Charlene Ignacio To Be Its CMO

Author: Rich Freeman

True story: Erick Simpson and I invited Charlene Ignacio to join us on the leadership team of the new consultancy we were launching, called Channel Mastered, within three minutes of meeting her.

As anyone who’s worked with her will attest, Charlene has that effect on people. Her intelligence, vitality, creativity, and experience wash over you all at once in a wave that leaves you asking, “how do we get more of that?”

By partnering with her, of course, as we do now that she’s our resident marketing guru at Channel Mastered and as clients including Ascent Portal, SXIPHER, and xAmplify do as well to build high-performing MSP channels. She leads and works nationally with MSPs at all stages in their business journey.  The MSP Association of America (MSPAA) has recently joined that list by naming Charlene its first-ever chief marketing officer.

“Charlene Ignacio’s appointment as chief marketing officer marks an exciting chapter for the MSPAA,” says David Jooste, the organization’s president. “Her unique combination of charisma, expertise, marketing acumen, and national influence will undoubtedly elevate our association and bring added value to our members.”

Jooste, an MSP himself, founded MSPAA early last year to benefit three communities—MSPs, end users, and vendors. MSPs who join get marketing, training, and enablement assistance, as well as sales leads through MSPAA’s searchable online marketplace.

“A major benefit to the MSP of joining is that they can make themselves discoverable that way,” Charlene notes. “It’s a humongous opportunity.”

The marketplace helps end users too. There are some 43,000 companies worldwide making more than half their revenue from managed services at present and another 43,000 making between 30% and 50% that way, according to Canalys. Sifting through them all for the right provider in the right place with the right skills can be time-consuming work.

“We essentially simplify that entire process so it takes you a couple of seconds versus 20 minutes,” Jooste says.

Businesses can be sure they’re getting a qualified, legitimate tech partner too, because MSPAA vets MSPs thoroughly before welcoming them as members, checking their website, business licensing, and customer reviews, and even anonymously calling the company’s support line to ensure it offers live, local help.

“Most U.S. businesses operate U.S. business hours, so we want to make sure that they’ll be reaching a U.S.-based, English-speaking support center,” Jooste explains.

By becoming an MSPAA sponsor, vendors similarly win by gaining access to proven, capable MSPs ready and able to serve their customers. Current sponsors include Cogent Growth Partners, Cytellix, EasyDMARC, eSpecialty Insurance, and Lenovo.

True to form, Charlene has taken on an ambitious list of goals in her new role that includes attracting new members, retaining existing ones, increasing market awareness of members, promoting relationships among members, and helping MSP members in particular build credibility with potential clients. Staging, speaking, and exhibiting at industry conferences—or “being where the people are,” as Charlene puts it—will be key to all five goals, she explains.

“That’s a very important part of my overall strategy,” she says. “We’re going to be doing regional get-togethers, roundtables, and groups for the association, its members, and the vendors.”

A list of upcoming MSPAA events and event appearances is available here. Drop by one of those shows and you might even get a chance to meet Charlene and experience for yourself how she quickly turns first-time acquaintances like Erick, me, and David Jooste into RAVING fans.

Bonus exclusive! Thanks to Charlene, you can save 10% on a new MSPAA membership by using the code “MSP10” at checkout.