The Web hosting industry is less than a decade old, but already
we've seen dramatic changes in the attitudes and priorities of
customers. In these few years, the concerns of my clients have
switched from, "Who's the best?" to "Who's the cheapest?" to
"Who's going to be around for a few years?"
So, in this competitive world of web hosting where there are
gigantic web-hosting companies to small-dedicated companies, how
do you make your company stand, how do you grab a customer and
hold it on for years to come.
The golden key this is Customer Service, Support and
Satisfaction. Most hosting companies are tech savvy enough to
provide adequate support to their customers, sure enough.
However, the quality and warm service here faces a set back. It
is true that answering support requests through a ticket desk or
email absorb a generous portion of a host's daily activity. This
may be time consuming and may cause the companies to neglect
this area of service. However, quality customer support can be a
newer web host's weapon when competing with the larger web hosts
who may own several dedicated servers or perhaps even their own
data center. Quality customer support is the trump card you have
complete control over to set yourself apart from the
competition. As a matter of fact, some larger companies lack in
this area simply because their clients' numbers are too large.
How does one accomplish this? It's actually quite simple but
requires a stern dedication to satisfying the client. Fast and
complete answers to customer's queries.
Tickets and support requests should never be one line or
one-word answers. Many times this will require your client to
resubmit their ticket and cause both frustrations for them and
loss of time for you. If the ticket is answered correctly the
first time, then the problem is solved that much faster and
efficiently...and this is what clients want. They want fast
responses and complete answers to their queries. Do not belittle
their request with standard one line jargon. Make the customer
feel important.
Always thank the client for submitting a request to support or
sales. Open each response to a ticket or sales inquiry with,
"thank you for contacting us." And then go on to answer the
request...accurately. Always end your answer with "Thanks for
writing in. Please contact us if we can help you further." This
makes an unforgettable first impression on the client. Advance
Notice of in case of Downtime.
Never fail to inform your clients of scheduled downtime. They
will appreciate it. The irritable feeling one gets when they log
on to their site and get that dreaded white page is a very
powerful deterrent to NOT use a particular host's service. When
your server is down, be the first to let them know. Have a
mailing list of your clients' off server contact emails for a
quick email blast informing them of any issues. Fast Response.
Ability to answer a customer's question is very important. But
to answer their queries with professionalism, politeness and
resolution is just as important and often overlooked in web
hosting industry.
About the author:
Mansi gupta writes about
ex
tended DreamHost review .
