New Year - hosting industry changes

G

gwh23

New member
It is a new year finally! 2006 !

What are your expectations and wishes for the hosting industry ? Do you wish to see certain changes ?

I personally hope the enormous amount of overselling will stop or least level out... its getting ridiculous. Also I hope the amount of fraudulant sign ups can be reduced greatly :)

Those are mine, whats yours ?
 
gwh23 said:
I personally hope the enormous amount of overselling will stop or least level out... its getting ridiculous.
Click to expand...

No disrespect here but didn't you just place an ad with the following specs?

LAVISH PLAN: ONLY $12.50 a month! ***BEST VALUE***
+ 5 Gig Disk Space
+ 500 Gig Monthly BW
 
I think we should make 2006 a year of industry education.

Focus more on educating the consumers, rather than making thousands of posts complaining about it.

I mean, think about it. We have sat and complained about the industry for the past 5 years. However, none of us have actually taken the initiative to try and change it.

Make 2006 all about educating the consumers.
 
Blue said:
No disrespect here but didn't you just place an ad with the following specs?

LAVISH PLAN: ONLY $12.50 a month! ***BEST VALUE***
+ 5 Gig Disk Space
+ 500 Gig Monthly BW
Click to expand...


If you noticed that said "limited time offer" ... we don't normally offer that rate for that much resources. It's to bring in the new year, and new clients. A
 
I'm not sure how that enforces your case.
You complain about others doing the very same thing that you are doing yourself.
Limited time or not you can't say in one thread that it's out of control and then in another thread be a part of the problem.
 
Blue said:
I'm not sure how that enforces your case.
You complain about others doing the very same thing that you are doing yourself.
Limited time or not you can't say in one thread that it's out of control and then in another thread be a part of the problem.
Click to expand...

In order to stay in business you have to compete with your competitors. I think any host who offers 100MB space for 4$ is not going to get any business anymore. Thats just the way the market is now. You have to play the game to be in it.

All of the resources given can be provided.My main problem is that very few users come close to using up those resources.
 
There's a whole slew of ways to play the game. You're setting yourself up for the old "pot calling the kettle black" comparison here by doing the same thing that you're condemning. Overselling will never stop - especially when you're fueling the game by playing the game.
 
gwh23 said:
In order to stay in business you have to compete with your competitors. I think any host who offers 100MB space for 4$ is not going to get any business anymore. Thats just the way the market is now. You have to play the game to be in it.
Click to expand...
Ummm.. no, you are incorrect.

For our premium brand, our LOWEST pricing is $99/month, and it includes an amazing 200mb of disk, 10gb of bandwidth, and only ONE domain can be hosted. (no add-ons)

Oh ya.. that includes ONE database. Each additional database is an additional $10/month.

And we're doing quite well, thank you very much.

If you find that you can't compete without lowering your prices or offering rediculous "specials", then the problem is not about education.. it is a problem with your advertising or your service/product not being unique.

If you have 40,000 web hosts claiming to offer the exact same thing, and 200 million "educated" people looking for hosting... then how is this any different then things are right now?

Anyway, I agree that if you complain about the problem then you probably shouldn't participate in the continuation of the problem.

"If you can't beat them, join them"... is not a good philosophy.

:)
 
For our premium brand, our LOWEST pricing is $99/month, and it includes an amazing 200mb of disk, 10gb of bandwidth, and only ONE domain can be hosted. (no add-ons)
Click to expand...
I'm guessing this is a typo for either $9 or $9.99 per month?
 
webfreak08 said:
I'm guessing this is a typo for either $9 or $9.99 per month?
Click to expand...
No, it is correct. Our lowest price for our premium brand is $99 per month.

That's a ninety-nine.

There is money to be made in the premium hosting market. It's all about advertising properly and presenting the "least risk" to your clients. (ie: Showing them why spending $99 for a basic hosting plan is "less risky" then spending $4 or $10 or $45 or even $98 for "the same thing" somewhere else.)

:)

The premium market is out there, but it takes same understanding how how to sell to serious businesses. Most web hosting "companies" seem to be content with throwing up (figuratively) a website, a few plans, and then just lower their pricing to try and "beat" their competition.
 
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mrzippy said:
No, it is correct. Our lowest price for our premium brand is $99 per month.

That's a ninety-nine.

There is money to be made in the premium hosting market. It's all about advertising properly and presenting the "least risk" to your clients. (ie: Showing them why spending $99 for a basic hosting plan is "less risky" then spending $4 or $10 or $45 or even $98 for "the same thing" somewhere else.)

:)

The premium market is out there, but it takes same understanding how how to sell to serious businesses. Most web hosting "companies" seem to be content with throwing up (figuratively) a website, a few plans, and then just lower their pricing to try and "beat" their competition.
Click to expand...


Right... INMH thats taken advantage of people who are less informed.
 
gwh23 said:
Right... INMH thats taken advantage of people who are less informed.
Click to expand...
Lol. Are you serious? I totally do not understand why you would say that. How is it taking advantage of people who are less informed?

That's sort of like saying that selling a porche to someone is taking advantage of them when they could instead by a Yugo for a lot less. After all, they're both cars, right?

lol.

Thanks for the chuckle.
 
webfreak08 said:
What makes your hosting so premium?
Click to expand...
Well, my answer is going to be limited as it isn't the point of this thread.. but basically, our premium brand offers solutions to companies that want "premium" hosting service.

1) A phone number that goes directly to a live person 24x7 without exception. Not just a staffer helpdesk, but an account rep who can actually accomplish whatever the client needs. This might include contacting our support staff on the client's behalf, upgrading their account, or just holding their hand while they create a new email address. Every account we set up has a phone number that goes to their account rep.

2) High-availability servers (managed by rackspace). We offer 100% uptime backed by an SLA.

3) A real company presence that exists in more then just a basement. We have even flown some prospective customers to our office just to meet us so they can feel more confident about whom they are entrusting their business to. I also routinely fly out to meet customers and chat with them in person. When they're dropping a few grand per month for basic services... it's easy to justify the expense.

That's about it. We've found that there's a big market segment who desire this level of service. We consider this market to the "in betweens".

They are "in between" needing a low-cost budget web host.. and having their own team of servers and admins. These are the companies who depend on their website for critical email, or sales of a few hundred/thousand per day, etc... they are people who realize their businesses are dependent on their website/email, but are not big enough (or don't have the desire) to carry their own staff.

In a nutshell, we basically do what rackspace does, but we add one additional layer of support and personal service on top of that by not forcing the client to deal in any way with "the tech stuff".
 
I believe there is a premium hosting market. I also believe that it is strong and big enough to accomodate those who are ready to compete on it. Let me just say that those who take their wallets out to pay for a $99/mo plan are quite educated, and they know exactly what they are buying. Even the least reasonable people might agree that a minimal research was made - its not that hard to type in "hosting" on any search engine to get a ballpark figure.

The difference is whether you are purchasing a Ford or a Maserati. Both takes you from location A to B, but Maserati does it nicer. If someone can pay $100 for a plan sold for $2 elsewhere, why shouldn't you take the money? Its all comes down to unique selling proposition. If you can convince and provide premium service/setup/whatever it is that makes your package worth $99 rate, then kudos to you.

Best,
 
Thanks for your detailed answer, mrzippy. It does seem like you provide an outstanding premium service to your clients. I'd really hope that at least some hosting companies take a lesson from you and focus more on the customer and customer's needs rather than simply the money.

Best of luck in business.
 
best of luck to everyone who posted in the thread. I no longer see a point in commenting on what was written. thanks for your input.
 
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