Hi, I was wondering, how can people make a new host stand out. When they have to compete against prices way too low for them, how can they do something unique or different?

Try setting your office on fire. That should get you media attention. Seriously though use your advertising budget to get your name out there.

lol, I know people need to advertise, but, how can a company set themselves apart from the rest. I mean, there must be something that has never been done is hosting before that someone could do?

If it has never been done and can potentialy work I'm guessing there won't be anyone to tell you about it.

What cywkevin might work and prolly has never been done ;)

Seriously, though, buy a good marketing book and learn a few tricks on how to use your budget wisely.

You can spend as much on marketing as you want.

But you won't get anywhere without a niche.

Think about it ;)

I suggest promoting your company as a quality company not a cheap company. The thing that most people only really care about is uptime and good support so I suggest get a server from a company that has a really high uptime sla and boast your uptime guarantee.

Then for the support you can't be on a really tight budget, get modernbill with kayako supportsuite, most people like myself judge a company by there support system. For instance I assume that because a company uses clientexec there 'cheap' and they cant spend a few dollars more on something like kayako which is by far better. I know this isn't the case mostly but it's the view most clients have, I'm telling it the way it is. Also if a company doesn't have live support I simply wont host with them, most people dont want to wait for their ticket to be answered, even if you reply within 15 mins, tickets have a bad reputation I think and clients assume that it will take a long time for something to be sorted out through a ticket due to other past experiences. A telephone number is nice, skype pro does the job eprfectly and in-expensively, and msn is a massive bonus, as allmost everyone has it. Also the little things make a difference such as a daily blog, weekly newsletter and podcast ect, it gives you the feeling that the company cares to interact with the users. Also dont give clients the impression that you are more focussed on sales than support, which a few companys do.

This is just my opinion and im sure many would disagree with me, but that's the way I sued to see things when I used to pruchase hosting off a company.

For instance I assume that becasue a company uses clientexec there 'cheap' and they cant spend a few dollars more on something like kayako which is by far better.


We use client exec :(

We are going to use a custom built billing and support system. We are also going to be offering custom shared packages, but more on that later.
Lastly, we are offering a 100% uptime SLA. We aim for quality. Good support we want too.

We use client exec :(

Im not trying to implement that you are cheap or anything, tbh I find client exec so nice that I can get everything in one interface not have to flick between modernbill and kayako all the time, just when i used to be a 'noob' quite some tiem ago that used to be my perception.

lol, I know people need to advertise, but, how can a company set themselves apart from the rest. I mean, there must be something that has never been done is hosting before that someone could do?

there are tons of things hosts have never done, example, kidnap George Bush until all white house purchases from you...etc etc..

but at the same time, this field is for the long haul. Don't expect to strike rich and become one of the bigger hosts out there over night. build a niche market and find loyal customers. the rest will follow

The question is where are your trying to standout? If your trying to standout on WHT the best way is good service for your clients who will hopefully make a nice little comment about your company. The best way to stand out is word of mouth!

For niche marketing of web hosting, or really any other service, imagine that you are a potential customer. Not a generic everybody sort of customer, but someone specific. Now, what does this customer want in a web host? One sort wants low price. Another might want some specific technology to be supported, something that not all hosts offer. Another might want design together with hosting. Another might want a host in your specific location. And so on.

For each of these customer profiles, think of what you can do to give them what they want. Don't focus on all of them at once, but on each one specifically. (Yes, you can have multiple niches, but each one gets marketed to specifically.)

Marketing isn't necessarily advertising, though ads can be part of a marketing campaign. Marketing might also be walking into the barbershop on Main Street for your haircut and mentioning that you help small businesses get web sites, for example.

I'll Agree that customer service and the ways in which you allow customers to reach support are extremely important.


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Try setting your office on fire. That should get you media attention. Seriously though use your advertising budget to get your name out there.

:D and some time in jail ;).