Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

January 20, 2012

How to Make Your Reseller Business Unique

Look, we’re not going to kid you here: There’s almost no way you’ll be able to make your reseller business entirely unique from all the thousands of other businesses out there. With so much competition, you’ll be lucky to even get a break in terms of tenants. However, that doesn’t mean your newfound source of income is a lost cause. In fact, if you take some immediate steps right bloody now, we have a feeling you’ll be able to do a fair bit better than you’re thinking. It’s going to be an uphill battle, and you’re going to need to be open about this: Leave all of your misconceptions at the door, and understand that without potentially rebranding your business, you may find your door flooded in red tape. That being said, if you still feel you’re up to the challenge, it’s time to pony up, Cowboy—your bootcamp lesson in reseller hosting marketing and branding starts now!

What is Reseller Hosting?

In case you’re not quite on board with what we’re talking about, let’s go ahead and quickly define what we even mean by reseller hosting.

Reseller hosting is any kind of hosting that involves you (a consumer) purchasing dedicated server space from a web host—usually it’s a fairly large and noted one, like HostGator or GoDaddy, etc.—and then repackaging it under a different name and brand to other web masters. For example, you might purchase X number of gigabytes in storage, Y amount of processors and speed from Generic WebHost, and then sell that chunk in 15 subsidized packets to 15 new customers under your own name: We’ll call it Newer HostMax. It’s a quick way to make a few extra dollars each year, especially if you deal with clients on a daily basis that require web hosting and would prefer to do it through you. However, you’re not the first person to see dollar signs in this kind of arrangement. In fact, we’d be willing to bet hundreds of thousands of web hosts out there are really resellers in disguise. This is added onto the massive number of existing web hosting providers, too. All in all, you’re looking at quite a climb to fill all fifteen slots. However, it ain’t all bad. First off, you’ll need to:

1.  Carve Out That Niche! As with all businesses that are swamped by competition, you’ll need to establish a unique tone for you and your business. Think about the connections you have, and decide if you’ve got any kind of unique angle on any specific businesses. Are you a graphic designer? Do you create websites for users on a daily basis, but have to turn them away because you’ve got no server space to attach them to? In this scenario, don’t even bother marketing your reseller services to those outside your network: You’ve got enough clients to fill the slots, and have found your niche. If you haven’t got any connections like this, take a second to ask yourself who you do have access to. Is there a certain market you feel you can adequately market your facilities to? Do you have any overt knowledge that might make you more appealing to a certain audience over another? If so, create everything about your business to reflect that from the ground-up. If you’re going to sell web hosting space to construction workers (Why the heck not?) be sure to only mark up the advantages of your web hosting as it pertains to that market. It’s a basic business principle, but in this overflowing market, you’re going to need to be extremely careful.

2.  Be (Kind Of) Pricy: Additionally, don’t you worry your pretty head about being cheap. If your clients were looking for extremely cheap web hosting with no regards to quality or performance, they’ve easily got about five thousand and seven other options to choose from. Besides, there’s no way you can compete with prices like $1.97 a month for web hosting—and yes, we have seen prices that low flying around. Rather than cutting all profits out of your new venture, instead opt for the exact opposite. By choosing to be slightly above market cost (We’re thinking more along the lines of $10 a month for a basic, no frills hosting account) you’ll be able to gain a lot more traction. Believe it or not, people are actually more willing to pay for quality than they are to save a buck. If you’ve adequately carved out your market as stipulated above, you should have no problem charging slightly more than you’re thinking with no extreme losses in clientele. This also ensures you gain a sufficient profit from your expenses. And we very much hope you know that’s the idea behind all this.

3.  Be So Personal It Hurts: Let’s talk sheer numbers for a second: If you’ve got a web hosting company comprised of only fifteen possible shared hosting spots, you should theoretically be able to provide a much better customer support experience than a host with thousands upon thousands of users. This is one of your company’s biggest strengths, and you should play that note until it goes so out of tune it’s sour. Answer all questions promptly, and wherever possible, call the client yourself. People really respect this kind of support, especially in the modern age of call centers and long waiting times. A real human voice with a caring tone is a vital part of the experience, and if you’re willing to charge slightly higher than the market average, it’s a great way to make the additional expenses look cheap.

4.  Set a Unique Tone: Lastly, a great way to differentiate yourself from the pack is to wear a different hat. Have a unique logo, or a copy tone that suggests you’re unique from all those other web hosts out there. You have the chance to carve something personal out of all the competition, and it’s your job to correctly expound upon the concept, delivering a service that’s loaded with personality. Be that awesome girl at the pub: Come on strong but personable.

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