In a recent conversation, Wences Garcia, the founder and CEO of MarketGoo, shared fascinating insights into the web hosting industry and discussed how providers can improve customer relationships. MarketGoo is known for its white-label SEO tools for hosting companies, and Garcia’s experience offers valuable lessons for anyone in the industry.
The missing connection
One of the most surprising revelations from Garcia is that many hosting providers don’t know their customers beyond the purchase stage. He pointed out that most companies don’t fully understand their users, saying, “Most of the companies don’t know a lot about their users. They care, but it’s not easy when you’re dealing with millions of customers.” This highlights a common issue where hosting providers struggle to manage relationships at scale.
Garcia explained that the most advanced hosting companies are moving beyond just offering basic hosting packages. Instead, they are transitioning towards providing more value-added solutions to enhance the customer experience. “Hosting companies are realizing they need to shift from being platform-centric to being user-centric,” he said. This shift allows companies to better understand customer needs and offer tailored solutions, such as SEO services and domain intelligence.
Opportunities in data utilization
Another area Garcia emphasized was the power of data in creating more personalized and effective customer interactions. MarketGoo recently introduced a tool called Domain Intelligence, which allows hosting providers to gain insights into customer behavior. By analyzing when a website is launched or identifying issues like performance or security problems, hosting companies can better time their upselling efforts. “We can tell when a customer publishes a website, and that’s the perfect time to send them an SEO upsell offer,” Garcia explained.
This targeted approach not only increases upselling opportunities but also strengthens customer retention, as it provides users with the right solution at the right time.
Challenges in implementation
While the benefits are clear, implementing such solutions isn’t always straightforward. According to Garcia, “The main challenge is that we are nice to have, but not critical. Integrating our tools takes time, and some companies are slow to adopt new technologies.” For smaller providers, integrating these types of tools can be especially difficult, but MarketGoo is working on making the process as simple as possible.
Looking ahead, Garcia believes that the future of hosting lies in providing more comprehensive services that go beyond just selling domains and hosting packages. He sees more companies moving towards becoming all-in-one solutions for small businesses, offering tools for website building, SEO, security, and performance optimization. Garcia also emphasized the importance of using data to stay relevant and improve the customer experience. “The key to future success is being more user-centric, understanding what your customers need at every stage of their journey, and using data to offer them the right solutions,” he said.
This post is based on an interview from the Konrad’s Corner Podcast. We invite you to check out the full episode!
