The successful Web hosting reseller will add worth to the their customer’s value proposition. Since a Web hosting reseller simply re-bundles services that are available from a higher tier provider, it is necessary for the reseller to create specific advantages for their clientele in order to retain them. Usually, many resellers of hosting solutions also provide some level of Web development services.
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By offering Web page design or e-business implementation services in addition to resold Web hosting services, the smart reseller will add value to the simple commodity that he or she is reselling. In so doing, the reseller creates a relationship that stretches far beyond a simplistic contractual arrangement, such as an acceptable use policy (AUP). By offering Web development services, a reseller adds the complexity of an ongoing, consultative relationship. This allows the reseller to provide a competitive advantage that their primary provider simply could not make available.
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An excellent example of added value is demonstrated by hosting resellers who leverage a competitive strength. These can include development services or even offering hosting services and support in another language. Indeed, many successful resellers are bilingual vendors, who utilize their understanding of a mother tongue to sell hosting to their own domestic market. Since most American-based hosting firms operate primarily in the English language, they have a tendency to ignore other linguistic groups or provide them shoddy service. This situation has thus created the opportunity for many hosting resellers to provide services in their first language.
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By acting as a linguistic intermediary between an Anglophone hosting operation and Francophone or Allophone customers, the reseller creates a service that customers can better appreciate. This is because the Francophone or Allophone reseller can add value in the form of enhanced customer care and language-specific documentation. The reseller can also bill in local currency, which many U.S.-based hosting firms neglect to do. Further, successful resellers can also accommodate their own special domestic circumstances.
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In India, for example, economic norms differ from those that predominate in the Western world. While credit cards are widely available in North America and Europe, they are not as accessible on the Indian subcontinent. Since most U.S.-based hosting operations only accommodate credit card transactions for their sales, they have precluded themselves from a very lucrative marketplace. Indeed, it is estimated that within five to ten years, the Indian middle-class might number over 100 million.
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If this is the case, then the Indian market, with its vast amount of highly trained computer scientists will soon want to access hosting services in droves. With most Internet connectivity located in the United States, many Indian hosting firms are already capitalizing on global operations, which allow them to purchase hosting infrastructure in North America to resell to the Indian marketplace. Because Indian merchants understand, and more importantly, appreciate the specific nuances of their economic circumstances, they are better apt to service their customers well. It is such understanding that allows the successful reseller to serve their customers better than a higher tier provider, through imparting greater value to the client.
