If you run a hosting company or you plan to start one, it’s important to understand what your customers are looking for. Business website hosting is vital for many entrepreneurs and they want to make sure the right company provides what they need. Here are some of the main things businesses look for when choosing a hosting company.
Support
As one of the most important aspects of business hosting, support is vital. Businesses want to know they can call or chat with a tech anytime of the day to get the support they need. Whether they are having a website issue or just a simple question, businesses want an answer as fast as possible.
Price
Of course, price is an important aspect for businesses to consider. When they compare different hosting companies, they will look at what is provides for the cost. If it doesn’t make sense to spend a little more per month or year, they won’t.
Specialties
Depending on the type of business, they may look for a hosting company specializing in their specific area of need. For example, if the business plans to use WordPress for the website and blog, they may look for a hosting company specializing in WordPress web hosting.
Reviews
Most savvy entrepreneurs are going to read what other customers have to say. They won’t make a hosting decision without reading both positive and negative reviews.
Resources
It may seem like the resources you provide a business for their website would be higher on the list, but most hosting companies are quite similar. However, resources, such as disk space and bandwidth are still important to businesses. They will compare different packages from your company to your competition and look at what they get for the money they spend.
Add-Ons and Features
Again, most hosting companies offer about the same add-ons and features. However, if you or another company has something unique to offer, a business may choose to host with you because of the unique offering.
Hardware
Your hardware does matter to businesses when they choose a hosting company. Nobody wants to work with a company with outdated servers that simply don’t perform well.
These are the main things a business will consider when making a decision to choose the right hosting company. How do you make sure your offering is the right one and will be chosen by potential customers? Here are some of the ways you can address each of these areas with your hosting company.
Outsourced Hosting Support
If you want to ensure you provide the best support and customers service, outsourced hosting support is the way to go. Trusting this task to the experts will ensure you give your customers the best support, 24/7, 365 days a year.
When you outsource your support to a company with plenty of experience, you won’t pay nearly as much as hiring an in-house staff. Not only will you save money with outsourced hosting support, but you will also gain the knowledge of industry experts. The right support can help you gain better customer reviews and give you an edge over the competition.
Offer Value
Providing the absolute lowest price is one way to go, but this won’t necessarily give you an edge. If you lower your price too far potential customers may become skeptical as to why it’s so low. Instead, offer value with better support, service, add-ons, resources, hardware and features. This will allow businesses to see that they get more for the same or even a slightly higher price with you compared to the competition.
Specialize
You can offer basic packages and specialty packages to your potential customers. This can help lessen the competition as not every hosting company will offer packages designed specifically for WordPress, Joomla, Drupal or another popular platform.
Get Great Reviews
Sometimes you have to ask for positive reviews. Most are ready to rip your company apart once they have a bad experience, but if it’s a good experience, they won’t leave a review. Make sure you are asking for reviews on a regular basis.
Offer Plenty of Resources, Add-ons and Features
Whether you offer shared hosting or another type, make sure you give plenty of resources for the cost. You can even look at your competition and step up your packages just a little bit to provide more value.
You can also add value by offering specific add-ons for a lower price or free of charge. Along with adding value, make sure you put plenty of great features into every package you offer to for hosting customers.
When you provide more value and better support, your hosting company gains a competitive advantage. Make sure to use outsourced hosting support to ensure you get the best support for your hosting customers.