In parts 1 and 2 we have looked at how you can increase your web hosting sales by targeting the need recognition stage and information search stage of the buying decision process. In part 3 we will go in to how customers evaluate the different providers they have researched, and the opportunities available to you to maximise your chances of being chosen.

It is worth pointing out that alternative evaluation is not always a part of the decision process. In some cases, consumers skip this step entirely, especially if they have habitual buying patterns. However, for the purposes of this post I will cover those consumers who are actively researching a web host to use them for the first time.

Low involvement and high involvement

After a customer has conducted their search for a provider, they will evaluate the different alternatives they came across as the information search stage. If it is a low-involvement purchase (e.g. buying a soft drink) it will be a simple process and probably done in a matter of seconds. If it is a high-involvement purchase (e.g. web hosting) it will be more considered and take longer.

Factors that influence the level involvement include price, product complexity, brand awareness, physical risk, and previous experience of a product. I would strongly argue that choosing a new web host is a high involvement decision for most people. With this in mind, how do make sure you present the right information to help with that decision?

Evaluation criteria

Consumers typically use six or fewer evaluative criteria when choosing a provider, with the combination of criteria varying between the market segments. What are your target audience’s key criteria? By identifying this information you can make sure it is prominently displayed on your website. Key areas to consider when selling web hosting include:

• Price

• Security

• Reliability (i.e. uptime)

• Support

• Technical features (e.g. web space allowance)

• Speed (i.e. page load times)

• Country of origin (i.e. UK hosting)

• Brand values (e.g. customer centric, value driven…)

The logical step may seem to be showing every possible web hosting feature all at once to cover your bases. However, you also need to consider feature fatigue. A huge table of features is hard to digest and could have the opposite effect of providing information; it may prevent people from reading it and using it in their evaluation.

Decision rules

Researchers have identified a number of consumer decision rules that govern the way consumers evaluate different products and services in different buying situations. These can be used either consciously or unconsciously to help them select from a range of different providers. The rules can be broadly categorised as being “noncompensatory” and “compensatory”.

A noncompensatory consumer decision rule is one where a perceived weakness is too important to be ignored, and other strengths cannot offset them. This results in a company being no longer considered as an option. Examples from web hosting could include a company not offering any support services, no emails included in the hosting package, or not being based in the UK.

A compensatory consumer decision rule is important, however the consumer is willing to trade off if other factors compensate for them. For example, a very low price is often enough to make up for a reduced feature set. Your job is to identify those features your target audience consider to be noncompensatory and either highlight them in your pre-sales collateral, or if they are missing, add them. Additionally, if you are aware you are lacking some compensatory features, what can you do to reduce their impact?

Give your customers short cuts

Due to the sheer volume of information consumers have to process daily, most rely on short cuts to help make decisions. These short cuts (aka decision heuristics), are an important concept for you to be aware of and then attempt to influence.

• Price: There is a very close relationship between perceived quality and price. Use this to help position your web hosting services.

• Market beliefs: Consumers make decision based on commonly held beliefs. Whether they are right or wrong really doesn’t matter. For example, if you target a niche such as WordPress, customers will presume you are more of a specialist and more knowledgeable than a large host.

• Product signals: Consumers use product signals to fill any gaps in information. A great example of this is supermarkets using the scent of bread around the store. From a web hosting perspective this is where awards and testimonials come in.

Helping your warm lead prospects make a decision

There are a number of tactics you can use to help encourage prospects to choose you if they are already a warm lead e.g. they have made some contact with you, or added an item in to their basket without completing the purchase.

• If they have signed up to an account and not bought anything after 24 hours send an email selling the USPs of your services. Maybe even compare against other web hosts in a table?

 

• If they have abandoned a basket, send them a reminder email after an hour and then another after 24 hours. This approach has been seen to increase sales by as much as 90%. You could consider sending a discount code at this stage as well to give an extra incentive to buy from you.

 

• Follow up on any speculative sales enquiry with an email and further information about your product and brand. Give them the data they need for their research, don’t hope they will find it.