Loose Foot Computing Has A Strong Handle on Customer Service

In the mid to late 90’s, when the Internet was gaining ground and businesses were realizing the importance of being online, web site development was the market to be in. In 1996, Loose Foot Computing was one of the many companies that took advantage of this growing area, and six years later, is a successful and respected company known for its customer driven products and services.

Changing with the times, the company’s focus on web development soon changed to a focus on the lucrative web hosting arena. This change was a natural progression for Loose Foot Computing – guided by development customers who were dissatisfied with their current web hosting services. Robert Sauchyn, President and CEO of Loose Foot Computing, explains, “We were primarily doing development and online applications, and people were constantly coming to us asking for a host, telling us that anyone they tried never came to the phone or that their site had been down half the time. They were coming to us to recommend a web host.”

Realizing the importance of a good web host, and listening to its own customers, Loose Foot Computing began to move into the hosting arena, first re-selling host packages and then developing its own network and infrastructure. In 1998, the company launched its own hosting network and now earns 80 percent of its income though its hosting business.

While the company focuses on the hosting market, it also realizes the importance of development, and more importantly, E-commerce for future growth. As a result, Loose Foot Computing developed its own E-commerce package designed to meet the needs of small businesses looking for versatile online storefront software.

“When we were in hosting, clients would come to us, especially back in the late 90’s when there weren’t many popular shopping cart solutions, asking if we would provide one,” explains Sauchyn. “There was always a criticism or some feature that clients seemed to want and present shopping cart packages did not provide. So, we developed one of our own that’s completely versatile.” The company’s E-commerce software, Simply E-commerce, handles the back-end functions of a site and is not built on the ‘built-in’ functionality of particular software - you can plug it into your own existing site with no hassles.

The foundation of Loose Foot Computing was built on customer service flexibility, reliability, and network response times. “We’ve never tried to compete on a price level with other companies,” says Sauchyn. “Instead of offering cheaper plans – we focus on quality of service.” Sauchyn states that many hosting companies have made it in the business by are selling large amounts of web space for low prices and building their business on this premise. He says, “What the hosting companies are doing is overselling because many businesses don’t understand that web space isn’t the main consideration and that you have to look at how dependable the host is and what other features they’re offering.” Low price strategies look like a great deal when combined with lots of web space, but what customers are really doing is buying into something they don’t really need. They also tend to pay more for additional services not included in their plan as time goes on and their business grows.

Rather than focus on a low price strategy, Loose Foot Computing has taken on a more unique approach where $18 per month gives companies all that they need to develop an online presence. “Our most popular hosting plan is, for the most part, more expensive than others, but $18 per month is nothing when it’s the foundation of your online presence,” explains Sauchyn. “We say, as a small business, you probably won’t know where you’re going to be on the Internet a year down the road. So, you’ll go with our $18 plan and we offer everything with that. We offer five domain names, five email accounts, our storefront software - it’s a part of our no hidden fees policy so as you grow and you find you do need these features and services - well, it’s there for you.”

This quality focused and customer driven strategy is where Sauchyn believes the web hosting industry will continue to move. “I feel that web hosting at the present time is turning from a highly lucrative industry driven by thousands of three year old start-ups willing to trade their reputation for more domain name accounts…into one that will be driven more by the needs of business consumers.”

Sauchyn says the hosting industry is turning into one built on quality, dependability and scalability, and that if you build your company on customer service rather than low prices built on web space and who can own the most domain names, then you’ll have a much better chance of making it. Sauchyn explains, “If you look at a year ago and even now, it’s a lot about who can offer the most megabits of web space for the lowest cost and businesses offering a gig of space for 99 cents a month. If it’s a matter of who can provide the most hard drive space for the lowest cost, then of course the largest companies are going to win because they have more buying power.”

But for smaller hosting companies, he believes that it is easier to find your niche in this highly competitive market if you’ve built your business up with customer service as your foundation. “Find your niche in quality of service as opposed to trying to compete on a price level or web space level, because people are starting to catch on. You don’t need all this web space…people are getting educated.”

With its customer service focus and development of products that enable the company to grow with its clients, Loose Foot Computing is solidly positioned in the lucrative web hosting market.