Hello all,
I know there is no definate answer to this question however I'm unsure on how many packages to offer and what to call them.
This may sound stupid but, I don't want to offer too many packages as customers may not take a large "leep" in pricing if they are coming close to their limit for SQL databases or bandwidth, etc. However, I also don't want to offer too little packages. As I wouldn't be sure which end of the ladder to bill for or customers may go elsewhere for a package more suited.

Also,
If I call any packages "business" will general public avoid looking at them?

Thanks.

For names, just some examples:

Basics:
Hosting Package 1
Hosting Package 2
Hosting Package 3

A few more:
Bronze
Silver
Gold

And another few more...:
Starter
Medium
Business

Just a few basic ones. Not really much help but anyways :D

Set up three basic packages for each service you provide. Naming them isn't a big issue. If your website has some sort of theme, like fuse9, you can pick names pertaining to that. But remember, three packages with quirky names aren't all it takes to get clients.

Edit: Spelling :)

On my website I just called them:
Hosting Package #1
Hosting Package #2
Hosting Package #3

Very simple names, doesn't really make a differance.

You also have to keep the cutomer in mind. Would you feel better about yourself calling for tech support for 'Hosting Package 3' or 'T3h Ub4r1337 h057|n6 package'? I've seen some pretty stupid names in the past :)

How many packages is a good amount to offer?

Offer three or four. Less than that doesn't say much about your company, and more is too complicated and will turn people off. If you have the willpower to calculate prices I'd recommend offering custom packages like we do.

Offer three or four. Less than that doesn't say much about your company, and more is too complicated and will turn people off.

That is SOO incorrect. It depends on your business model and marketing strategy. Hosts selling 1 plan packages have been extremely successful, and at the same time hosts over 5 packages have also been successful.

Set your package levels depending on the sort of client base you are going to target and what could be their varying needs.

That is SOO incorrect. It depends on your business model and marketing strategy. Hosts selling 1 plan packages have been extremely successful, and at the same time hosts over 5 packages have also been successful.

Set your package levels depending on the sort of client base you are going to target and what could be their varying needs.


Agreed. You should first do research into your target market, and determine what your primary objectives are in terms of revenue, client retrieval, client retention, and quality of service.

There really is no way of determining this type of thing just off the top of someone's head, it requires getting your feet wet and seeing how your market will react.

That is SOO incorrect. It depends on your business model and marketing strategy. Hosts selling 1 plan packages have been extremely successful, and at the same time hosts over 5 packages have also been successful.

Set your package levels depending on the sort of client base you are going to target and what could be their varying needs.
:agree: I agree with Yash-JH!

Cheers,
Beruska

Having six packages has worked well for ArielHost. We have three categories of hosting:

1). Personal
2). Business
3). e-Commerce

Each category has two levels of packages (a "small" and "large" version).

Edit:
We also have another hosting brand where all of the packages are custom made for the user. That helps sales a LOT, but it's also harder from the billing/account creation side of things.

No, I didn't mean 3 packages total, three per type of service provided. We, for example, have three packages for shared hosting, and 3 for reseller. What I meant to say was that you should deviate from mixing and matching features and prices so much that it would be confusing to figure out what you really want to buy. Who wants to stare ate long lists of oddly placed features while trying to decide if the price is worth it? That's why it's a good idea to offer custom plans.

Bluehost seems to be very successful with just one package.

Andrew

I would prefer 3 packages. Again it all depends upon your target area. If you were in India, You could have as many as 10 pacakages, While most hosts in USA have 3 packages.

How many packages?
There is no definitive answer to this. It simply depends on the sort of clients you are targeting. There are hosts who only offer one package to everyone while there are others who offer tailor-made packages or a selection of three or four.
First you must look at your target audience. Are you appealing to individuals, small businesses, a niche market, etc.? After you’ve thought about this, you must think about their needs and how best you can serve their needs – whether by offering one or multiple packages.
Also, being flexible helps – It enables the client to stay with you for the longest possible period of time, and in such a case they will only go elsewhere when either your service becomes unbearable or you really no longer offer what they need.

What about naming packages?
In my years in business, whether hosting or other, I’ve never experienced a client going elsewhere due to a package or level of service being called “Business”. You can name your packages whatever you like, it does not really matter, but you must stick to short and memorable names. Catchy isn’t so important, in fact not at all, but your client must be able to remember which package he or she has chosen.
You can include numbers and letters, but often you will find the way in packages are named depends on the target audience. Very often you will see companies targeting individuals using actual words while companies targeting small businesses will more often than not include numbers – This isn’t always the case and is by no means mandatory, however.

Hope this helps. :)

You can name your packages whatever you like, it does not really matter, but you must stick to short and memorable names. Catchy isn’t so important, in fact not at all, but your client must be able to remember which package he or she has chosen.
The names aren't important at all? Au contraire, Pierre. Advertising companies make millions of dollars coming up with names, phrases, logos, etc. The text on your site is extremely important. If I'm looking at ten hosts with the god-awful gold, silver, bronze selection, and one with packages names after Presidents or Simpsons characters, which one am I going to remember tomorrow?

Okay, that's an extreme example, but I think the cookie-cutter, follow the leader, don't-take-any-chances approach is more risky than a unique approach. You risk being lost in the crowd.