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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    utah
    Posts
    42

    What do customers want?

    Question im sure a lot of you have pondered. "What do customers want?"

    Besides cheap hosting and great support?

    Well perhaps its something to do with support. Do they want the 24/7 toll free number? Or wouldnt email suffice with replies less than an hour during the day and less than 8 during the night?

    Now how in the world can one offer 24/7 phone support at the prices people pay for hosting?

    What else do they want? What seems to be important aside from what I listed above?

    I've identified the question... How about "How do I find out what customers want?" What seems to be the most effective way for getting information from your customers?

    I am getting about 2-5 signups a week. I would like to push it to 2-5 signups a day! I have terrible traffic/sales ratio and would like to change that.

    Any suggestions? This info might be of interested to a lot of other hosts.

    Thanks!

    -John
    John - Sys Engineer
    ~: Specialized Java Hosting solutions in the cloud javapipe.com :~

  2. #2
    Hey John,

    Yes, this is the million dollar question. Hey, I wanted to ask you somethiing - I'm sure you study your stats closely, but have you ever set yourself up to monitor your site pages in real time using something like LivePerson?

    It takes hours upon hours of just sitting and watching your own traffic, but I swear you get a better feel of how your visitors are really reacting to things on your pages.

    I know that sounds silly, but we've actually had success in improving signup ratios using this method - especilly if you are getting good traffic to provide a solid sampling in a reasonable amount of time.

    Good luck!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Beautiful suburb of Chicago
    Posts
    143
    That's like asking about what women want. Who the hell knows. I think you should either stick to your guns and collect the clients that are looking for what you're offering (if you can afford it), or find a newer host that's growing fast without advertising or spamming, and offer what they offer, but with advertising campaigns (if you can afford it). What it comes down to is: what makes YOU happy.

    George
    George Vuckovic - CEO & President, Tilted Planet, Ltd.
    Dedicated Servers, Dedicated Service, Definitely Tilted.
    Celebrating 16 years of top-notch hosting and innovation!
    Visit our 13 year old, obviously ancient site at TILTED.COM

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Oz
    Posts
    329
    Originally posted by tilted
    That's like asking about what women want. Who the hell knows.
    Ummm... women? How about just asking them? Or, in the case of customers, how about conducting a survey?

    When I left one of my old hosts, in their goodbye email they included a link to a survey which included questions like "why are you leaving." "how could we improve our services" & a bunch of others I can't remember. I thought it was a good idea. It was completely voluntary, of course.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    utah
    Posts
    42
    Interesting responses. I guess Im already doing what is suggested. I even have php script with a tag on each page that records the visitors path to see what pages they view and it gives me a report on page counts for popularity and referer information. Well from that info, all of my services have been viewed equally. Most popular being my cheapest 20mb package.

    I guess what i need is cash to market more, especially if I want to hook the businesses that will purchase my larger packages. Because my largest customer base has been people looking for personal websites for themselves. Ill go broke if I don't change that!

    Anyway, thank you for your suggestions. Yes its like trying to figure out the womens mind.. haha its a game to play until you get it right and elope...

    Any other ideas? This is interesting thread to continue.

    -John

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    kipp, did you start this as a fulltime business? I currently get maybe one client a week and to be honest, I am happy with that at the moment...

    2-5 a week sounds pretty good to me... Sooner or later word of mouth will kick in!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    3,098
    Question im sure a lot of you have pondered. "What do customers want?"
    Unlimited space
    Unlimited bandwidth
    100% uptime
    24/7 support
    for $1 a month

  8. #8
    $1? Way too much.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    utah
    Posts
    42
    Originally posted by Darth


    Unlimited space
    Unlimited bandwidth
    100% uptime
    24/7 support
    for $1 a month

    No kidding! I had one customer complain that my 50mb package was too much! Gosh it was only $4.45 a month!

    I started this business a few years ago to host the companies that I worked for. Then i was laid off last October and decided to put more focus in hosting. Its paying for itself but its got a long way to go to pay my bills!!!

    I think what helps is $$ for marketing.

    -John

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Tasmania, Australia.
    Posts
    3,590

    Re: What do customers want?

    Originally posted by kipper3d
    "What do customers want?"
    Honesty, above all else.

    Cheers

    Gary

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    utah
    Posts
    42
    Yes Honesty. I totally agree!

    But were talking about turning prospectives into sales..


    -John

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Tasmania, Australia.
    Posts
    3,590
    Originally posted by kipper3d
    But were talking about turning prospectives into sales..
    That's all it takes.

    Site owners are wisening up, because they're being lied to. They'll look past the sales hype, and the well written testimonials, and the forums full of bollocky posts...and they'll tear a few traceroutes apart and ask a tonne of questions about where you're from and where you're going. Rightfully so too.

    12-18 months ago an average client had to be shown through a traceroute when they couldn't reach their site...these days they've done it, analysed it and are knock on door asking questions about it when things go astray.

    Pricing and toll free numbers etc are becoming less of a concern than how much trust folks can place in their provider.

    IMO of course.

    Cheers

    Gary

  13. #13
    I think it mostly depends on the customer. Someone with a right mind wants only a few things:

    Quality support and good sever speed and uptime. As for the features, they know what they can get for their money, so it's really not a problem. Someone less knowledgeable wants to get everything for as little money as possible, without realizing that the only person he's making it worse for is himself.

    Boris

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Arabia
    Posts
    678
    1) Care for their site more than they do.
    The rest is just dressing on the cake.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Dundee, UK
    Posts
    1,366
    What customers want -- Everything for Nothing.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    New Orleans, LA
    Posts
    581
    Hosting in of itself is not a product that customers want - it is just a neccessary requirement to get to what they really want - whether it is an ecommerce site, or a hobby site or whatever.

    So - they want something that lets them get to their end point at the lowest cost & lowest hassle.
    Andrew McMaster
    http://www.FindMyHosting.com
    Compare Prices, Consumer Reviews, Help, Guides and More.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Orlando FL USA
    Posts
    1,315
    Confidence & certainty which is gained by providing honesty and quality.

    When their site is important to them in reaching their true goals as Andrew mentioned, they require quality service and a feeling of confidence. They need to know that they have chosen the right host for their site and that their host is doing the right thing for them. This is most often achieved by being upfront and honest with them about your quality services.

    As has already been mentioned, 'quality clients' are wiser today and they know how to determine if you are being honest and providing a 'quality service'.

    The old saying What goes around comes around applies to hosting quite well.

    The type of service you provide dictates the type of clients you will receive.

    Take the time to email your question to your current clients. Maybe even take the time to ask the same question of your site's visitors (a lil link to a lil form). They have the answers... you just need to encourage them to tell you.
    FutureQuest.net
    Quality Services & Professional Support Since 1998
    Click Here To Visit the Community

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Arabia
    Posts
    678
    Originally posted by DotComster
    1) Care for their site more than they do.
    The rest is just dressing on the cake.
    3 years hosting - not one customer lost. Again:

    1) Care for their site more than they do.

    You do not need to learn or care - just watch me take them away from you.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    3,098
    Originally posted by Walter
    $1? Way too much.
    ok ok $1 for the whole year

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Arkansas
    Posts
    84

    Which Customers?

    I'm a new and haven't paid my dues, but here's my 2 cents worth. A web hosting site (provider) should target a single market segment. If you wish to target the entire market, use multiple sites.

    Different customers want different things just like different folks prefer different music.

    Ask yourself am I targeting my local market, the online market, the reseller market, beginners or seasoned pros. You can further divide the entire market but that's for starters.

    Good Luck

  21. #21
    I make about $300-700 per day... and my hosting plans start at $29.99 for 1GB / Space / Transfer.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Oklahoma
    Posts
    825
    Originally posted by NiceRsx2002
    I make about $300-700 per day... and my hosting plans start at $29.99 for 1GB / Space / Transfer.
    How many chargebacks, hehe, j/k.
    Devon Dunham (Owner, Sharpnet/DDoS Host)
    Advanced DDoS Mitigation and Server Management Solutions

    Protecting your online infrastructure.

    Est. 1998.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    3,098
    Originally posted by NiceRsx2002
    I make about $300-700 per day... and my hosting plans start at $29.99 for 1GB / Space / Transfer.
    Well i make unlimited money!

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    San Clemente, CA
    Posts
    99
    I get the most compliments from customers who like that i offer AIM support. Also I am always honest with them and have had clients stick with me through tough times on a bad reseller plan until I got a dedicated server. Be honest, be quick with support and new account signups and the referrals will role in. I get about 3-6 sales per day.

    Ryan
    RCTHost.com

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Lakewood, NJ
    Posts
    18
    It will be nice when I get that a day for sure, I am getting anywhere from 2 - 6 a week and have been in business for 2 yrs, but what makes it hard even when you give customers what they want, which I would say is honesty, you occasionally lose one, I did the other day, he was one of those without a clue, I offered help for free to get him going the way he wanted, but he insisted on doing it himself, so sometimes even when you try to give it your all it ain't enough.
    I am a one man show and run my business part time along with holding down a full time job, so I am doing pretty good so far, and its gets better every week.
    David White
    Internet Business Planning, Dial Up ISP, Web Hosting & Design
    http://www.Best-XXX-Hosting.com

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