Word Is Spreading About New Technology Firm

Marketing Through Great Service

Keyboards, monitors and the latest software are tools the partners of HTTP Solutions use for designing websites and servicing PCs. But when it comes to marketing, the owners of the three-year-old technology firm have only one tool: The human mouth.

One hundred percent of the firms clients have come from referrals, either from former clients or those acquainted with the company. That makes the four-person company an extreme example of what marketers have always known, but are beginning to rediscover and re-emphasize-that word-of-mouth is one of the best tools in any marketers arsenal.

When customers talk...people listen. Thats certainly the case for HTTP. Thanks to word-of-mouth spreading quickly, the company has grown 300% since January.

Weve never done any marketing or advertising," said Brad Cooper, one of the firms partners. Everything has been word of mouth."

HTTP Solutions offers a variety of technical services, including Web development, Web hosting, PC support and maintenance, and network engineering and support. The company also offers an innovative KidKam product. KidKams utilize the latest in Web-camera technology to send live, secure video to parents over the Internet, enabling parents to view their children at day care.

Customers keep coming back because we keep things simple," said Mark Locheed, another partner in the company. We take on customers problems, and we fix them. I think they also like the way we treat them. Our service is very personable. We know our customers on a first name basis, and our staff understands what is going on with each customer."

The company actually began three years ago as a hobby. When an acquaintance asked Cooper and Locheed to design a website, the friends thought it would be a great chance to earn some extra spending money. The site was such a hit that more and more people started asking for their help. Thus, the business was born.

Customers kept asking us to do more and more," Cooper said. Weve built the company slowly. We wanted to be smart about it and build a solid business. As weve gotten the business, weve grown the company. Its been neat to see the business grow. It started out as a way to make some extra money. When we started, we only had one computer hosting websites. Now, we have 40 or 50 servers."

The company, which began as a Web development and Web-hosting company, has evolved to offer PC support and maintenance.

We sell ourselves as an IT department for small businesses," he said. We can come in and take care of just about any needs a small business has. We offer that one person to call. We dont bog our clients down with technology jargon. We make things simple."

The companys technical services include repair, troubleshooting, installations, upgrading and maintenance of PCs, Linux and printers. What weve found is that small-business owners are frustrated with the people working on their computers," Cooper said.

According to Cooper, HTTP offers the old-fashioned customer service small firms cant find elsewhere. In fact, the companys future will include a heavy emphasis on serving small businesses. I think were more personal with our customers," he said. We know them on a first-name basis, and we stay on that level with them. We also keep the same people going to the same job sites, so business owners dont have to worry about different technicians coming in all the time. We stay focused on the customer.

© St. Louis Small Business Monthly, The Source for Business Owners June 2002.