bits & bytes - Ping! Zine Web Tech Magazine

usiness around them), work from the
bottom up, structuring your business and
setting your prices to match. I guarantee
you that you’ll have a much greater chance
of success, just by following this first step
alone.
Step two involves locating any
efficiencies and advantages that your
hosting services might offer without any
value-add. Do you use particularly fast
servers and internet connections? Are you
using proprietary control panel software?
Do you offer unlimited e-mail accounts
and MySQL databases? Examine your
offerings and look for those things that
would immediately attract your attention if
you were shopping for a hosting provider
yourself. Pull out a sheet of paper and
write down everything you can think of
that stands out to you.
This is a fairly simple and easy-tounderstand
step, so that’s all the time I’ll
spend on it. If you can’t locate anything
in this area, don’t worry – it doesn’t mean
you’ll go the way of the dodo bird – just
keep reading!
The third thing you’ll want to do is
decide which market you’re going to target.
Are you going to host real estate websites,
chiropractic websites, small e-commerce
websites, or something else? Or, are you
going to strive to cater to everybody?
While the latter can be a very profitable
strategy for many, there are already many
hosting providers who have found greater
success by specializing in a certain niche.
For instance, a while back I came across
a company that had just started a host for
garage bands. As long as they advertise in
the right places (where these bands will
see the ads), they should have no problem
competing and carving out a niche for
their business. This is the only host I
know of that is targeting this market (and
likely the only host many are likely to find
targeting garage bands). The lesson is that
targeted marketing works if you can make
an emotional connection between your
potential customers and your service.
Once you know who you’re selling
to, the fourth step is very simple. Ask
yourself what website-related services
you can add to your hosting packages to
entice your target market to purchase from
you. This is where the value-add really
comes into play. What will set you lightyears
apart from your closest competitors?
Perhaps you can offer a budget-priced
website hosting/design package where
you provide both their website hosting
and design a simple website for them. Or,
perhaps join forces with SubmitNet or
Template Monster, through their affiliate
programs, and offer their products to your
hosting clients once they have signed up
for hosting. My company has done this,
not only to differentiate our offerings, but
also as another way to pull folks into our
website – and it works! Find something
that is beneficial by itself, and then make
sure it is relevant to your target market.
Depending on the impact of the items you
choose, you may need just one – or you
may need several.
The possibilities in this area are
absolutely endless. The main thing is to be
creative and come up with combinations
that you know your target market will
love. Know your market, and this will be
easy. As long as you’re making money,
providing affordable services, and keeping
your clients happy, there’s nothing to lose,
and a whole lot more to gain! Happy
hosting!P!
B2B
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