Hosting is super saturated and in any business, especially one where competition is already extremely well established, the last thing you want to compete on is price. Youd be better off charging a more premium price and offering something unique than offering a standard package and trying to compete on price in a saturated niche.
Thanks for that. So far the general suggestion for the first packages as been $4.00 to $5.00. I will be offering uniquness. Obviously I won't reveal plans now. I also have various other ways to get it kicked off. Just looking for price suggestions.
People are smart and they learn about these things. If they go for a $1 plan and get stuck by it, the next time, they won't fall for it again. As far as getting those customers, I volunteered in forums, helping people out. What they saw is a genuine interest in helping them, and I wasn't trying to gain customers, but just to help out. People saw that, and I think they felt if he helps me like this in the forums, imagine what it would be like as a paying customer. Be helpful, help people when they need it. I've seen quite a few times where a host would shut down, and people would have no clue, and then their data and hosting is stranded. At the same time though, I understand that everyone should have a backup no matter how aggravating it is. For a host to shut down on them though, it's just not right. If you ever decide to leave the hosting arena, let your customers know. Or find a safe place for them to go. Don't leave them high and dry.
Thanks for this again. I guess I need to prove that my services will be excellent and the customers will start to come when they see it is a good service. Do people like Phone Support then?
What are your current costs? Will you be owning & managing your own servers? Will you be a reseller for another hosting company? How do you plan to market your website?.. There are a lot of unanswered questions before you decide on pricing your product... Get a handle on the cost structure first..
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful influences of this industry. It's also the slowest, but it's free and it truly works. When I had my hosting company, that's all I did, word of mouth. That, and I posted in forums. I didn't do any other advertising other than that. Phone support is handy in the customers eyes. Sometimes, they won't order from you if they can't talk to you. Then again, sometimes you'll need them to put in a ticket because the issue is too in depth for a phone call. Personally, I had phone support. What I would do is when they call in, if the issue is too complicated, or will require research, I'll ask them to submit a ticket.
Business as not yet started so there are no current costs. I will be buying dedicated servers. They will be managed by the company. Posting in forums also "Word of Mouth" will be the main method I will be using. Also on the Phone Support issue. I am not keen on getting a Phone Line set up and such. There are other methods of communication and I plan on using it. For example. If I opened a forum. With a section for help for only my customers. I will do that. They can then proper state the problem and as I am online all day I myself will be able to answer the questions with in minutes of them. For times when I sleep. I will obviously have a couple of staff members to do it then.
If you had live chat, and the live chat was actually online and answered 24/7, you'd be fine, and wouldn't need a phone line. Some people have learned that hosts can say 24/7 support, but not actually be 24/7. IE, have a ticket system. You can submit a ticket in at any time, 24/7, but it might not be answered until someone gets in the next morning. If you have an "online" live chat every day, it'll help with confidence, and the customers will trust you more, and know you are available.