Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Running a Web Hosting Business : drawing more of a WHT client base

[omaha.stylee]

what do you think the best way to draw the WHT community to a smaller webhosting provider's website? do you think runing a special on here would be a good idea? why or why not?

[BF-Gary]

Banner Ads, Specials and Posting appear to be the top 3 ways to drive WHT customers to your site. Just remember if you live by the sword you can die by the sword

[linux-tech]

You really should advertise more places than just WHT. WHT isn't the end all and be all of the internet, though it may be to some of us addicts In fact, i'd say that WHT is going to be the damnedest place to draw your clients from. Why? Because WHT'ers want cheap, they know what xxxx kiddie host can provide for 0.05 and they want it from YOU for 0.01 . Half the time it's just not worth it advertising here.

[CArmstrong]

You could also offer a coupon code that people from WHT would see. This would be an easy way to determine how many of your customers come from WHT

[Tina J]

While there does seem to be a very slim percentage of the WHT crowd that recognizes that the cheapest solution often is not the best...WHT is not, in my opinion, the best place to get quality customers.

--Tina

[Webbase]

WHT is read mostly by hosts I would imagine, not by people looking for hosting (unless they are seeking reviews and are fairly clued up..back in the day I never thought to look for a host forum!).

Therefore, Reseller hosting, dedicated servers, domains, marketing services would be your best bet.

B2C hosting I cant imagine would do all that well.

[Aussie Bob]

Originally posted by AH-Tina
While there does seem to be a very slim percentage of the WHT crowd that recognizes that the cheapest solution often is not the best...WHT is not, in my opinion, the best place to get quality customers.

IMO, WHT regulars should_know that "the cheapest solution often is not the best" (or I hope they do ). It's the folks who breeze through here looking for the cheapest and hottest deal, they're the ones who aren't quite so enlightened yet.

And for those who know that "the cheapest solution often is not the best", who still look for the cheapest and hottest deal, shame on you!

[Professor]

Although the target market here are people who run their own company, you have to remember that WHT is on the first page of google for "web hosting". So you can bet they get a LOT of traffic from the general population looking for web hosting.

Whether or not they breeze in and breeze out is another story entirely, and one that you would have to determine through your own means.

[Tina J]

I would guess, by reading posts here for a very long time, that a good share of the "companies" here are poorly planned and simply out to make some fast cash. Getting a $49 a month dedicated server...or getting a huge $2 a month reseller account is exactly what alot of these "companies" are looking for.

Don't believe me? Take a look at the colo/dedicated and shared hosting offers forums here. The ones getting the most interest are the ones that are dirt cheap.

--Tina

[Gen-T]

Something I was thinking about......

A good portion of the people here that plan to start their own web hosting company, will eventually fail, give up or lose interest, and then will be a "consumer" again, just looking around for a good established provider for their own personal sites.

Your competition today - may be you potential customer tomorrow.

[AdWatcher-Eugene]

I wouldn't go as far as to call them anybodys competition. Most people who are looking for a quick buck with so called "companies" ($2 reseller accounts etc) are the best "ads" any quality host could ask for. Let people try budget hosts (I am not trying to insult good budget hosts) and realize that one cannot cut costs by sacrificing great service and quality.

They'll be back.

[Gen-T]

Originally posted by HVoice-Eugene
I wouldn't go as far as to call them anybodys competition.

Well, you misunderstood. I am talking about anybody and everybody that starts or runs a host. Cheap, expensive, big or small. When you say "them" you are obviously referring to just the cheapie hosts.

My point was, that just because your ads might be viewed by other hosts, you never know when they might no longer be hosts, and just be consumers again, so having your name and a good reputation among your competition may help you in the future, in ways you never expected.

[dawhb]

Posting and banner ads. But your posts may not be meaningless. Try to help forums users and partisipate to discussions.

Regards
D.

[ekwade]

Another thing to keep in mind about "bargain hunters" is that they are seldom loyal clients...coupled with starving hosts that are offering ridiculously low prices that end up sacrificing their support.

The old addage, "You get what you pay for" seems to apply.

In response to the initial question: SEO is a wise and inexpensive move.

Cheers,

[Intersabre]

Additionally, I think WHT users are more prone to mouth off whenever there is an issue. I've seen it many times - a user complains and a host gives into the demands, even if it is against policy to avoid the bad PR.