In this October 2008 interview with WHIR tv, Holford discusses the expansion into the US.
In an Email Q&A with the WHIR, Stephen Holford, chief marketing officer of Fasthosts, discusses the company’s October 2008 entry into the US reseller hosting market with a promotion that wrapped up at the end of the year.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – Following in the footsteps of German hosting company 1&1 Internet (www.1and1.com), with which it shares the United Internet parent company, UK-based reseller hosting company Fasthosts (www.fasthosts.co.uk) launched a US operation (www.fasthosts.com) in October of 2008.
Like 1&1 Internet did when it first launched in the US in 2004, Fasthosts introduced its American offering with a promotional offering of free hosting. From launch until the end of 2008, the company offered a year of its unlimited reseller hosting package for free to anyone who signed up. At the beginning of 2009, the company began charging the regular $50 monthly rate for the service.
The company says the promotion was a big success, and some of that momentum has carried over into the new year.
Now, more than three months into 2009, Fasthosts’s chief marketing officer Stephen Holford spoke to the WHIR about what the company learned from the promotion, and what it has learned about the US market for reseller hosting after the first six months serving it.
Web Host Industry Review: The free reseller hosting for a year promotion ended last month. How many people signed up for that program, and were you able to create some momentum for the services that has carried over now that you’re charging $50 per month?
Stephen Holford: We had a really successful launch campaign – we are really happy with the uptake to our offer. Since our launch in September, our main objective has been to raise awareness for not only Fasthosts but reseller hosting as a business opportunity. There weren’t many new releases in the reseller space, and US resellers, we thought, were rather taken for granted by their existing vendors.
Our launch campaign and free offer was an ideal way to bring attention to the subject and also allow new and existing resellers to experiment with developing a business model on our platform. We’ve seen continued interest since the free offer ended, showing the value of our service to new resellers – the package we provide is extremely attractive as it enables resellers to start making profits straight away.
WHIR: How many resellers based in the US do you have involved in the program now, and at what kind of rate is that number growing?
SH: Without going into detail, we have thousands of resellers signed up to the service, using the range of opportunities it provides. The growth rate has remained steady and we’re happy with progress. We have signed some great resellers and every day we are gaining insights into their needs and experiences.
We’re going into an exciting program of new service launches for our resellers, which will see significantly more opportunities become available. At Fasthosts we’re focused on making sure our resellers can grow a successful and profitable business, even in this tough economic climate.
WHIR: Do you have specific targets you intend to hit at certain points in the calendar? And if so, how are you performing relative to those targets?
SH: As a member of our parent Group, United Internet AG, any international expansion is accompanied with high expectations and a determination to make a real impact. We set ourselves tough targets and we are on-target and pleased with progress. However, there is still so much potential in the US reseller market and I am excited about how we can grow our platform to offer more.
WHIR: Your US launch happened almost exactly as things began to look very grim economically in the US – a situation that is now affecting everything in the business world. What kind of impact have you found the US economy has had on your reseller channel?
SH: That’s an interesting point. The change in economic climate has led to a wider range of users becoming interested in the reseller hosting proposition. In this way, the recession has perhaps motivated the reseller market by prompting users such as IT pros, software companies, and web designers to think about new ways to develop their business and grow their regular income.
The low investment into the reseller service allows more individuals and businesses to try this service and see how easy it is to make money from it. We’re confident that this will continue in these tough times, and we hope that the reseller service can help existing businesses generate a new (and recurring) revenue stream, as well provide opportunities for new businesses to start up.
WHIR: The language on your website doesn’t seem to be aimed at resellers who want to necessarily identify themselves as web hosts. Is there a certain segment of the reseller hosting market that you consider the target for Fasthosts’ private label product?
We have been involved in reseller services for many years, so we have seen the types of resellers we work with broaden over the years. Fasthosts.com aims to satisfy the technical needs of a demanding hosting provider and also inspire the complete beginner.
We have such a diversity of resellers we don’t just want to target the web hosts – naturally the service is ideal for them and provides great potential, but there are a number of successful resellers whose primary business isn’t web hosting, and hosting is provided as a value added service.
WHIR: After operating in the US for six months, have you discovered anything markedly different from the reseller hosting business in the UK?
SH: We have been pleasantly surprised by US resellers’ willingness to test all the aspects of our product. The level of feedback we receive is great, and there is more sense of community in US hosting market.
We have a full US team based in Philadelphia who are dedicated to this service, so we have some great US expertise. They are the driving force for our US service, and by taking our knowledge from the UK market and applying that to the US service, we believe we have a good base for developing the US-specific service.
The past six months leave me in no doubt that US resellers are the most experienced we have worked with and they know what they want – if a reseller has advice or feedback they will pick up the phone and tell you. This is great, as it means that we can deliver the service they need, making sure that they can develop their business.
WHIR: Do you think Fasthosts is bringing anything with it that had been lacking from the US market previously?
SH: Our reseller platform is certainly more advanced and flexible than a lot of US providers. We have always felt that US resellers faced too many restrictions and cost risks. Fasthosts brings the US market complete flexibility in the way offerings can be structured, coupled with unlimited bandwidth, web space and email boxes.
The platform itself is some of our best work to date. We will now be upgrading our UK resellers to the same system. The transparency and ease of use of our service are pleasing aspects that have been mentioned by resellers we have worked with.
We’ve also been very clear on all our pricing – we believe that a few providers seek to hide or confuse their pricing. At Fasthosts the price you see is the price you pay – we are very clear on that and publish our pricing up front – this is designed to help resellers make an informed choice of provider, and be confident they aren’t going to get charged additional costs later on.
WHIR: Is there anybody in the US market that you see doing things really well? Is there anything, either in terms of products or philosophies, that you might emulate now that you’re seeing it first-hand?
The US market is extremely competitive, and there are a number of providers that have some great ideas and services. I don’t think, however, that any one of them really stood out as being the best service, delivering everything the reseller needs, and committing to helping a reseller’s business become successful. Fasthosts is committed to doing just this, and that’s why we feel confident and why Fasthosts is showing success in the US market.
