SirJonathan
01-25-2005, 03:50 AM
I think that a VERY important part of how you operate as a web host is how you create your systems and processes.
For me, a system is something that I plan out and create.. Its the way I run things, if not exactly how, its the guidelines for how. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, here are some examples of systems:
When your customer orders your hosting package.. what happens next?
The steps that you take are your system. It may not be the same everytime (though it usually should be!) but its your system. Its how you do things.
You verify the funds and activate the account. You mail them their welcome letter and you're good to go.
Another example is how you handle customer support. Do you just reply to emails when you have time? No, you usually have a system for doing things. You may reply based on urgency.. you may reply based on when an email was recieved.. You may reply based on your relationship with the customer.. And once you reply, what happens next? Do you send them a followup email summarizing what happened? Do you keep track and file each customer support inquiry?
That's your system.
So! Lets talk about building systems! I'm building my own systems right now, and going through all sorts of things that are just very new for me. I'm working on developing a daily, weekly, and monthly routine. These are the things that will get done each day, week, and month. Things like backups, sending out emails, staying involved with the community.. While these are things that you will most often do NATURALLY, you can still forget! You might let something really important slip through the cracks, not 'cuz you meant too but because you just had SO much other stuff going on.
I'd like some input from you guys :).
What are some of the things that you do on a daily basis in your web hosting business? What are some things you do on a weekly basis? How about monthly?
Thanks a bunch and I'm looking forward to hearing from you! :)
-Jonathan
For me, a system is something that I plan out and create.. Its the way I run things, if not exactly how, its the guidelines for how. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, here are some examples of systems:
When your customer orders your hosting package.. what happens next?
The steps that you take are your system. It may not be the same everytime (though it usually should be!) but its your system. Its how you do things.
You verify the funds and activate the account. You mail them their welcome letter and you're good to go.
Another example is how you handle customer support. Do you just reply to emails when you have time? No, you usually have a system for doing things. You may reply based on urgency.. you may reply based on when an email was recieved.. You may reply based on your relationship with the customer.. And once you reply, what happens next? Do you send them a followup email summarizing what happened? Do you keep track and file each customer support inquiry?
That's your system.
So! Lets talk about building systems! I'm building my own systems right now, and going through all sorts of things that are just very new for me. I'm working on developing a daily, weekly, and monthly routine. These are the things that will get done each day, week, and month. Things like backups, sending out emails, staying involved with the community.. While these are things that you will most often do NATURALLY, you can still forget! You might let something really important slip through the cracks, not 'cuz you meant too but because you just had SO much other stuff going on.
I'd like some input from you guys :).
What are some of the things that you do on a daily basis in your web hosting business? What are some things you do on a weekly basis? How about monthly?
Thanks a bunch and I'm looking forward to hearing from you! :)
-Jonathan