i very recently set up a webhosting website (reseller)
I have 3 packages on which i will be using as listed below, i am aiming to offer fast ticket support, and as i expand (if i should say or when) hire a dedicated support staff member or w.e when it comes to it. but my quiestion is are the packages fair, value for money and will they entice people to buy. I do not oversell and only will sell space I actually have. what are your thoughts? do you think this is a good basis to start off on?
£1.50
/month
1GB Webspace
10GB Bandwidth
Unlimited MYSQL
If you are looking at competing on support, I wouldn’t necc. try to be so competative on price - it dpends what your aim is with the hosting packages, but certainly cutting yourself so short - you are saying you’d require a good few thousand customers to ‘do well’.
also do coupon codes actualy work to get people to buy?
They will use them, if you offer them. Will they buy because you gave a coupon? Probably not. The price comparisons will always be made with all discounts/coupons applied. Coupons can be great to help you track which advertising methods work best though.
do you think this is a good basis to start off on?
Sure, they’re some numbers. But there are hundreds and thousands of other hosts offering the same or more for less. You still need to be different in some other way, be it by offering something others don’t, by being physically present where others aren’t (how many hosts are in your city/county?), by understanding and adapting your service to their specific needs (e.g. musicians, models, chiropractors, Wordpress users etc.)
I was thinking of keeping as is and offering a very simple design of modeling portfollio’s or any basic website for that matter including game websites and alike and hosting with domain and basic SEO for around £15/month. I have recently just set up a live chat feature rigged up to my blackberry for 24/7 chat hoping the added customer support options may attract more (although I haven’t fully rolled out this feature at the minute I currently have a service which tells me when someone if visiting the website and allows me to invite them to chat)… Are there any features which I could implament which you class as a must for a start up hosting company… Also how would you advertise on a low budget at first?
Thanks for your replys I know I am asking a lot of question but hey you guys help a lot thanks
Also how would you advertise on a low budget at first?
I would probably think “local” first. Give your business card to people, find visible events that you can sponsor for cheap. Your direct competitors can also be a source of inspiration. Whatever they do in terms of advertising, you can probably do as well - only do it better/cheaper. Online, there are a few hosting forums where you can advertise for free (though I would imagine it takes time to get a sale from them). Even webmaster forums can be good places to advertise. At the very least, you get some links pointing to your site which can help SEO wise (assuming the forums don’t use “nofollow” for outside links). Speaking of SEO, in the long run, it can be a very good investment. Truth be told though, given the competition in the hosting field, it’ll probably take years before you start getting decent rankings for reasonably often searched for keyphrases.
Your customers can be your best sales force. Think of ways that can encourage them to promote your services while not breaking the bank. Often, discounts and free services can give them more motivation than cash. If you give them a year of free hosting, it may look to them that they’ve saved $30, while your real cost is maybe $15. Customer acquisition costs tend to be very high in the hosting industry (which is one reason why very low pricing today, may affect you later on). There are affiliate programs paying $100+ for a sale. You’re not going to be able to compete with this directly now, but you can still give our customers some incentives to bring you new customers.
thanks