Smaller MSPs often find themselves facing the same growth problems bigger MSPs do: too many time consuming tasks and not enough staff to accomplish it all. As a small MSP with five employees, David Mercer Consulting (DMC) used the automated features of Lifecycle Manager to help them grow and take on new customers while providing the best service possible.
Now they have the tools they need to more effectively manage and conduct client review meetings, like QBRs, faster and better than ever before.
David Mercer, Founder and President of DMC, said that the Napa Valley-based MSP focuses on serving local businesses with IT needs that may be too small for larger MSPs but too big for a single IT person.
Lifecycle Manager has allowed DMC to provide high quality care, despite being a small business themselves, by automating client facing materials like reports, warranty updates, roadmaps, and planning propositions. MSPs look better to clients and build trust by bringing them into the process with accessible information.
With improved internal processes, Mercer said the MSP is able to maintain a high quality of service while bringing in more clients with the same amount of staff.
Mercer said the smaller businesses can often fall into a gap in coverage. Full service MSPs are too expensive and a single IT person is just not enough.
In Mercer’s experience, businesses in this middle ground often had tech-savvy employees, but the effort required for them to manage their systems took too much time away from their primary job. That’s where DMC’s expertise in managing tech for small businesses has helped their clients.
Managing client meetings as a small team
While Mercer was aware that automation platforms existed, Lifecycle Manager showed him that they weren’t just for large MSPs. At the time, DMC only had two employees, but Lifecycle Manager was able to help the small team manage the workload.
When clients would request information about all of the hardware, warranty status, and age of their assets, Mercer and his team had to manually go through all of that information and create a report, taking up hours of time that could have been used to address more meaningful tasks.
That all changed with Lifecycle Manager. Now, they are able to quickly generate accurate reports with an easy-to-read format and color-coding so anyone can understand them. The automated reports have been a big success in communicating with clients who aren’t as tech savvy as others may be.
The small team was able to manage and plan client review meetings faster than before, with even better outcomes.
The automated monitoring and reporting functionality helped the team communicate up-to-date warranty and hardware details quickly and accurately. Lifecycle Manager generates the report from RMMs, PSAs, and documentation tools and allows MSPs to schedule emails to clients from within the dashboard.
Growing an MSP and developing client relationships
With efficiency improvements to DMC’s support services, Mercer said they have been able to expand their client base without hiring more staff. A more efficient process allowed them to improve their client bandwidth to capture more revenue without compromising on quality of support.
DMC was established in 1995 as Mercer’s computer building business and evolved drastically over time from networking to home customer service and then to business support. Mercer said the company has been a full MSP for about seven years.
Part of his success was the high-touch nature of the company. Mercer is proud that his customers know who all of his team members are, and they know their customers well. Being a small MSP working with other small businesses allows DMC to build more personal relationships and trust with clients, something that bigger organizations just can’t do.
Building trust with clients has helped DMC create a collaborative environment in meetings where the MSP and client can work together to plan out future replacements or renewals.
Before and After: The Impact of Lifecycle Manager on David Mercer Consulting (DMC)
| Aspect | Before Lifecycle Manager | After Lifecycle Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Client Reports | Manually compiled reports; time-consuming and error-prone | Automatically generated, color-coded, easy-to-read reports in seconds |
| Time for Report Creation | Hours spent per report | 10 seconds for on-demand reports |
| Client Review Meetings (e.g., QBRs) | Labor-intensive planning and prep | Faster, more effective planning with better outcomes |
| Client Communication | Technical data hard to explain to non-technical clients | Clear, visually structured reports help build understanding and trust |
| Process Efficiency | Time-intensive and staff-limited operations | Scalable processes that allow client base growth without hiring more staff |
| Client Base Growth | Limited by team size and manual workload | Expanded client base with same team size |
| Client Relationships | Manual effort limited time for high-touch relationships | Freed-up time enabled stronger, more personalized client connections |
| Perceived Suitability of Automation Tools | Belief that such platforms were for large MSPs | Realization that automation can benefit small MSPs just as much |
| Market Positioning | Focused on the underserved middle-ground market | Stronger service offering for mid-sized clients needing more than basic IT support |
| Customer Trust | Built slowly through effort | Accelerated through transparency and collaborative planning tools |
| Revenue Potential | Capped by labor constraints | Increased through operational efficiency and improved client management |
