In a down market it is more necessary than ever to consider how to cut costs. You look at every penny spent and trim the fat so much that sometimes you trim the meat as well. In this case, the meat I'm referring to is hosting your website-or having a website at all. Losing the power a properly designed and marketed site can provide you in today's marketplace would truly be a tragedy, so before you even think about putting the carving knife to your hosting; consider this.
Seek Those Referrals
Now's the time where you really should be putting your website's marketing power to use. Look at rebuilding your site to better utilize calls to action. It's OK to blatantly ask your customers for referrals. If they didn't like what you are offering, they wouldn't be customers, and most people will be happy to provide their friends and family with the same opportunity to benefit from your service or product. Offer incentives that make it worth their while such as discounts on services, unique sales prices, or even products or services that aren't available to the layman. In your redesign of your site, present your customers with every possible opportunity to participate as this will enhance your referral program.
Build Smart Landing Pages
Rather than solely marketing a slew of products or services by trying to drive customers to your homepage, create smart landing pages for your best selling, or most profitable, products and/or services. You wouldn't believe the marketing power a landing page can provide. It's like placing an advertisement specifically for that one item in every visitor's mailbox...only instead of using it to line their birdcages, they'll actually convert! Well, a good percentage of them do, and certainly more than a mailer campaign (which is also much more costly). Pay a professional who really understands the proper methodology for building a landing page to create many different pages depending on your offerings, and you've just increased your sales potential.
Open 24-7
I'm not suggesting that you start up a midnight shift, but I am suggesting that whenever possible, you look into automating your offering so that those individuals who operate in a different time zone, or the insomniac who prefers to surf instead of sit on the couch, can take advantage of your product and/or services even when you're sleeping. If you're offering actual, physical products, I have no idea why you wouldn't want to open an e-commerce solution on your site. Imagine the benefit of waking up in the morning to find additional sales you might have otherwise missed waiting for you to process! It's enough to incite drooling, no?
Summary
While it can be tempting to knock that website hosting charge from your monthly statement, it isn't the wise course of action. In today's age you need a website to truly be successful. More and more people are turning to the Internet for their answers, for their purchasing, and for their own peace of mind. According to InternetWorldStats.com, North America has had a growth in Internet users of 128.3% from 2000 to 2008 with nearly 73.1% of the population using the Internet, and that's just the Homeland, friend! If you're international, those numbers grow astronomically. How can you afford not to maintain your website hosting?
Max Elliot is the chief editor and lead contributing author for the site http://www.webguides4u.com which provides site hosting company reviews, Internet usage articles, website development and design articles, and much more. He's been in the industry for well over a decade working for a range of companies from design houses to hosting companies and Internet service providers.
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