Technology not embraced by small businesses

By liani.liebenberg | May 4, 2011 |

Lagging behind

According to a recent study performed by Telstra small businesses are slow to jump on the technology bandwagon. Believe it or not, but of those interviewed,

1 in 10 businesses with less than 20 employees don’t have a desktop PC
A quarter did not use a standard mobile phone
45 % do not have smart phones and
50 % did not have a website or use online transactions.

The study gives the following reasons for this hesitance to embrace new technology:

Small businesses simply can’t keep up with the latest developments
Small businesses are not interested in the technologies
Small businesses are cautious, nervous or afraid to embrace it.

It made me realise how uneducated small business decision makers sometimes are when it comes to the advantages these technologies bring, and how oblivious some are of how – by investing in the right equipment and technology – a small business operator can grow productivity and reach new markets.

Let’s just have a closer look at how a simple one page website can help a business grow exponentially. Often for the same investment needed to advertise in the Yellow Pages or True Local you can have a one page site with your business name and brand displayed prominently to your website visitors. Investing in a bit of search engine optimisation will make your website appear on the first page of your local area (at least) and combined with a well-researched but short Adwords campaign you will boost your website traffic and increase your website leads. That means more enquiries and potentially more sales. And other than making a small investment and appointing a web developer you did next to nothing to generate the new income! With such a quick return on investment, need I say more?

Learning about the most up-to-date technology is important. And by understanding the lifecycle of the technologies you can build replacement strategies into your business plan and therefore plan for the future.

The time is now to educate small business owners on how the technologies of the 21 century can help them and to give them confidence to use it to their full potential. Especially with a new dawning of technology waiting just around the corner…

References

Unknown. (2011). Small businesses rejecting technology: Telstra. Available: https://www.theage.com.au/small-business/smallbiz-tech/small-businesses-rejecting-technology-telstra-20110502-1e3pi.html. Last accessed 4 May 2011.
Unknown. (Unknown). Information technology. Available: https://www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/run/it/pages/it.aspx. Last accessed 4 May 2011.
Unknown. (2011). How To Attract Advertisers To Your Web Page. Available: https://www.marketingwarriorpro.com/. Last accessed 4 May 2011.