Marketing: My take.

[TravisBMA]

Okay. The web hosting industry is a very saturated field. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and a niche to succeed in this industry. I have spoken to several different hosts who do not take this business as seriously as they should because they feel it's not a profitable enterprise. Okay, let me explain something to those who agree with that sentiment. The reason you are not profiting, the fault infact, lies entirely with you. The web hosting industry has potential for alot of profit. You just need to know a few simples tricks.

First, don't start a business with $50 in your pocket. This may be a good start with a VPS or the like, but it leaves you no room for advertising and you are pretty much limited to squatting in forums and chat rooms. While these are good venues to connect with other hosts and learn from the business it's options for clientèle are small. You need to look at the big picture. Examine your company. Where do you want to go? Who do you want to target? Are you looking for a specific age demographic? There are a lot of factors to consider before starting off in this business.

With ten years experience, I have seen hosts come and go because they are simply working in the confines of what's currently available in PayPal. If you really want to pick up the hosting ball and run with it, you need to get your business licensed, you need to gain capital and you need to target some big game advertisement opportunities. The hosting industry is the same as any other business. You have a product to sell, now go market it!

 

[SenseiSteve]

Ok, the business license is a must. What do you recommend for gaining capital? And some examples of

big game advertisement opportunities

Would also like to know within what confines of PayPal?

You need to look at the big picture. Examine your company. Where do you want to go? Who do you want to target? Are you looking for a specific age demographic? There are a lot of factors to consider before starting off in this business.

This speaks directly to having a business plan, doing the research and setting measurable goals. Sadly, most new web hosting companies that fail never had a business plan, never measured what worked or didn't work and why.

 

[siforek]

The "just get started & see what happens" approach doesn't work. While there's always some level of uncertainty, you've got to plan where you want/need to be from week to week, month to month, & year to year. Don't expect to write 1 business plan.. We're currently at revision #12(within a few months). It's always evolving and changing as the market and our goals change

 

[shockym]

I think many places tend to forget that advertising can go a long way, and everyone seems to think that only word of mouth is the best bet. When people forget simple things like this, those are the same we see a few months down the road ready to sell.

 

[CoreXchange]

One thing to remember is that with advertising (regardless of the form) you are going to get people bookmarking, and coming back...

The sales process is not a "one shot" process in most cases. In many cases, whether you are selling shared hosting, dedicated servers or colocation, you are in contact with your prospective client 5-10 times before any transaction is ever made.

The same way goes for advertising online. I've had people purchase from some software I had developed, not the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd time they visited the site, but after 6 times. In many cases people bookmarked the site and then came back later after they got to know me, and heard my advice, expertise, and finally they ended up purchasing.

 

[HostEase]

Like TravisBMA said getting business licensed is necessary,and running web hosting company I think you must support the best service to your customers.In that case you will gain good word of mouth.

 

[SenseiSteve]

One thing to remember is that with advertising (regardless of the form) you are going to get people bookmarking, and coming back...

The sales process is not a "one shot" process in most cases. In many cases, whether you are selling shared hosting, dedicated servers or colocation, you are in contact with your prospective client 5-10 times before any transaction is ever made.

The same way goes for advertising online. I've had people purchase from some software I had developed, not the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd time they visited the site, but after 6 times. In many cases people bookmarked the site and then came back later after they got to know me, and heard my advice, expertise, and finally they ended up purchasing.

Absolutely! If only it prospects bought the first time around, it'll be so much simpler. But they don't - they ask questions, then they ask more questions - and not necessarily from you.

 

[TravisBMA]

That is correct CoreXchange. But my point by this thread was the overall marketing and presentation concepts. This process goes so deep that if it were a river and we all stood on each others shoulders, we'd still drown. But the best way to survive in this over saturated industry is present yourself with integrity, develop a solid business model, pursue capital and business registration, begin. From there the sky is the limit.

 

[CoreXchange]

That is correct CoreXchange. But my point by this thread was the overall marketing and presentation concepts. This process goes so deep that if it were a river and we all stood on each others shoulders, we'd still drown. But the best way to survive in this over saturated industry is present yourself with integrity, develop a solid business model, pursue capital and business registration, begin. From there the sky is the limit.

Eloquently stated. I absolutely agree.