It's Valentines Day. And while we, as your web hosting provider, likely rank rather low on your list of "valentines," we want you to know that our relationship is still important.

Your relationship with your web host is an important one - you might make your living online, depend on critical emails getting through, or simply run a personal site that is important to you. Unlike most relationships, your relationship with your web host depends on a leap of faith. There's no first dates, no prior meetings, rather, at best, you might fire off a few emails back and forth answering the most basic questions. But how do you know what we're selling you is what you really need?

Here's a few ways we try and foster a relationship with our clients; suggestions that you can use with your clients, and in business in general.

Real People. Real Friendly.
I absolutely hate when I call a company and a robot answers. It's frustratingly painful to use and get the help I need. When I need help, I want to be able to discuss my options with a real person, so why do we so frequently use pre-written scripts, that not only sound fake, but also force us to typically sell the customer something they don't need? Our responsibility is to understand your needs, and find the right solution for you - a solution that works now, under your current budget. We're glad to do that, and love the challenge of designing a complex cloud vps hosting arrangement that can adequately serve your site.  At no time during this process should it ever be a problem for us to do so - as our customer, you're our lifeblood of our business - the people that put food on our table, and allow us to enjoy the pleasant things in life we do.

The Value of Transparency
They say curiosity killed the cat - I like to say curiosity killed the sale. It's frustrating as a consumer to be left out in the cold, not knowing the people behind the company you're putting your trust in; not knowing what they're doing to make their service even better; not knowing whether they're even going to be around tomorrow. We strive to be as transparent as possible, sharing details from our personal life, while also filling you in on the latest happenings at VPS.NET. We're proud of who we are both personally and as a company, and you should have that same pride. When a customer asks us how long we've been around, it's always enjoyable to tell them that UK2Group has been around since 1998, and then it's even more fun to tell them about the future growth plans we have. So while you might not have the longevity that UK2Group and VPS.NET does, you might have just as bright of a future - share that. Your customer will be fascinated by it.

Never forget your current customers
What's the value of a relationship if the only time you talk to them is in pre-sales? Some of your potential largest customers are your current customers, and they're typically your EASIEST sale. They already have established a trust in you, already know your infrastructure, and finally, they've already chosen you before. Keep in touch after the sale, because they might just be your next sale. In today's world of technology, new websites and services are being rolled out by the day, and you certainly don't want to miss out on any of that. Use a CRM tool, like SugarCRM, or SalesForce to keep in touch with your customers. It'll not only strengthen the relationship you already have, but also bring in welcomed additional revenue.

Finally, being happy with having just a satisfied customer isn't enough. We want a loyal customer - one who freely, without being asked, writes testimonials about us - recommends us to their friends. A loyal customer is one who has vested interest in us, and that's what we want. Customers who want to be successful, with a successful company.