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Affinity is set to dominate the SME hosting market with its multi-brand hosting
strategy.
With over 170,000 customers hosting 390,000 domains, Affinity Internet is one
of the largest hosting providers in the world serving the small and medium-sized
enterprise market (SME). From its inception in 1997, Affinity has had one single
objective: "the goal is to be the #1 hosting company for small to medium-sized
businesses," says Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, Patrick Donohoe.
In an effort to achieve this goal, Affinity has implemented a multi-brand marketing
strategy that enables it to offer a wide range of hosting solutions to the many
corners of the SME market. “We are actively marketing five brands with
plans to add more in the future,” says Donohoe.
ValueWeb, SkyNetWEB and BigStep are three of Affinity’s “premium”
brands. ValueWeb offers shared and dedicated hosting for small and medium-sized
businesses; SkyNetWEB focuses on dedicated servers and co-location; and BigStep
is targeted at the novice user. Serving other segments of the market are HostSave
(for Unix platforms) and WinSave (for Windows platforms) - Affinity’s two
“discount” brands. These two brands offer shared hosting at heavily
discounted prices.
A multi-brand approach gives Affinity the unique advantage of being able to
tailor its product and service offerings to meet the specific needs of SME customers.
Explains Donohoe, what Affinity does is "try to develop an understanding
of what it is a customer is looking for and delivering against that. That is
how we developed the multi-brand strategy. We cater to the different desires
and preferences of the customer." While other hosting companies are in
many ways limited in what they can offer, Affinity has something for everybody.
Just as different brands help meet specific customer needs, a multi-brand strategy
allows Affinity to target different segments of the market. Take for example
the “premium” shared hosting brands, ValueWeb and BigStep. These two
brands are customized for customers who require a higher level of service and
a lot of handholding. As Donohoe explains, “it’s for the novice user
who wants to make a relatively minimal investment, but (still) wants to do it
themselves.” In contrast, the “discount” brands, HostSave and
WinSave, are targeted at more experienced users who know what they want and
don’t require the special attention that novice users do.
Acquisitions and the Multi-brand Strategy
Acquisitions and mergers have played a big role in helping Affinity extend
its market reach and expand its service offerings. This year’s acquisition
of the award-winning hosting brand BigStep is a case in point. “The acquisition
gave us access to yet another segment of the small business market – those
who are ‘newbies.’ It’s a whole new segment for us,” says
Donohoe. On the product side, the acquisition helped Affinity strengthen its
overall service offerings through the incorporation of BigStep's market-leading
web template and E-commerce technologies.
The acquisition of ValueWeb demonstrates a similar logic. In acquiring ValueWeb,
Affinity was able to add significant core competencies to its hosting arsenal.
“The merger created a robust portfolio that provided a number of solutions
to the hosting market,” says Donohoe.
Any future mergers or acquisitions will be dependent on the same set of factors.
According to Donohoe, “it will need to compliment us from a product standpoint
or address an audience we haven’t addressed in the past.” Whether
the acquisition comprises an addition to the family of brands or not, Donohoe
notes that it will be important for the acquired company “to have a similar
philosophy to high service…that blends with one of our existing brands.”
This would be “so it could either fold into one of the brands or be a complement
to our existing family of brands.”
The Future is Bright
With the multi-brand strategy as its driving force, Affinity has successfully
positioned itself at the forefront of the SME hosting market. According to Tier1
Research, Affinity is the third largest SME hosting provider in the world. While
the bulk of its business is done in North America, at least 25-30% of its customer
base comes from outside North America in hosting hotbeds such as the UK, Asia
and Australia.
Affinity continues to grow at a steady clip and boasts a healthy balance sheet.
“Profitability is the key that gives customers the added insurance that
we are going to be around for awhile,” says Donohoe. It’s something
that is definitely not lost on customers these days, especially given the uncertainty
within the technology sector.
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Article courtesy of Tophosts.com |
