Too much competition??

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Posted by cyang6568, 06-18-2005, 12:54 AM
Over the years, I think hosting industry has grown so rapidly that until now everybody is trying to be a web host. I just think that, for those of you who are newbie to this industry and trying to be a web host, you've got to put quite an amount of money into this thing in order to succeed. Else, you will end up worrying about monthly budget and your "company" will close in 3 months. I think people still rather sign up with a big name or at least a web host that has quite an amount of investment on its web site, for example, helpdesk, live chat, free tour, free bonuses, etc etc. I really dont think by just signing up a reseller account and a web page can let you get started. Just wat I think...
Posted by (Stephen), 06-18-2005, 01:52 AM
There is only too much competition if you don't have a niche market, I have been trying to tell people for years now that niche marketing is big money, you just have to find and target the proper niche.
Posted by cartika-andrew, 06-18-2005, 02:04 AM
To add to what Stephen has said - unique value is the key to success in this business. Many try to play price as their unique value, and thats where I ultimately think most fail... Add value, particularly to niche markets - and you completely remove yourself from the price war and will find that there is still very little competition...
Posted by WebSpider, 06-18-2005, 03:11 AM
I've been looking at web hosts recently and yes, there seems to be hundreds or thousands out there. Seems like everyone sets up a hosting company these days. I've been reading lots of posts on WHT and it doesn't surprise me that people are always looking particularly at the costs to make comparisons between hosts. It appears that some web hosts probably spend less than a day putting any real thought and work into setting up their website. There seems to be no originality or distinguishing factors that show they are different from others. It seems to be that one gets the idea of starting a web hosting business, goes around looking for an existing web host to emulate, emulates them lock, stock and barrel, offers the service at a cheaper price, maybe goes out of business soon after, but never mind, as some money was made in the meantime with very little effort anyway. And I don't think they worry about their clients, as the clients will find another host out ther as a replacement. There are some things that you cannot run from. If you offer Linux hosting, the features you list are bound to be the same. If you offer WHM/cPanel, the features you list are bound to be the same. But, as I've said in another post, so many hosts seem to have identical TOS, AUP etc with just their company name changed. Many sites look the same, probably because it was designed from the same bunch of templates. The FAQs, tutorials, knowledge base etc appear to be the same. Surprisingly, even the About us pages from some of the different hosts are the same. How can that be? All sorts of fancy mission and vision statements are listed, apparently just copied wholesale from elsewhere. I think some don't even have a single line of their own content in there. One of the most important things is to make sure your grammar and spelling is correct on your website. After reading the same content from various sites, I think it would be actually refreshing to come across a self-written About Us, even if it had some mistakes in it. At least you would know that the host put some effort into creating the content. Maybe in a small way that reflects how the host values his business, and hopefully that translates into how the host may value his clients too. Package features all look the same. Everything is provided since most of the features come contained with the control panel being used. So many unlimited and unmetered this and that, that it is no longer a big deal. Most uptime guarantees seem to be 99.9% or thereabouts, and doesn't mean much since I don't think any web host is going to state 95% uptime even if that is the truth. Either way, the guarantee doesn't mean much because it is not a real assurance of the uptime, just that you will be compensated if it falls below that. I guess that's similar to when you buy a product with a 1 year guarantee, it just means that they will fix it for free if it breaks down, not necessarily that it will not break down in the first year. Many hosts seem to answer sales enquiries very fast. Not much to differentiate there. While getting a quick response is good, is it really a way to determine the quality of the host? What is the harm of waiting just half a day or a day for your account to be set up? Of course, there may be cases when you need your account activated almost instantly eg when you are desparately trying to move from a old host to a new one. But for someone who has been spending days or weeks looking for a host, what is the rush? Another day will not make much difference. Its not like your walking into the emergency room at a hostpital where you need immediate attention. Its not like walking into a fast food joint expecting the food to be ready in 5 minutes. Many times people judge the host by the pre-sales responses. While it is a factor, I think it is obvious that many hosts know they are being judged by this factor and make extra effort during pre-sales. But this does not necessarily translate into similar post-sales effort. A lot of hosts provide live chat, but so many of them when tried are offline anyway. What is the point of stating 24/7 support etc etc when eventually you have to email them anyway? I think a lot of hosts have looked at the bigger or older hosts who have been around for a while and emulated them thinking that the model will work for them too without actually having a real business plan or considering what their strengths and weaknesses are. They probably fail eventually because they are trying to get into a mould which they do not fit into. Without having much originality and differentiating factors to consider, no wonder people look mostly to the costs to make a decision. And of course looking for the most space and bandwidth for the least price. Then they come back and complain when they do not get the expected service.
Posted by bwb, 06-18-2005, 03:25 AM
Nice post WebSpider, a niche market is very important. Don't tell anyone Webspider but I'm the one putting all those hosting companies up that look so similar, all part of my master plan to control all web hosting through an ever revolving matrix of identical hosts with little or no service and support .... ... ....
Posted by net-trend, 06-18-2005, 01:15 PM
Webspider, wow, great post! Unfortunately, the problems with sales emails and live chat also spread to dedicated server providers.
Posted by niyogi, 06-18-2005, 04:30 PM
With the advent of turnkey templates, billing software, affordable servers, and outsourced support, why wouldn't there be so many hosting providers out there? Niche market is key and so under-rated. I'd rather advise people to get into local website design and then sell web hosting at premium costs. Roj
Posted by vito, 06-18-2005, 04:51 PM
Excellent advice offered in this thread. Trying to be one of the many clone web hosting sites out there will not set you apart. Niche marketing is key. More specifically, local marketing. Get the customers right in your backyard. Lower acquisition cost. And they will be more loyal, use far less resources, give you more referrals, and your incidence of spam will be exponentially lower (if not totally non exisitent). Vito
Posted by bwb, 06-18-2005, 08:50 PM
I will make a strong recommendation if you have a local college that is a great idea to put fliers there if you resell hosting and tell them its an easy way to make money. Just had a friend do it and he is getting some great returns, plus some of the ones who started 6 months ago gave / sold him at low costs their clients at the end of school year.
Posted by isplhost.net, 06-18-2005, 10:42 PM
Wow! Everybody is sooo dedicated and sooo professional in here. But the fact is.. however high the number of webhosts is.. the services seems to have stayed back. I was simply trying to setup my own portal when i wasted more than $500 just moving around hosts. The most amaginf thing is... the cunning guys seem to know everything... they know where people like me go to search for webhosts and they have the highest listing on google and evrything, once you make the payment... you know that.... its not a chick.. its a chicken! lol! Looking for a decent web host is really hard. With my calculations on the existing web hosts and cost.. i realized that i could actually lease a dedicated server with it. And so i did. Then... while i kept on learning.. i realized that... web hosting is sooo expensive with other providers... they charge $50/mo for database while.... they dont have to pay any extra for anything. The dedicated server provider actually gave everything. So I decided to start my own web hosting company, I was (and AM) and newbie in this... so i decided to sell... so.. i posted on various forums to see what they wanted with a web host.. i mean what costs.. and what features. I cannot afford to give more than 16 hours a day to my server... so i cannot give 24/7 phone and chat support. See i am just 17 now.. and just cimpleted my high school. But learning is soo easy when you have a target. Its been a few months now... but i rarely sell. I am still learning how on how to approach the market .... well i sell for about $150 to $200 per month to be able to pay for my server and services... and thats all. So, all you professional.. please help me out... i am a new kid... and I DONOT WANT TO RUN AWAY SCARED! I still have some money for me to keep my server and service running. Well, since i have had this server.. i rarely get out much.. so no more expenses... just the internet fees and lots of soda! Take Care, Prameya
Posted by WebSpider, 06-19-2005, 01:05 AM
Just to clarify, I was not pointing fingers at any certain hosts or any certain age group. What I want is for my provider / host to have a sustainable business model so that I can rely on their services and in turn I can provide reliable services to my clients. Clients depend on you to provide web and email services which may be critical to their business operations. I think hosts need to be more aware of the fact that their dedication to the services they are providing not only is for their own benefit and profitablity, but also affects their clients. With stories of hosts popping up and disappearing, it also indirectly gives a bad rap to others who are genuinely in the line for the long run. Not only do you now have to prove to your clients about your own quality of service, but you also have to convince them that you won't end up like others who have disappeared. Some clients have been bitten before and thus are extra careful the next time around. This is an unfair added pressure for the next service provider that comes along into the client's path. This does not only happen in hosting, maybe also in other services. But it seems more apparent in hosting since it is so easy to set up a hosting company and make a quick buck or two. There has been a lot of posts where people have said that 17 year olds should not start and run a hosting company. Maybe they will decide to go study law or medicine, or find a girl/boy friend, or go work elsewhere, and then what happens? But then again, the host could be a veteran at 71 and decide to go live in a home with no internet access, and then what happens? It basically comes down to, whatever service you provide, you better be dedicated to it and run it in a sustainable manner because it is not only your livelihood, it is also the livelivhood of your client's businesses, which ultimately means the livelihood of other persons.
Posted by isplhost.net, 06-19-2005, 02:12 AM
I totally agree with WebSpider. The major part of having web hosting company is for it be a company and stay there... and keep serving. And I agree with the 17 and 71 thingy too. A little bit different on my case though... i think I am dedicated.. but again .. its my age factor... i might decide to close down .. lol... wel... as far as my sane thinking capacity goes.. i plan to run the web host primarily for fun.. its been as my hobby to do business. I had a institution... training on computers.. which was running quite well, i can... before i decided to sale it and with that moneu i have decided to start a web host. And yes WebSpider, I still know that you are not pointing your fingers... i just agree with your thoughts... and the fact that 17 year old may change their aim is very true.. anyway.. for now... if i have to go to the main topic i would say that.. the competition is not very tough.. if you can prove yourself to be different and consistant.. with the service.. you provide. By the way.. can anybody tell me what niche martketting exactly means?
Posted by tommyjh02, 06-19-2005, 03:04 AM
the awnser is all in the market. If you expect to obtain clients from all over the world, good luck. But if you are advertising to your local market then chances are high. There is one big thing that a small independent reseller even has that yahoo and the other guys don't have; CONTACT! Clients like that you can have lunch with them while you discuss what they want and take time to explain what this and that is. Many of them are to busy running their so called "to much competition" business to worry about the technical side of advertising, that is where the pay you to do it. Example, more people buy a car at a car lot rather than on the internet. The sell may not have started when the customer saw the car on their web site, but they met with the dealer to check out the car first, most do anyways.
Posted by WebSpider, 06-19-2005, 04:26 AM
Niche marketing is identifying, marketing and selling your products and services to a selected group or segment of the market. This segment could be contained to a particular group of people, eg men only or women only or children only etc, people in a particular age range etc, or to a specific geographical location, or any such segment which can be distinguished by particular factors. You can then serve this segment if your products and services are suitable for it. Or suit your products and services for this segment.
Posted by WebSpider, 06-19-2005, 04:38 AM
It is fine if a teenager starts a hosting business and wants to cater to the needs of his friends and family etc either by offering free or paid hosting. In fact, it is probably commendable that a person at such a young age is willing to take on such tasks. however, it gets a little different when starting to offer hosting to business clients. The expectations from those having personal websites are different from those having business websites. The responsibilities of the host to personal clients vs business clients are also different. I think there is a lot of competition out there because all hosting has been lumped together. There is no clear distinction between a teenager hosting personal websites vs a established host hosting business clients. In part, it is the clients who are unable to distinguish between the two, as their focus on costs is often a blinding factor.
Posted by etechsupport2, 06-19-2005, 04:45 AM
You should have excellent interpersonal skills, so as to extract the best out of the resource, men, material and maschine. You should come out with comprehensive idea of the new segment of the marketing strategy or a new marketing concept with a new breed and ready to accept the change.
Posted by isplhost.net, 06-19-2005, 05:08 AM
Thanks everybody... as far as working hard and with all the spirit is conserned... i am on it.. but i cannot change my age! Well, i can lie .. but i dont like to... and for etechsupport.... i am good at the technical aspect of web hosting.. and running this self managed server myself.. what i need to know is how to cater the marketting... marketting is wierd.. to me... i tried adwords.. and setting per click to rate as high as 5... did not help either.. i never had my ads been shown!... well.. its ok.. it saved.. my money... for now.. i look forward.. to advertise of forums.. where i will be able to persoannly talk to my customres and give them exactly what they need. If you are worried about age factor.. realting with the consistancy and continuity to the biz... i am a different person.. and maybe i am different.. and take the challage of what professional like you can. But i aggree with personal.. and biz.. site.. i too.. am not advertising or campaigning for biz, to open a site with me.. but if somebody does.. i can't say no can i? Anyway... i have a preety good features, with free antivirus, spam, plesk, application vault, sitebuilder 2 with paypal, forum and verything, webmail.... i have evrything free.. and yes... i donot even charge much! lol.. typical huh?? Cheers! Prameya
Posted by etechsupport2, 06-19-2005, 05:32 AM
Age is nothing, it's only number. I suggest you, not to stick with age factors. Review your earlier efforts and results and exercise on it. You should check not to repeat the mistake of the past, if it had done earlier unknowingly. Study the present situation and research closely on the competitive environment surrounding you that will enable you to adopt some marketing techniques which possibly should emerge out as entirely different from others. Remember, competition makes competitive people grow.

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