It's a Reseller's Market

There’s plenty of demand for reseller Web hosting in the US notes Stephen Holford, CMO of Fasthosts. The company’s growing customer base is a good testament.

TH: What were the primary reasons behind the Fasthosts Reseller launch in September?

SH: Since 1999, Fasthosts has been a leading web host in the UK, and home to more websites than any other UK provider. The company is also the UK’s market leader for reseller web hosting and supports thousands of resellers with a wide range of white-label solutions.

After researching other potential markets, we found that there was a good opportunity in the US to address some areas of reseller hosting where US resellers are being rather restricted by their providers. Additionally, we see plenty of demand for reseller hosting in the US marketplace.

TH: Were there any elements in competitors' offerings that Fasthosts sought to improve on?

SH: Fasthosts aims to raise standards in the US reseller hosting market by removing the complexity, cost risks and restrictions that often hold back US resellers. Fasthosts hopes to help the sector progress further by attracting more entrepreneurs, IT professionals, SMBs and SoHos into become hosting resellers.

TH: What aspects about the Fasthosts Reseller Program are most appealing to resellers?

SH: Fasthosts offers the reseller complete flexibility in structuring their hosting plans. For example, resellers can create customized packages for each end customer, design their own range of packages, or simply resell Fasthosts’ own off-the-shelf packages. Webspace, mailboxes & bandwidth are all unlimited within our service, purposely designed to allow the reseller to help grow their customers without cost risks to themselves.

This flexible platform means that resellers can tailor their services far more closely to their customers’ needs. Fasthosts’ philosophy for reseller hosting will allow US resellers to achieve the best possible business model. Importantly, costs are always transparent meaning that cost risk is greatly reduced. For a limited time resellers can take advantage of our free reseller account for a year offer, we’re waiving the $50/month fee for a year to allow anyone who is interested to try out the product --risk free.

TH: Please give us an idea of how successful the promotion has been so far. What has been the feedback from the resellers who have signed on?

SH: Feedback from our US customers has been very positive. The customers appreciate that there’s not a large upfront investment, which is typical with most other work-from-home and web-based opportunities. Customers like the fact that they can customize their packages the way they want, and aren’t restricted to selling an off-the-shelf product. Everyone is pleased with the unlimited elements (such as bandwidth and web space) because it helps to customize packages and increase earnings. The easy-to-use control panel and range of services have been very popular.

TH: Have you had to make any concessions for 2009 because of the economic climate? Overall, what are your market expectations for the reseller segment? What challenges are ahead for the Web hosting market in general?

SH: Due to the economic climate many people are looking for alternate ways to add to their income, and reseller web hosting is uniquely positioned to offer those people a low risk solution. For those individuals that already have a website or sell a product it can be a great add-on to up-sell customers. Even for individuals with no reseller experience interested in trying it out for the first time, Fasthosts’ free for a year offer is the perfect opportunity.