Top Marketing Ideas for Computer Businesses in 2026

[callthatgirl]

Hey nibblers, What are some new marketing ideas our industry is doing and what is working well? I'd like to hear what others are doing.
My list:

• Website/content, articles, AI prompted posts, industry SEO, key skills SEO
• LinkedIn/not great for marketing for me, but good for reputation and staying in the loop in business
• Newsletters, still works great (I send two a month)
• Referrals.
• Past clients/I'm now getting calls from folks who hired me 10 years ago.
• Podcast/I started again, doesn't really bring in client work but it's something fun I enjoy doing
• YouTube/sorta works but it's more for information sharing imo

 

[frase]

Hey nibblers, What are some new marketing ideas our industry is doing and what is working well? I'd like to hear what others are doing.
My list:

• Past clients/I'm now getting calls from folks who hired me 10 years ago.

Great meeting up with older clients, had one that moved into a retirement village now.

 

[callthatgirl]

@frase how are you meeting these folks?

 

[frase]

Long term clients, have a good rapport with my customers and a good reputation.

 

[Rosco]

I have been wondering about the same thing. I know there is no silver bullet, but it has been difficult to find an avenue that consistently works.

I spent a couple of months earlier this year fighting with Google to get approved for advertising, but they still wouldn't allow it. After that, I hired a marketing firm and tested both LinkedIn and Facebook ads. LinkedIn brought plenty of clicks but no actual calls, while Facebook produced some leads, although most were not a good fit.

I have also been publishing weekly blogs, posting regularly on social media, working on SEO, and calling through our client list to reconnect with past customers. Though I did hit most people last year with the Windows 11 changeover.

On top of that, when I look at what other computer shops are doing, it seems like most are using AI generated graphics or simply posting pictures of their shop. It makes it difficult to figure out whether anyone has found something that truly works or whether we are all just trying different things and hoping something connects.

I am still testing Facebook ads with different graphics and messaging, but I am finding it hard to identify anything that works really well, or even works consistently. I would definitely be interested to hear what others are having real success with.

 

[callthatgirl]

@Rosco Have you tried doing ads with other words that might get by the system? Consultant would be one I might consider, or other words in that area too. I wonder if those other shops are busy or slow right now? My business has slowed down quite a bit thanks to AI continually teaching more people how to solve their own tech issues. My AI prompting testing didn't fair well either, so I gave up on that.

So after spending some time reviewing my new ideas that I haven't done personally was video on Tiktok and LinkedIn. My last video on Linkedin generated a handful of views, no engagement.

For now I will continue to focus on what does work and keep it simple.

 

[Rosco]

@Rosco Have you tried doing ads with other words that might get by the system? Consultant would be one I might consider, or other words in that area too. I wonder if those other shops are busy or slow right now? My business has slowed down quite a bit thanks to AI continually teaching more people how to solve their own tech issues. My AI prompting testing didn't fair well either, so I gave up on that.

So after spending some time reviewing my new ideas that I haven't done personally was video on Tiktok and LinkedIn. My last video on Linkedin generated a handful of views, no engagement.

For now I will continue to focus on what does work and keep it simple.

Yeah, I have tried a consultant. It even part of my tag line. Google even assigned me a specialist. The canpaigns they made were flagged right away. Google really sucks on this one. Sure, scammers were using it, but I am a legal business that is even insured.

 

[HCHTech]

Past clients seems like the right move. They already know you and your service, and keeping your name in front of them isn't hard. If you do, they'll call you when they need something, so there is no selling needed. Over time, that list grows pretty large, so even a small return on those attempts will keep you busy. Granted, this is from the perspective of someone who hates sales & salesmen equally!

 

[Rosco]

Granted, this is from the perspective of someone who hates sales & salesmen equally!

That might be my problem lol

 

[callthatgirl]

@Rosco are you seeing a slowdown in business in the past few months? I'm thinking that many people are getting support from AI now more than calling. Since mid June, I'm slower, not close up shop slow but way slower than usual.

 

[Rosco]

@Rosco are you seeing a slowdown in business in the past few months? I'm thinking that many people are getting support from AI now more than calling. Since mid June, I'm slower, not close up shop slow but way slower than usual.

It was in May and early June. Things are a bit more regular now, but I'm still trying to find some new avenues for when things are slow.

I have many senior clients who use Copilot. Sometimes it helps them from calling me. There are also times it helps me. A few times, Windows was really messed up from these same clients. I just pasted on a job this week. gaming pc had a water cooler block issue. As soon as they mentioned ChatGPT in the after-hours VM, I knew it was a pass.

 

[John Kennedy]

I've been a member of a local BNI chapter for years. I've gotten probably 90% of my business from referrals from inside BNI or through people I've met in BNI. It's worked great so far, but I'm trying something new now. I met a company that's built to sell MSP services and make their money on payment for meetings with potential clients plus a 7% residual on MRR. The up front cost is a bit scary, but having met them and seen what they do, I'm confident they'll do a better job selling me than I would, and paying like $1500 for a client with $10k MRR and a 7% residual seems fine to me. I have my first potential client meeting coming up next week, so I'll see what it's actually like then.

 

[callthatgirl]

@John Kennedy I thought about doing that in June when business was super slow. I had the time to make a zillion cold calls lol.

 

[Rosco]

I've been a member of a local BNI chapter for years. I've gotten probably 90% of my business from referrals from inside BNI or through people I've met in BNI. It's worked great so far, but I'm trying something new now. I met a company that's built to sell MSP services and make their money on payment for meetings with potential clients plus a 7% residual on MRR. The up front cost is a bit scary, but having met them and seen what they do, I'm confident they'll do a better job selling me than I would, and paying like $1500 for a client with $10k MRR and a 7% residual seems fine to me. I have my first potential client meeting coming up next week, so I'll see what it's actually like then.

Unfortunately, the BNI franchise in our area collapsed, and there are no groups left. Weirdly enough, I just ran into a former BNI member with my old group, and they said they had started a new group outside of BNI and any other networking group. They had invited me, and I think I might go in a couple of weeks when I'm available.

 

[John Kennedy]

Unfortunately, the BNI franchise in our area collapsed, and there are no groups left. Weirdly enough, I just ran into a former BNI member with my old group, and they said they had started a new group outside of BNI and any other networking group. They had invited me, and I think I might go in a couple of weeks when I'm available.

Might as well. Something is generally better than nothing. BNI has been such a great tool for me. If anyone else is a member, might as well connect that way too!